How to proofread your business, and avoid those embarrassing “word” mistakes.
We’ve all been there. That moment you hit send on your email, only to glimpse in the last second that you’ve made some awful, embarrassing word blunder that cannot be retrieved. The strange response from a friend to your text, only to realise that the nasty little auto correct function has done it again, and changed your words to something odd or nonsensical.
As a proofreader and copywriter, I’ve seen it all. From the “flesh services sale” (which should have been flash, how awkward is that one?), to the “anal business subscription”, where my client had meant to write annual, of course. We can thank auto correct software for those two.
Then there was the resume where the applicant had misspelt the name of their boss and referee. Not a good interview stand-out, I’m sure.
They’re, their and there — I do not wish to begin my rant about these three. But the errors that people mistake with their business writing which may surprise you the most, are those found on business cards and short content on websites.
Why do these spelling and grammar errors happen, and how can we proofread our business to avoid embarrassment?
Some common reasons why spelling and grammar errors occur in business.
- Familiarity with your branding, your common phrases, product/service descriptions and online business spiel makes it harder to recognise any glaring mistakes.
- The person writing may be time-poor or multi-tasking, causing disruption of concentration to proofread.
- The individual may be cutting/copying and pasting information from another document or email. This can cause errors at the beginning and end of sentences, and paragraphs.
- Spelling and grammar checkers may not be functioning within the application that the person is using.
- The author may be ignoring the spelling and grammar checkers, or they’re unsure which suggestion to select that the checker is offering.
And here are a few more…!
- New business owners can be distracted with logos and artwork on websites and business cards, failing to notice any mistakes with wording.
- There is often the presumption that copy containing a few words or sentences are unlikely to contain any errors. But we know that with business cards or LinkedIn profiles, this is not true.
- There may be a workplace culture that does not value accuracy and professionalism to the degree of written communication in marketing.
How to proofread your business in simple, effective ways.
- Become familiar with any free spelling and grammar checkers that are available to you as your write.
- Utilise a fresh pair of eyes to review and proofread your work if possible. Someone who isn’t overly familiar with the content or industry that you are in has fresh eyes and is well worth the contribution.
- Subscribe to Grammarly and utilise their free or paid subscription services. The more help you can get, the less likely the spelling and grammar mistakes will occur. Do not assume, however, that software checkers are always 100% accurate. Software cannot always understand context, or differentiate between words with multiple meanings. A human eye should always be involved in the proofreading process.
- Avoid multi-tasking while writing and proofreading.
- Leave the proofreading for a while and return to it later for another fresh look.
- Never send important emails that you have quickly composed straight away. First thing Monday morning is not the time to write and send a swift email without time and consideration.
- Proofread website content before publishing and going live. Save as a draft to avoid looking unprofessional. No-one wants to keep returning to your website to find it becomes more polished over time. Start out good!
