With the usage of social networking sites for business such as Ryze, MySpace, Facebook, or LinkedIn it’s easier than ever to meet other people from around the world. Some of these people may become great colleagues, friends or clients; however some of these people may also become your worst enemy. With the diverse group of people that you can meet online, it is inevitable that you will meet somebody who just makes your skin crawl and seems like know matter what is said, they always find a way to make an argument out of it. When you come across people like this, it’s hard to bite your tongue but you have to keep in mind that most of the discussions that are on these social networking sites are indexed by search engines, with very good placement. This means that every word you type will show up on the search engines. Just imagine what would happen if one of your best clients decided to search for you or your business name online and they found a post you made calling somebody else names or just downright being rude. That wouldn’t look too good for business.
Here are a few tips to help you keep your temper and attitude in check.
1. Be polite-No matter how annoyed you are with the person that you are having a discussion with, always be polite. There are many ways to get your point across without being rude.
2. Use words carefully-The tone of text can come across as very rude and hostile even when that is not the intention. Do not use all caps as that is the equivalent to screaming in face to face conversation.
3. Surf the net-When all else fails, get out of that discussion board and surf the net or do other work or whatever. Give yourself a chance to calm down. If you have to turn off email notifications for that specific thread, do it.
It is a known fact that if you “walk” away and come back to it either later in the day or the next day, you will have already rationalized your thoughts and be able to post a more thought out, less rude comment, thus protecting you and your business’s good name.
