by Steve Adubato, PhD

Talk about a communication nightmare. There is not much more to say about the Anthony Weiner fiasco, but there are some important communication lessons that can be learned for all professionals.

This column is not about morality or politics. It is about business and business communication. Think about how absurd Mr. Weiner's communication strategy was after he was confronted with accusations of bizarre Twitter messages. He not only denied it, but proactively attacked saying that he believed his account was "hacked" into. Later on he said the pictures "could" be him. Ultimately, with no alternatives, he acknowledged this past week that all of the pictures and text messages on Twitter were his.

Here's the deal. Even in trying to come clean, Weiner's communication strategy was seriously flawed. He insisted that he in no way was involved in a cover up, when in fact, published Twitter messages from Ginger Lee revealed the following message from Weiner himself; "The key is to have a short, thought out statement that tackles the top line questions and then refer people back to it. Have a couple of iterations of: 'This is silly. Like so many others, I follow Rep. Weiner on Twitter. I don't know him and have never met him….'"

Not only did Weiner's communication strategy include covering up the facts, but he put in writing exactly how the cover up was going to take place. What WAS he thinking? Weiner has broken so many basic professional communication rules. It's mindboggling. Here are some to consider.

-- If you are applying for a job, always remember that if you have a Twitter account and are sending embarrassing pictures of yourself at a party or wherever, you potentially have a problem. Employers are aggressively looking for such information. My advice? If you have pictures posted now, get them off. If confronted, acknowledge that it's you. Tell the truth and don't try to cover up. Say it was a stupid mistake, take responsibility for your actions, and make it clear what you've learned.

-- Stop looking at social media as a form of communication that is separate from your professional life. It's not. The lines are blurred. Virtually anyone can get access to all kinds of images and posts that you think are just the purview of a select few "friends". If you are a serious person looking to have a career in business, stop posting pictures of yourself in your underwear with a lampshade on your head at a summer bash. It communicates that while you love to party, and that's great, you also have really bad judgment for making your partying public. And if an employer thinks you have bad judgment in this area, they are likely to think you will have bad judgment as someone that works for them.

-- Now let's talk about the old communication axiom—"The best defense is a good offense." It sounds great in theory, but you better have the facts on your side. If you are lying, this is about the worst communication approach around. Anthony Weiner must have convinced himself that if he raised his voice and, in front of dozens of cameras, called a CNN producer a "jackass" that somehow he would show he was tough. In fact, all it did was make him look defensive and encouraged many to dig deeper to find out the truth. Simply put, when you conduct yourself in such an arrogant fashion, you invite people to come after you.

-- When confronted with a mistake, or some really terrible thing you've done, never lie because it usually comes back to haunt you. It's what our parents told us, and our teachers reinforced, but in the end, it's all pretty simple, don't you think?