How to Find—and Be—a Good Sounding Board

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBenefits of Having a Sounding BoardWho Can Be Your Sounding Board?How to Find and Build a Supportive Sounding BoardHow to Be a Good Sounding Board for Others

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Benefits of Having a Sounding Board

Who Can Be Your Sounding Board?

How to Find and Build a Supportive Sounding Board

How to Be a Good Sounding Board for Others

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A sounding board is essentially someone you can bounce ideas off of. It can be a trustedfriend, colleague, mentor, partner, or family member who will listen to you and offer honest advice when needed. It can even be a group of people, such as a supportive group of people with shared interests.

A sounding board can be a valuable resource that allows you to share conversations, concepts, and complaints without judgment, saysNicole Erkfitz, LCSW, executive director at AMFM Healthcare.

You can share your thoughts, feelings, and ideas with someone you consider your sounding board—no matter how weird, random, or unrealistic they might seem. It can be a safe space to test out new ideas before you act upon them or take them public.

In this article, we explore the types and benefits of sounding boards, strategies tocultivate a supportive sounding board, and tips to help you be a good sounding board to someone.

Experts In This ArticleNicole Erkfitz, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and executive director at AMFM Healthcare.

Experts In This Article

Nicole Erkfitz, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and executive director at AMFM Healthcare.

What Are the Benefits of Having Someone Act as Your Sounding Board?

It’s extremely beneficial for each of us to have someone we consider a sounding board in our lives, says Erkfitz.

These are some of the benefits of having a sounding board:

Did You Know?The term “sounding board” originally referred to a wooden canopy that was placed over the church pulpit during the Renaissance era. When the preacher gave their sermon, their voice would bounce off the sounding board and get amplified across the church.Over time, the term came to mean someone you can bounce ideas off of, to help refine them and make them clearer.

Did You Know?

The term “sounding board” originally referred to a wooden canopy that was placed over the church pulpit during the Renaissance era. When the preacher gave their sermon, their voice would bounce off the sounding board and get amplified across the church.Over time, the term came to mean someone you can bounce ideas off of, to help refine them and make them clearer.

The term “sounding board” originally referred to a wooden canopy that was placed over the church pulpit during the Renaissance era. When the preacher gave their sermon, their voice would bounce off the sounding board and get amplified across the church.

Over time, the term came to mean someone you can bounce ideas off of, to help refine them and make them clearer.

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A sounding board can take various shapes and forms. These are some of the differenttypesof sounding boards:

Some people have one trusted person that acts as their sounding board in many areas of their life, says Erkfitz. However, she says that more often than not, people tend to find different sounding boards that serve specific roles in the various areas of their lives.

For instance, you may have a mentor at work, a best friend that you discuss all your romantic affairs with, and a sibling who is a sounding board for your personal orfamily-related issues, Erkfitz explains.

The advantage is that you get to control who you feel safe sharing your interpersonal joys and struggles with.—NICOLE ERKFITZ, LCSW

The advantage is that you get to control who you feel safe sharing your interpersonal joys and struggles with.

—NICOLE ERKFITZ, LCSW

These are some strategies that can help you cultivate helpful and supportive sounding boards in your life:

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Being a sounding board to someone looks a bit different than seeking out a sounding board, says Erkfitz.

These are some strategies that can help you be a good sounding board to others:

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2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Green ZA, Faizi F, Jalal R, Zadran Z.Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19.Int J Soc Psychiatry.2022;68(8):1748-1755. doi:10.1177/00207640211057729Kuo JR, Fitzpatrick S, Ip J, Uliaszek A.The who and what of validation: an experimental examination of validation and invalidation of specific emotions and the moderating effect of emotion dysregulation.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2022;9(1):15. doi:10.1186/s40479-022-00185-x

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Green ZA, Faizi F, Jalal R, Zadran Z.Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19.Int J Soc Psychiatry.2022;68(8):1748-1755. doi:10.1177/00207640211057729Kuo JR, Fitzpatrick S, Ip J, Uliaszek A.The who and what of validation: an experimental examination of validation and invalidation of specific emotions and the moderating effect of emotion dysregulation.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2022;9(1):15. doi:10.1186/s40479-022-00185-x

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Green ZA, Faizi F, Jalal R, Zadran Z.Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19.Int J Soc Psychiatry.2022;68(8):1748-1755. doi:10.1177/00207640211057729Kuo JR, Fitzpatrick S, Ip J, Uliaszek A.The who and what of validation: an experimental examination of validation and invalidation of specific emotions and the moderating effect of emotion dysregulation.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2022;9(1):15. doi:10.1186/s40479-022-00185-x

Green ZA, Faizi F, Jalal R, Zadran Z.Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19.Int J Soc Psychiatry.2022;68(8):1748-1755. doi:10.1177/00207640211057729

Kuo JR, Fitzpatrick S, Ip J, Uliaszek A.The who and what of validation: an experimental examination of validation and invalidation of specific emotions and the moderating effect of emotion dysregulation.Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2022;9(1):15. doi:10.1186/s40479-022-00185-x

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