I’ve always enjoyed a good debate. I’m talking about elbows to the table, brows wrinkled with thought, finger-pointing and all. Since I have maintained friendships over the years, there is obviously some decorum displayed. Still, I find a good debate to be healthy and I always respect someone who not only has a point and defends it, but can do so with flair as well as passion.

When it comes to online forums, though, decorum is lacking. Are the same people online who will slice through others’ opinions like a Ginsu knife through a tomato as relentless with their friends and colleagues? Is it assumed that because we are online we don’t have to demonstrate the same comradery we would in person?

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I had an interesting exchange last night. While on Twitter I ran into one of the members of Collaborative Women Connect and she, as we all do, cleverly mentioned a post on her site with a link. Cheerfully, I responded, "I will see your tweet and raise you with a comment," and then invited her to leave a comment for me. It was a short, simple exchange, pleasant and fun and that was it.

But it leads me to ask, why is it we are so hesitant to post comments to blogs and sites even as we're looking for comments for our own? I admit it's rare that I comment on blogs. Even before I had a site of my own I would gladly post comments to others' but only if it was something that really, really, really stimulated me to do so whether or not I knew the owner. And never would I merely post, "Great article!" I almost feel like that's an insult to the poster. Not that everyone needs to be verbose but I'd rather have no comments than a bunch of comments that don't clearly indicate the reader actually read what I took the time to write. I also believe other readers like myself may suspect those lazy comments are left by friends and family.  Still, others may feel any comment's better than none.

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contributed by Aileen Pincus

One of the most important things a businessperson can do — especially an owner or someone who is involved in sales—is learn how to speak about his business to others. Being able to sum up unique aspects of your service or product in a way that excites others should be a fundamental skill. Yet many executives pay little attention to the continuing development of "the elevator pitch" — the quick, succinct summation of what your company makes or does.

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