Start with Hello: How to Convert Today's Stranger into Tomorrow's Client

Chapter 10

Digital etiquette and body language

I speak two languages, Body and English.

Mae West

For some strange reason we simply don’t behave the same way online as we do offline. Online our manners and personality go straight out the window — it’s almost as if we’re talking computer to computer rather than person to person. After all, it is a real person sitting behind the computer, a person with feelings and a brain. So unless you’re someone with a personality disorder, or are naturally rude, just be yourself and you won’t go far wrong.

When communicating via computer using email, newsletter or any of the social sites, we still need to convey our personality, our humility and our authenticity just as we do in a face-to-face conversation. Without facial expression, eyes to read and tone of voice to listen to, we could be in danger that the receiver of our message reads something quite different from what we actually intended for them to read. So how can we put some real etiquette in place so that we don’t mess up and give the wrong impression about ourselves when we network and connect with others online?

Using LinkedIn

There are some really simple features on LinkedIn that get brushed over with no thought when we could use them to make the whole experience so much better. Think about when you send a connection request to someone. Do you just send the pre-populated request template that LinkedIn gives you, which states, ‘I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn’, ...