When you read a letter which features obvious spelling mistakes, what does it make you feel?
You don’t have to be a member of the spelling and grammar police to find it quite annoying, and if it features on business correspondence or marketing information, it might be enough to give you the completely wrong impression of a particular company.
You see, when written communication is poorly presented, with obvious, simple mistakes made, it makes the person reading it think that the company who produced that piece of work are equally as sloppy and unprofessional with their products and services too.
Aside from anything else, it’s quite irritating to read obvious spelling mistakes.
The number one rule of any type of written communication is to proofread everything before you send it out!
Check out this infographic which highlights some of the most common spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes made.
Source - https://bid4papers.com/blog/spelling-grammar-punctuation-mistakes/
Of course, it’s normal to make mistakes from time to time, especially if you’re rushed or you’re experiencing one of those regular 3pm energy dips, but that is not an excuse for poor quality written communication - proofreading takes a few minutes at the most.
Why is Poor Quality Written Communication a Serious Deal Breaker For a Business?
We’ve already talked about the impression it sends out to the reader, but if you’re sat at your office desk, bashing out emails to customers and clients and you’re not taking the care or attention to ensure that the written word is correct, they could very easily become so annoyed at having to try and work out what you mean, that they move to a competitor.
It sounds like a simple and rather pointless reason to move businesses, but it does happen.
The wrong type of punctuation can also cause misunderstandings too. It only takes the absence of a comma or a full stop in the wrong place and the meaning of the sentence is completely changed. In that case, you’re not transmitting the right message and you’re running the risk of the person reading it to get the completely wrong idea.
These days we rely upon our written communication skills more than ever before. We tend to sit in our office chairs and we write emails rather than picking up the phone, so as a result, it’s even more important to ensure that the basics are covered. Improper spelling, grammar and punctuation is a serious barrier to effective communication and in terms of the impression it sends out to your readers, it’s quite a serious one too.
If you want your business to succeed, and we assume that you do, then you need to make sure that every piece of information and communication that leaves your contemporary office is accurate and written in the right tone. Not covering the basics shows sloppy work, and it shows that you’re simply not professional.
There are also some people, far more than you might think, who look at poorly written communication and shudder. It’s annoying to many people these days, in some cases to the point of offence! Do you really want to offend your customers simply because you couldn’t take a couple of minutes to proofread an email or letter before sending it out?
Far too often, business success relies upon the small details rather than the huge marketing campaigns and ideas. If you’re not mindful of these small problems, you’re going to slowly start poisoning the potential of what your business is capable of achieving.
So, how can you ensure that the written communication produced by your employees is top-notch?
- Encouraging employees to proofread
- Using Grammarly as an online spelling, grammar and punctuation checker
- Ensuring that the right message has been conveyed in a clear and concise manner
- Ensuring that employees are aware of the importance of checking the basics
Just a minute’s worth of double-checking could save a lot of trouble in the future.