Mark your digital presence

Did you ever Google your own name? Did you get any results that directly relate to you? Did you ever try to search for your name in any of the search engines? If your answer is no, mark your presence on the Internet even before others do it for you. Use the Internet as a platform to showcase your expertise and skills and learn more from other experts at the same time. It is not only programmers, designers and journalists who can place their portfolio online. There are many ways in which you can comfortably showcase your expertise and mark your presence online.

Blogs - This can be a good place to begin. You can write anything about everything that you want to share with others. A new mother in California became famous overnight after she began sharing her experiences about bringing up a naughty child from the day one. Use your blog as a personal diary to let the world know more about you. Or try to include some tips about how to perform effectively in your job as a technical writer. Try blogger.com or wordpress.com to begin with a page of your own thoughts and experiences. You can later enhance it to build your own website. Try podcasting. A podcast is an audio file publicly available on the Internet. You can either use the existing podcasts to broaden your knowledge on a particular topic or make a podcast of your own if you have the skills and expertise. Yet, you need not rock your brains on how to make your own podcast. The search engines have many solutions here also. It is just the content that you should own.

Forums and communities – There are innumerable forums and communities relating to almost all job areas – programming, software testing, designing, writing, recruiting, Human Resource management, and even sports communities. Join these forums and you will be surprised at the help that you can get and benefit. People benefit in many ways by sharing their knowledge – they get exposure primarily and get to learn more by listening to the varied doubts of others. Information hoarding is a thing of the past. The netizens are more than willing to cooperate and collaborate. Wikipedia defines a Netizen as a person who actively involves in online communities. You can also enroll into a mailing list that is dedicated to your sphere of work. Search for your particular group on any of the hosting sites and join the group.

Online bookstores – You read enormous literature related to your area of business or operation. Spare a few minutes to comment on a popular book to help others choose the book. You gain advantage by being listed in the search engines thus automatically.

Articles and Contributions - Highly experienced employees can also contribute articles and advice to some websites. There are a host of websites that solicit your articles and advice on various issues. It all depends on your perseverance to find the sites that require your advice. Indeed, there are many sites that have enormous requirement for mentors in many fields. Grab the opportunity to make the best use of your experience.

Advice – There are many places on the Internet where you can give advice to people who have specific doubts in your area of work. Browse through the articles that appear on blogs of reputed people in your area and add your own comments. Share your experiences in your comments and try to solicit responses to your comments. Thus, you get a chance to enlarge your network. Finally, refrain from commenting without any knowledge.

The other side of the coin

There are many people out there waiting for an opportunity to play foul. The danger may come from anywhere - your colleague who is your competitor or a complete stranger playing with your words just for the heck of it. Here are some precautions that you need to take while blogging or writing anywhere on the Internet.

• Refer to your company policies before you actively participate online.
• Refrain from speaking negatively about your company or working atmosphere at your company while you are a part of forums and communities.
• Do not use offensive language while speaking about others. Even though you have the right to criticize others, refrain from blatant criticism.
• Avoid using derogatory language against any group of people. Little statements have the chances to trigger crises.
• Never copy content from another blog or website without specifying the source. Beware of copyrights before you try the copy-paste routine.

To communicate assertively or aggressively

Certain people rule the roost at work with their assertive communication. The submissive ones are contented with every little chance they get to speak. If you are submissive and often feel helpless and cannot represent yourself strongly while communicating, it is necessary for you to re-evaluate your communication style. Your communication style will certainly belong to one of the four common types. You are aggressive where you win and make everyone else lose. You are passive when everyone else wins. The assertive attitude represents a win-win situation. Your communication style automatically becomes effective when other's needs are also met. Most people who are passive blame it on their lack of confidence to confront people. You need to understand that it is like the story of "chicken and egg." Your confidence levels will be boosted only when you become more assertive; yet you need to be confident to try to be assertive in the first place. Here are some steps through which you can make it happen.

1. Make the right move at the right time. Depending on the situation, you should choose between being passive, aggressive, or assertive. If you lack the confidence to deal with a coworker or manager for the first time, you can simulate these situations in a comfortable place and practice regularly until you master the right style.

2. Take charge of the situation by retrieving your positive image. Imagine that things are well under your control and project a positive image about yourself. Recollect the moments in your life when you have excelled and recapture the moments to gain control of yourself and obtain a positive image. Recall the powerful image of the successful you when you are disheartened. This technique keeps you back on track and boosts your confidence level to a great extent.

3. Project the retrieved positive impression. Take responsibility for your communication while creating a positive impression. Put across your views in a polite manner and let others take note of you. Non-verbal communication signals also play a significant role in creating better impressions. Make the best use of the words "I" and “we” while addressing people. With a right mix of non-verbal communication cues, you can easily create a positive impression.

4. Interlace your message with facts. You cannot drive home any point through mere positive interaction. Prepare well and gather all the required facts and present them politely. If you don’t have the sufficient time or if all the facts are not readily available, try to recollect and list out similar situations. Thus, you get an edge in the true sense.

5. Apt body language is a must. Look straight into the eyes when you speak to someone and expect positive interaction. Listen attentively, actively and put yourself in the shoes and seek a solution that benefits both. Try to get detailed answers from others rather than single words such as "yes" and "no." This will facilitate an easy solution within a short period of time. Prepare open questions even before you are ready for the interaction.

Assertive people can interact effectively with people of different styles of communication. Even though aggressive communicators need confronting, take some time to gather thoughts that allows even the other person to calm down. In most of the situations, choose to respond, not react. However, remember the fact that you have the right to speak up and be heard.