The softer side of social media 08 January, 2012
Showcasing one's softer side is the essential element in succeeding and collaborating through social media. The method is now being used by various companies and trainers, which also helps them in growing as an individual.
ALL TRAINERS and organizations are focusing on teaching the hard skills for social media. If you really want to succeed and collaborate through social media, you must grow as a person simultaneously. I call it the softer side of social media. Let us take a look at some of the important soft skills you need to learn in the context of social media.
Be a good listener
Listening on social media means reading the conversations (updates) with patience and giving appropriate responses. If you listen or read updates carefully, you can congratulate, empathize or offer help to the people at the right time. Emerge as a leaderEncourage others to participate, give feedback, motivate others and you will slowly emerge as a leader on the respective social network. Ideally, a leader should emerge and not be imposed. When people notice your knowledge, skills and attitudes, they slowly accept you as a leader. Be a leader but don’t treat others as your followers.
Show your creative side
Write your own experiences once in a while and don’t be a copy-paste guy all the time. Anyone can do copy-paste and it does not reflect your uniqueness or individuality. Don’t let communication gap creep in
Communication is the heartbeat of any relationship. Be precise but give replies and feedback when required. Communication gap is often the cause of misunderstanding and ruins relationships. Communicate on a regular basis and don’t let communication gap creep in. Respect other cultures and faiths
You are bound to connect with people of other cultures on social media. If you make fun of a certain culture, it will be looked down upon. Rather you should send good wishes to network members for regional festivals or celebrations of another faith. Avoid stereotyping as far as possible. If unavoidable, use ‘Most of the people’ rather than ‘All’. Learn about other cultures and show that you are sensitive. Do not impose opinions and do not judge others
Everyone has the right to hold an opinion as we all see life from their own experiences and perspective. Do not force your opinion down the throat of someone and rather express it politely. Assert your right to have opinions and difference of opinion though. Do not pass judgments on other people; you have not lived their life. Manage your time
Do not waste time on chatting and reading jokes all the time and then blame social media for the time waste. Make constructive use of social media reading motivational & useful stuff and humour once in a while. If you use business</a>/facebook">Facebook for leisure and it recharges you to go back to work with high energy, its fine. But the joke goes, ‘75 % of India is in farming and rest is on Farmville.’ Be well mannered
Is a member of network has posted, ‘Discharged from hospital today’, show your concern. Give ‘Get well soon’ wishes if the person has not fully recovered. Be open minded to new ideas. Be open to listening to new ideas and experimenting with them if need be. Do not be rigid and jump to conclusions too fast. It is not necessary that you accept or apply every new idea but don’t reject it outright and show disrespect. Express your disagreement politely, if need be. Collaborate
Social media makes it easier to network and collaborate. If you learn the softer side of social media, you will automatically be successful. You will be respected by your network and they will validate you as a professional. Then the real journey on social media will begin.
Show your creative side
Write your own experiences once in a while and don’t be a copy-paste guy all the time. Anyone can do copy-paste and it does not reflect your uniqueness or individuality. Don’t let communication gap creep in
Communication is the heartbeat of any relationship. Be precise but give replies and feedback when required. Communication gap is often the cause of misunderstanding and ruins relationships. Communicate on a regular basis and don’t let communication gap creep in. Respect other cultures and faiths
You are bound to connect with people of other cultures on social media. If you make fun of a certain culture, it will be looked down upon. Rather you should send good wishes to network members for regional festivals or celebrations of another faith. Avoid stereotyping as far as possible. If unavoidable, use ‘Most of the people’ rather than ‘All’. Learn about other cultures and show that you are sensitive. Do not impose opinions and do not judge others
Everyone has the right to hold an opinion as we all see life from their own experiences and perspective. Do not force your opinion down the throat of someone and rather express it politely. Assert your right to have opinions and difference of opinion though. Do not pass judgments on other people; you have not lived their life. Manage your time
Do not waste time on chatting and reading jokes all the time and then blame social media for the time waste. Make constructive use of social media reading motivational & useful stuff and humour once in a while. If you use business</a>/facebook">Facebook for leisure and it recharges you to go back to work with high energy, its fine. But the joke goes, ‘75 % of India is in farming and rest is on Farmville.’ Be well mannered
Is a member of network has posted, ‘Discharged from hospital today’, show your concern. Give ‘Get well soon’ wishes if the person has not fully recovered. Be open minded to new ideas. Be open to listening to new ideas and experimenting with them if need be. Do not be rigid and jump to conclusions too fast. It is not necessary that you accept or apply every new idea but don’t reject it outright and show disrespect. Express your disagreement politely, if need be. Collaborate
Social media makes it easier to network and collaborate. If you learn the softer side of social media, you will automatically be successful. You will be respected by your network and they will validate you as a professional. Then the real journey on social media will begin.
About The Author
Dr Amit Nagpal is a Personal Branding Consultant and Social Media Trainer. He is based in New Delhi, India. His philosophy is, "Take charge of your life and your brand". He writes a blog,The Joys of Teaching.
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