What to ask before you respond online is the subject of this Short video for business owners, authors and creators who answer comments. Take a second, breathe, respond and consider that your responses and your replies could be some of the first things that new people see from you.
This video first went up on YouTube on May 19, 2025. The written post was added on November 7, 2026.
Table of Contents
What Is One Question to Ask Before You Respond Online?
Before you respond online, one question can help: is this helping me today, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year, or could it hurt me? Replies in a comment thread may be some of the first impressions new people have of you, in Loren Weisman’s view.
- Taking two seconds to breathe before replying can change how a response comes across.
- Bashing someone back may not help, even when you are objectively in the right.
- Staying subjective and calm can work for good and bad comments alike.
- A kind, upbeat reply may draw new connections, customers and clients.
Before You Respond Online: The Full Transcription
One Question Before You Reply
Before you reply to a comment or make a response on a video, podcast, image, whatever, something that you’ve put up on social media or online or on your website, take two seconds to ask, is this helping me today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year? Or is this potentially going to hurt me?
My name is Loren Weisman. I’m a brand communications and optics strategist. And something I want you to consider today is the idea that in responding in comments, positive or negative, to just take a second to breathe and realize that some of the first impressions you have with others may be seen in a comment thread.
When Someone Bashes Your Work
Now, somebody doesn’t like a product, a book, a service or whatnot and they start bashing it, and then your immediate reaction is to bash them. That may not help you out. You could be completely, objectively and substantially in the right, but for people that are first coming across to you, are they going to see that or are they going to want to dig any deeper?
Or are you going to remind them of issues that they’ve had in the past? My recommendation is regardless of whether it’s good or bad, stay subjective, stay calm. Somebody doesn’t like somebody, somebody starts attacking.
Don’t necessarily apologize. But okay, that’s your opinion. I see a lot of other people with a lot of different opinions from yours. Wish you all the best.
Replies as First Impressions
Your kindness and your strategic communication to keep things upbeat could grab new people, new connections, new customers and new clients to feed into you and get a sense of you as opposed to just another person out there that goes into bitter attacks, that goes into the defense, that goes into just these counter things that don’t need to be there.
Take a second, breathe, respond and consider that your responses and your replies could be some of the first things that new people see from you.
Reactive Language in My Talks
Keeping the emotion in the delivery while taking the reactive, sensational and legal accusation language out of your own words on purpose.
- Brand Communications Speaking and Keynotes
- Services
- Out of the Line of Fire: Protect Your Podcast From Claims, Lawsuits and Attacks
Questions and Answers
How do you reply to a negative comment online?
A reply to a negative comment can stay subjective and calm, for example by noting that it is their opinion and wishing them well. An apology may not be needed, and a counter attack may not help, as I see it. In my before you respond online video I suggested taking two seconds to ask whether a reply is helping me today, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year, or potentially going to hurt me.
Why can arguing in a comment thread hurt you?
Arguing in a comment thread can shape the first impression new people get of you. Even when you are completely in the right, they may not dig any deeper, and the exchange may remind them of issues they had in the past. In my video I described someone bashing a product, a book or a service, and I said an immediate reaction to bash them back may not help you out.
Can a kind reply to a comment bring in new clients?
A kind, strategic reply can keep things upbeat and may grab new people, connections, customers and clients. It can set you apart from people who go into bitter attacks and defense. In my video I said your responses and your replies could be some of the first things new people see from you, so I suggest taking a second, breathing and then responding.
More Videos and the Podcast
- Brand Comms and Ops: All Things Considered Shorts on YouTube
- Loren Weisman Video Shorts on YouTube: 20 More
- Wait What Really OK podcast
Loren Weisman is a Brand Communications and Optics Strategist who specializes in illuminating authoritative intelligence and amplifying authentic experts.
Weisman is the host of the brand communications and optics podcast Wait What Really OK.
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Before You Respond Online, Ask One Question