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My tutoring experience Steph:

Steph continually encouraged me to think about personal experiences I could liken my essay to, which really helped me develop an angle. That's something I'll definitely be planning on using when I tutor students. By having me think about personal experiences, I was able to get into the paper much easier. She was very supportive and tried not to give me answers/her ideas, but kept asking questions that forced me to come up with my own ideas, which made the whole experience much easier. She talked to me like a student would talk to another, not like someone who is my age, making me feel like she was on my side, not talking down to me. That's a tactic that put me at ease, as someone who hates being tutored and would rather learn on my own.

Stephanie also kept telling me to write things down, understanding that even a really brilliant idea can be fleeting and you don't want to lose anything. She was friendly and smiled,
and even told her own personal anecdotes, again reminding me she's been where I've been. She told me her weaknesses and strengths and said "Let's try to use that combination together to make this paper great." By using "we" and "us" she made me feel like I wasn't on my own, that I had help with the assignment, which I has having trouble with if I came to someone for help.

I would definitely try to use these techniques in my own tutoring sessions. She put me at ease with the assignment and got things out of me that I'm going to use in my paper. The best part is I don't feel like she led me at all. She may have guided me to answers I already had, but she didn't force her idea on my paper on me. I definitely appreciated that kind of guidance, as opposed to co-writing.
-Nick