INTRODUCTION: Advice is a widely recommended and practised intervention with young drug users. Study of precisely how advice is given and received in any setting has, however, been limited. DESIGN AND METHODS: We qualitatively analysed 106 audio-recordings of advice sessions on cannabis use for young people within a randomised trial. Inductive data analysis was guided by a focus on practitioner behaviour which served to engage the active participation of the young drug user in the session. RESULTS: A cluster of 'Information Management' activities was identified together with an 'Interactive Orientation' evident in a series of specific behaviours. Participants were most successfully engaged when both were combined, understood here as 'Personalised Advice-giving'. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: These components identified in this exploratory study might assist further research in rectifying the absence of a solid empirical basis for effective practice in advice giving with young drug users and more widely.