I’ve always paid attention to the phrase, “people judge you by the words you use” or “it’s better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove any doubt.” While those are important things to keep in mind, it’s also important to pay as much attention to your written words as well and maybe even more so. Once your words are written, especially on the internets and email, you can’t get them back. This post really isn’t going to get into the content of what you write, instead we wanted to point out that how you right can make all the difference. What I mean by that is, using proper grammars, a spel checker or knowing What words to capitalize or not. Also, a huge area is being sure to use the right words in there simplest form. I can’t tell you how often I read email and other forms of communication in business only to see simple words like “hear” and “here” misused. Or, “there” and “their… did you catch that in the previous sentence? Anytime your writing an important email or putting something out in the electronic media world, do it with the understanding that it’s a permanent record of you. People will judge your intelligance by it and they will make assumptions “writely or wrongly” about you because of it. When I see someone make these types of mistakes on a regular basis I really begin to wonder if he truly don’t know the difference between some of these words. I start to question his basic knowledge of the English language. This isn’t a good thing if your boss or customers feel the same way about you. It can have a negative impact on your career.
Also, understand that a business memo or email or a letter to your customer is not a Tweet or Facebook post. Avoid the abbreviations, smiley faces, ALL CAPS, etc.
Hears a suggestion… anytime you send an important email, memo or something like that to communicate with you team, your boss, your customers, etc., have someone proof it before you send it. Read it more that once yourself before sending it. Remember, you’re written word will define you.
P.S. How many errors did you find in this post? Don’t judge me… just tryin to make a point.
Excellent post!