Write Right When You Write
June 20th, 2008Does it turn you off when you’re introduced to someone by your given name and few seconds later that person addresses you by the wrong name? Tom rather than Tim? Or June instead of Jane? And then, in an obvious attempt to commit your name to memory - the wrong name, that is - that person repeats the error several times more?
While most of us are too polite - or too timid - to correct that person, their continuing the error can make you want to shake him or her by the shoulders and say, “Hey, can’t you get it right?”
Being on the receiving end of an error-riddled written document, no matter what kind or from whom, can have the same effect: “Hey, can’t you get it right?”
There’s no excuse for sloppy grammar, punctuation or spelling. Reasons, perhaps. But not excuses. Nothing can or does excuse such errors.
The one reason I’ve run into most often seems to originate with members of the under-40 crowd. When it comes to the rules of proper grammar, punctuation and spelling, I believe if they were taught at all, those rules were seldom reinforced.
Forgive me if it seems like I’m picking under-40 generation - that’s not my intent - particularly since it’s not their fault. But let me share with you one of countless true stories I’ve heard supporting that belief.
Some 20 years ago, when a sophomore in high school, a young man came home one day, proud as a peacock, with a science paper on which, at the top of the page, in red ink, his teacher had written and circled a big “A.” Under that circled “A” the teacher had written “Great Work!”
He and his parents, both friends of mine, knew that an “A” in science was no easy accomplishment. Certainly not from this particular teacher who had a reputation for being demanding. Science, after all, is a rather precise field of study.
The young man’s dad, also a writer, proudly began reading his son’s “A” paper. Then he did something instinctively, something he should not have done. He began mentally ticking off the spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in his son’s paper. As he finished the first page, he looked up at his son and asked, “How can this be an ‘A’ paper with nine errors just on one page.?”
The son, as you might expect, answered his dad defensively, “Because that stuff doesn’t make any difference.”
Puzzled, the father asked “And why not?” to which his son responded, “Because my science teacher doesn’t care about spelling or any of that other stuff. That,” he said pointing at the paper in his dad’s hand, “is a science paper, and I got all the science part right.”
Regardless of whether you’re under or over 40, life in the real world isn’t as forgiving. Everything you write in the real world is a reflection of who you are, what you know, and what your values are, of what you’re capable of doing and being. That’s particularly true in the real world of business.
While sloppy grammar, spelling and punctuation may be overlooked by a friend reading a casual letter or email you’ve written, that’s not going to happen with your business letters. Such errors there have at times been known to be “fatal” because they’ve changed the original intent of the document.
Errors are particularly significant in the emails you write because emails can take on a life of their own. They’re often forwarded to people you may not have met - in fact, may never meet - people who, based on your poorly written email, form a lasting opinion about you, perhaps even decide your future.
The bottom line is that regardless of which side of 40 you happen to be on, if you’re gonna write, whatever you write, write right. Or should I say “write correctly?”
© 2006, Philip A. Grisolia, CBC
Phil Grisolia is an accredited Certified Business Communicator (CBC), an author, educator, business coach, and an award-winning copywriter. To learn more about Phil, and for a free subscription to his free newsletter - Making Sense of Marketing (TM) - visit his website: PhilGrisolia.com
Tags: communication, documents, email, emails, legal, letter writing, report writing, reports, writing