On July 12th, AT&T tweeted, “Athletes from #TeamUSA just don’t inspire fans. They are inspired by them…”

They just don’t inspire their fans? Whoops. The consequences of bad grammar can be disastrous. And keep in mind that with mistakes like this, a spellchecker is not enough. The anonymously authored poem, “Ode to My Spell Checker,” is a prime example:

Eye halve a spelling checker 
It came with my pea sea. 
It plainly marks four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea. 

Eye strike a quay and type a word
And weight for it to say 
Weather eye yam wrong oar write. 
It shows me strait a weigh

As soon as a mist ache is maid. 
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite. 
Its rare lea ever wrong. 

Eye have run this poem threw it, 
I am shore your pleased to no. 
Its letter perfect awl the way. 
My checker told me sew.

Writing today is more important than ever, but it seems we have become lazy. A recent survey by Netcraft’s claims there are over 644 million active websites on the Internet, and almost every one of those would be filled with the written word. And in today’s competitive business world, one slip-up could cost you a lot. The problem is that people don’t even know when they have made a slip-up. This is why you need to make a conscious effort to keep up with proper grammar and punctuation.

When you write well, you portray an intelligent and professional individual, and you will stand out from others who don’t. When searching for an assistant recently, the ones who caught my eye were the ones that knew how to use a comma and a full stop. Their caring about the job started from the very beginning, when they showed care for the details. And I like it too when they learn quickly from any minor mistakes that I point out.

Isn’t it time that you put a bit of extra effort into writing clearly and concisely, with attention to good punctuation and grammar? Start today!

Check out the A-Z of Business Writing Blunders here, Shirley’s super new minibuk.

Have you seen the A-Z of Business Writing Blunders on video? Check out Shirley’s YouTube channel here.