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In the spirit of blogging, I’ve had suggestions given to me to write about how to effectively participate in a blog discussion. Blogging is a great way to present current topics, provide readers with advice, and send out breaking news updates to keep readers up-to-date.
Discussions on a blog are a beneficial learning process in an online environment. Questions and comments about the topic are presented and answered by other readers—and the writer—to further analyze the issues. Due to the nonparallel nature of many discussions, as well as the absence of tone, gesture, and other non-verbal cues present during in-person conversations, online discussions require a different set of communication skills. The following are tips to most efficiently and effectively participate in online discussions:

• Keep your responses focused on the presented topic.
  Making too many points in one post can be overwhelming and could ultimately lessen the impact of your comment. Focusing your effort on the given topic will help to maintain your organization and clarity.
• Keep posts clean and concise.
  By keeping posts brief, your readability is enhanced and you are still able to contribute your thoughts to the discussion. Instead of drowning your post with loads of background information, consider posting links to other articles that would support your statement.
• Break your thoughts into practical paragraphs.
  By doing so, your post will be much easier for others to read and follow your train of thought.
• If you’re responding to a particular participant’s post, refer to them in your comment.
  Doing so helps other readers to keep track of the conversation and to whom a response is directed.
• Write politely and with respect.
  Though there is room for thoughtful debate on a given topic, avoid aggressive confrontation that will only upset or insult others.

To comment on one of BiggsKofford’s blog posts, you can choose to identify yourself or contribute anonymously. We encourage our readers to participate and provide feedback. After all, we’re all in this to further learn and improve ourselves and/or our business!