Does this comment make me look stupid? Ten tips to rock your LinkedIn comment.

The comments section of LinkedIn is a great place to get noticed. For better or for worse. Making a comment in LinkedIn is a lot like making a comment in a job interview only you have the luxury of time to think about what you're going to say. Don't waste the glorious opportunity that LinkedIn provides with a throwaway comment composed in haste that might get you trashed.

Here are ten tips on how to make uncommon commentary that will drive your profile views up, up, up and elicit favourable comments.

1. For heaven's sake, say something! (Or hit the thumb's up button.)

This is the comment equivalent of going to a cocktail party and saying, "I agree!" "You make a good point" "Interesting…" "Nice to meet you". All night long. Comments should respect the reader's desire to compare their reaction to the post to yours, learn something new or laugh.

2. Keep it short. Nobody has time to read a post within a post. The best comments are pithy. No more than three sentences. Leave them wanting more so that the only way they can fulfill the need to partake of a larger sample of your breathtaking prose is to go to your LinkedIn profile.

3. Put your best sentence first. Often the comment feed will show only the first sentence. If it's boring nobody will read on. If it's catchy, they'll want to hit "more".

3. Don't be an echo. An echo. An echo. Read the other comments--or, if there are hundreds, at least read the most recent twenty--and don't repeat what someone else has said. Even if you think you can say it better. If you must reiterate, respond to your favourite among the existing comments. You may make a new like-minded friend.

4. Think different. Read the previous comments and let them sink in for a moment. Now think of an angle nobody has thought of. Standing up and walking around will help stir the creative juices. If a juicy comment doesn't pop into your head in a minute or so, don't waste your time trying to coax your inner Oscar Wilde. Rather than write something half-hearted, move on to the post that makes your heart sing and your fingertips dance along the keyboard.

5. Always be positive. I have had to resort to sticking a pink post-it note to the corner of my screen for this one. Sometimes an article (or the image accompanying an article) will bring out my inner snark. For example, my first impulse upon seeing this image...

above a post about McDonald's offering 24-7 breakfast was to tisk-tisk about the unhealthiness of feasting on sodium and saturated fat. But the article was about business strategy not nutrition and, rather than cave to temptation, I followed the next tip...

6. Do some research and add some value. Rather than tisk-tisk, dig-dig. I did some research into the new CEO of McDonald's, Steve Easterbrook, and discovered a likeable guy. My new and improved comment was based on what I learned about Mr Easterbrook and what, based on his previous behaviour, he seemed likely to do next. And I recalled a nice quarter-pound memory of McDonald's as a treat after skating lessons. I was lovin' the comment section.

7. Stay in your wheelhouse. Don't make comments willy-nilly. Be strategic and decide in advance what kind of posts you will respond to based on your area of expertise. Make each comment a reflection of what's best in your profile.

8. Avoid the "You look lovely today, Mrs Cleaver" comment.

If you must praise Jeff Weiner's update (or somebody similarly influential), be positive but don't gush or you'll look like the LinkedIn equivalent of Eddie Haskell, a shameless sycophant. And saying Jeff looks cute? That's plain stupid.

9. Sometimes the best comment is no comment. Don't comment on posts that you couldn't imagine in the context of a job interview. If there is a political or religious or sexual overtone to a post, keep your comments to yourself. I had to breathe deeply, do a Gloria Steinem meditation and count to Hugh Hefner's lovers (1,056) to avoid commenting on the Playboy bunny wishing everyone a Happy Easter that spawned the most surreal string of flirtatious/outraged comments I have ever seen on LinkedIn. But somehow I kept my fingertips off the keyboard. Remember that it's a job interview, people!

10. The comment section isn't free advertising space. The loss of goodwill isn't worth trying to sneak some free self-promotion into your comment. Your thoughtful comment on the topic at hand is the best kind of self-promotion.

Have you made any commentary boo-boos on LinkedIn or do you have any pet peeves? What advice would you like to share with your fellow LinkedInians in the form of a comment?

Lynne Everatt is a former Globe and Mail Careers columnist, canfitpro-certified personal trainer, and the author of two books, Drink Wine and Giggle and Emails from the Edge (nominated for the Stephen Leacock award for humour). She wants to help fellow LinkedInians avoid making the same mistakes of errant commentary that she has made.