It’s The Little Things That Get You
Recently, I shared a lovely thank you note that I had received from an associate with my mother, a woman who is in her ninth decade of life. While she read the note, I walked away and became absorbed in another matter.
When I returned, I asked if she had a chance to read the note and what her thoughts were about it. The first thing that she said was that the writer used a singular noun with a plural verb. After that comment she then added that the sentiment was genuine and it was important for the person to have taken the time to express it.
Now it is true that my mother is a former educator – once an educator, always an educator. However, when you consider the order of her comments, it is easy to see what influenced her first impression.
To me this very simple, everyday example illustrates the importance of slowing down to proof read written documents – email, letters, reports and other correspondence. We all have to make certain that key ideas are expressed accurately so that errors do not position the best of intentions in second place.
There are those who believe that society is just not that concerned with the occasional error. Yet, isn’t it interesting how we can never be certain what our readers value. How many readers get thrown off of a message because they paused to take in a typo or grammatical error?
There is definitely something to that old adage “the devil is in the details.”
Thursday, July 21st, 2011 | 1:23 pm
Filed under Communication.
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