Connecting Through Online Communities: How Leaders Build Stronger Forums

[StevenM]

In today's digital world, ideas are like the building blocks of success in many areas. Even if you have the coolest idea ever, getting others on board is key for it to thrive. That's why communication skills matter a lot, not just for big CEOs, but for everyday forum leaders. They don't just talk about how important it is to connect – they're great at it, whether it's writing, speaking, or sharing.

Let's look at Jeff Bezos, the mastermind behind Amazon. While he was crafting it, he knew that writing well was crucial. In 2004, he surprised his team by saying no to PowerPoint. Instead, he used "stories with clear titles and sentences" to get his message across.

Other top leaders follow this too. Indra Nooyi, who was at PepsiCo and now advises Amazon, says, "You can't spend enough time on talking and writing." She means, "If you can't make a message simple and exciting, you can't get a bunch of people to follow."

My research for "The Ultimate Forum Guide" uncovered four tricks these leaders use:

1. Keeping It Simple, Even with Tough Topics

Long sentences can be tricky to understand – they make your brain work harder. Short words work better.

Smart economist Daniel Kahneman says, "Don't use big words when small ones work." Good speakers make things easy to understand.

Tools like Grammarly help see how easy writing is to read. If it's like something an eighth-grader can get, it's great. It doesn't mean your writing sounds like a kid. It means your ideas are easy to understand – and that's persuasive.

Writing is a skill, and you can get better. Bezos improved over time. His first Amazon letter in 1997 was like something a tenth-grader wrote. Later, 85% of his letters were for eighth or ninth graders.

For example, in 2007, Bezos talked about why Amazon's Kindle was awesome in a way a seventh grader could understand:

"If you find a word you don't know, you can look it up easily. You can search your books. Your notes and underlines are saved in the 'cloud,' where they can't disappear. Kindle keeps your place in each book you're reading, automatically. If your eyes are tired, you can change the font size. Our dream for Kindle is every book ever printed, all ready in under a minute."

Bezos used short words for big ideas. Making things simple isn't making them less smart. It's being clever.

2. Using Fun Comparisons to Explain Big Ideas

Metaphors compare new stuff to things we know. Metaphors take people on a trip without leaving their seats. Chris Hadfield, a super cool astronaut, did this:

"Six seconds before launch, suddenly, this beast starts roaring like a dragon getting ready to breathe fire. You feel like a little leaf in a big storm… When those engines start, you feel like you're in the grip of a huge dog that's shaking you and hitting you with power."

Roaring beasts, leaves in a storm, a dog's grip – these make sense for something most of us won't see.

In forums, metaphors make tough things easy. Warren Buffett gets this. If you're into business news, you know "moats and castles" – when a company is hard to beat. Buffett talked about it in 1995. He said, "The most important thing we do is find a business with a wide moat, protecting a strong castle with an honest leader."

The castle idea is a fast way to explain a hard thing. When you talk about something new, people want something they know. Give them something new to think about.

3. Making Numbers Feel Real and Relevant

Numbers are more fun when they're like things we know. Charts and stats make brains tired.

Whenever you use numbers, make them cool, easy to remember, and interesting.

For instance, by 2025, people will make 175 zettabytes of data each year. It's a big number, but what if you could put that data on DVDs? They'd go around the Earth 222 times! Still big, but now you can picture it.

Smart guy Neil deGrasse Tyson said, "Turn data into stuff we know." In 1997, NASA sent a probe to Saturn. People thought it cost too much – $3 billion! Tyson compared it to lip balm money. Americans spend more on that every year.

Make numbers make sense to your forum buddies.

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[Nomad]

I started forums after I posted on a lot of forums. I thought I had enough knowledge on how to manage forums. But managing a forum requires a lot of hard work and I wasn't just prepared to that. As a owner of a community, yo should have skills in multiple areas or at least set up a skilled team that can help you run a forum. Building a network with other forum owners and analyzing successful forums can help you become a leader.

[Maria]

You do not become a leader without becoming a worker yourself. Leader is someone who is respected and also feared at the same time. Just like in real life, you need leadership quality to successfully manage your community. You need to create rules that is in the best interest for your community, you also need to enforce these rules, but at the same time also make your staff and users feel at home.

[Kane]

Leadership is a quality that is sought in every where, even in running online communities. However, more than soft skills like leadership, communicative, etc. you need to have skills in digital marketing and SEO to build successful communities.