With the use of on-line Social Media on the rise focus continues to move towards effective communication on-line  But what does that mean?

Consider the following:
FIRST COMMUNICATION: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision

SECOND COMMUNICATION: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision

ONE: Negative.  You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision

TWO: This is the captain of a Navy Ship.  I say again, divert YOUR course

ONE: No, I say again, you divert YOUR course

TWO: This is the Aircraft Carrier Delta, the second largest ship in our fleet.  We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels.  I DEMAND that you change your course 15 degrees north.  I say again, that’s one-five degrees north, or counter measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

ONE: This is a lighthouse.  Your call.

Although this example may seem humorous and slightly extreme it’s still a good metaphor for what can happen with communication that is ambiguous and could possibly be construed as aggressive. 

I continue to have many discussions around the topic of Emotional Intelligence and it’s place within the realm of Social Media.  As it is off-line, when engagement drops off because of loss of confidence, fear or lack of trust there will be a downward spiral effect on further engagement and productivity which can eat into an organizations performance and profitability.  However, when there is buy-in of all stakeholders then that can only lead to a win-win for all parties.  To build this engagement on-line it involves capturing the hearts and minds of the audience by sharing and communicating along with rewarding and recognizing performance.