do you ever give unsolicited advice? (Page 2)

Only once but it was more of a coaching situation. I was at a Malaysian resort on vacation and a man was trying to teach his daughter to do flip turns; she was getting water up her nose and just miserable, and Dad's advice wasn't helping. I said I was a swim coach (well, assistant coach!) and offered to help out. (Key word is offered!) I worked with her for a while till she started getting the hang of it. Unfortunately, a local master's group was also using the pool (it was a resort/sports club--they group seemed to be an ad-hoc group of guys swimming laps, no coach) and I ended up pretty much giving flip turn classes for a while. So even if your advice is well-received, it might not be a good idea unless you're in no hurry to leave the pool!

Being a former golf professional I've been in this situation frequently on the practice tee. It's all in the delivery of your offer. Sometime just saying "want a quick tip?" Or "you know what really worked well for me when I had that problem?"

I would say most are appreciative of the offer.

P.S. I would love it someone offered advice to me on any triathlon discipline at the moment. I've only been doing it a year with no formal instruction. And I really appreciate any advice I receive.

Depends on the situation. I will usually start some small talk with them then ask how long they have been swimming. Usually, they will then ask how long I've been swimming, which leads to "Well, what do you think of my stroke" which leads to "It looks good, why don't you try this out it might make it easier"