Tips on Encouraging Forum Conversation
C.D. Mohatta
October 29, 2007
There are many effective little techniques that encourage forum posting. One of the tricks that helps to encourage forum conversation is to end some of your posts with leading questions. "What do you think?" "How do you do it?" "Does anyone know how to ____?" Questions give an easy opening for the next person to post, just as they help foster conversation in real life.
If you start a new thread, it often is more successful if your first post is short and asks a question, as opposed to being several paragraphs in length that cover a topic more thoroughly. This is kind of surprising because you might have thought a longer post would be more intriguing, but try it and see! You'll notice a difference. So, even if you've thought about a topic a lot, try not to say much in the first post. This lets other people be "experts" too and they will enjoy the conversation.
In writing classes they often teach you to write strong. Strong writing is well thought out, authoritative, doesn’t use the word, "I," has good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. But on a forum, it can intimidate others so that they won't post. If instead you say, "I think," "Gosh, how do you spell that?" include personal stuff, and so forth, it makes the writing less formal and more like you're sitting across the cafe table from an old friend! This makes others comfortable so they are more likely to open up.
Compliments about what someone posted before you also helps any of the readers to be comfortable posting because they interpret it as a friendly, gentle place. Whether face to face or online, other people will like it when they receive positive comments or are asked questions. It simply makes people feel like they are being listened to, and we all like that!
Timing is also important in encouraging good conversation on a forum. It's better to post two or three responses at a time every three or four hours, than to sit down for evening to post because it keeps the forum fresh and people get the feeling someone is always there for them to talk to. If they check in an hour or two after they posted and they see responses, well of course they'll be more likely to get involved in the forum than if they have to wait a day for a response.
If you start a new thread, it often is more successful if your first post is short and asks a question, as opposed to being several paragraphs in length that cover a topic more thoroughly. This is kind of surprising because you might have thought a longer post would be more intriguing, but try it and see! You'll notice a difference. So, even if you've thought about a topic a lot, try not to say much in the first post. This lets other people be "experts" too and they will enjoy the conversation.
In writing classes they often teach you to write strong. Strong writing is well thought out, authoritative, doesn’t use the word, "I," has good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. But on a forum, it can intimidate others so that they won't post. If instead you say, "I think," "Gosh, how do you spell that?" include personal stuff, and so forth, it makes the writing less formal and more like you're sitting across the cafe table from an old friend! This makes others comfortable so they are more likely to open up.
Compliments about what someone posted before you also helps any of the readers to be comfortable posting because they interpret it as a friendly, gentle place. Whether face to face or online, other people will like it when they receive positive comments or are asked questions. It simply makes people feel like they are being listened to, and we all like that!
Timing is also important in encouraging good conversation on a forum. It's better to post two or three responses at a time every three or four hours, than to sit down for evening to post because it keeps the forum fresh and people get the feeling someone is always there for them to talk to. If they check in an hour or two after they posted and they see responses, well of course they'll be more likely to get involved in the forum than if they have to wait a day for a response.
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