Businesspeople routinely hand out business cards to prospective customers, colleagues, and social acquaintances, both as a marketing technique and for an easy way to keep in touch.

Possibly because of the popularity of business cards, personal calling cards, which in decades past have gone out of fashion, are also making a comeback. Rather than scribble your name and phone number or email address on a scrap of paper, why not hand new acquaintances your personal calling card?

First, you need to decide on a style for your calling card. Designs range from the simply elegant to the boldly colorful; your choice should match your personality and your lifestyle. Second, you need to decide what information to include on your calling card. Traditionally cards include your name, address, and phone number; recently people have added their email address and sometimes their blog or other website address.

A caution: Be careful both in what information you include on your calling card and in the people you choose to share your card with. You don't necessarily want to share your street address with people you don't know, as you don't want certain people showing up at your doorstep unannounced or, in a worst-case situation, stalking you. You also need to be careful of identity theft: The more personal information you share with people, the more you open yourself up to someone misusing that information.

You may actually want to have a couple different calling cards, and hand out your information on an as-needed basis. For casual acquaintances who want to contact you, a card with your name and either phone number or email address is sufficient; for people you need to do business with or who need your full information for a legitimate purpose, you can include your street address and/or post office box as well as your phone number and email address. Another option is to simply have your name embossed on an attractive card and then write whatever information you want to share on the back of the card.

If you create a well-designed calling card and use a few simple precautions, you will find that the simple act of handing out your cards will help you make a memorable impression on new acquaintances and make it more likely that you will hear from them soon, which is your goal.