I read this article by Pete Blackshaw this morning and got a lump in my throat. When my best friend Chris Kelly died last August, I know I had a social media melt down and everyone was so great to me too. I felt a real sense of community from my personal online environment.

Pete makes some valued comments, while I ached for him for his loss of his beautiful sister, it was apparent in this post that he brings his professional advice together with his terrible personal loss. The socialization of the web bring us all back to who we really are.

For sometime now, when I advise company executives and when I give speeches, I talk about humility and using good old-fashioned communication techniques that we were taught from a young age when communicating across the social web.

However it is still hard to find a way through the minefield of how we communicate professionally and how we communicate personally. How we “sell” our message and yet are personable and likeable. One question I often get asked by executives wanting to engage in social media is much to give away personally while remaining authentic in a professional capacity.

Here are some top tips:

• Don’t give away or say anything you wouldn’t offline when meeting people for the first time
• Think of useful valuable conversation starters, it maybe your passion for sports for example, mixed with your passion for your company. This creates a great blend of your personal and professional lives.
• Talk in the first person, be a person not a brand
• Don’t get snarky or in a rage. You may think you will win the argument, but being rationale is better than shouting how “right” you are
• Think always relationship not transaction
• Join the conversation in a contextual and relevant manner
• Build your own personal community with like-minded people. It doesn’t have to be large numbers, few quality contacts in context of your interests is better than thousands.

Feel free to add some more tips