Has the Internet and text messaging made us sloppier in the way we communicate? And if it has affected our language skills, does it matter? This is a question a client and I were discussing the other day.
His company just did a big trade show and they had designed a brilliant and highly original campaign with a special handout to show off their work. Unfortunately, they didn’t get to use it. When the materials came back from the printer, there it was right in the headline–the word “definitely” spelled wrong. And now 5,000 copies of this promotional piece with the misspelled word sit in their offices.
Biting the Bullet Point
The hardest thing to swallow about this situation was that six people in the office reviewed it, and not one saw the error. Later that same day, a reporter called me to tell me about a typo I had in a press release. So embarrassing. Just a few minutes later, I had to call another reporter who had a typo in his web story about a client, adding an extra 1 to a figure, which made the number statistically impossible.
So, I wondered, have we gone soft on language and grammar? With our eyes fixed on our Smart phones, computers, IPads and other devices, and our fingers typing out abbreviations and half sentences, have we abandoned the formal rules of language? Have we lost our ability to see bad copy? I think the answer is yes.
When we rush to push things out in a nonstop 24-hour world, typos and poor grammar are almost expected and accepted. Signatures at the end of emails apologize for them. The rules of grammar don’t seem to matter as much, especially when u r texting.
How we present ourselves in the written word matters. Typos, improper usage of language are like an unmade bed—cluttered, uninviting and a little bit scary. It conveys disorder and a lack of professionalism.
So how do you prevent sloppy copy?
1) Use spell check. Sounds obvious but it’s something that people often don’t do. You can set your email to check for spelling and grammar as you can in Word. It will catch most things but not everything.
2) Don’t just rely on spell check. It won’t catch things like writing the word “form” when you meant “from.” Have another set of eyes, preferably someone who is seeing the copy for the first time, read the copy. If you can afford it, have proposals, major reports and other important materials reviewed by a professional copy editor or proofreader. Even having others in your office review won’t be helpful if they are just as familiar with the copy as you are.
3) Print the copy out. Don’t just read it online. Sometimes when copy is printed out, the errors leap off the page.
4) Read backwards. That’s right. Read each word backwards as it forces you to read differently. It also forces you to read more slowly.
5) Put the copy away for a few days and then proof it. If you work alone, as many independent practitioners do, and there isn’t anyone else who can read the copy, give yourself enough time so that you can put it away for three or four days and then come back and proof it. Sometimes the distance, gives you the ability to see what you couldn’t before.
6) Invest in a good style manual like the Associated Press Stylebook (not a typo that’s how they spell it) or The Chicago Manual of Style. I prefer the AP Stylebook as the Chicago Manual tends to be more academically focused. And of course, there is the classic Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Whichever guide you choose, take the time to read it and refer to it often.
Good grammar and spelling are not old fashioned–they are the mark of a professional. We all have to up our game in this regard. I hope there aren’t any mistakes in this copy but if there are, I apologize.
What do you think?
