As you’re reading this, and you hopefully have already read the first part of this blog, The 10 Most Common Grammar Errors Part 1, you may think, this is not relevant to you, but don’t underestimate the power of words and the correct use of language. Even if you run a different business, you need to have an online presence and the kind of impression you give will influence your potential customers’ trust in you.
Why Bother With Grammar
When You're Not a Writer?
Cheap and cheesy pictures together with bad language will deter most people from hiring your services or buying your products. You see, people will judge you based on the first impression they glean of you and this first impression is usually derived from the quality of your posts on social media. If those are of poor quality, people will assume that your services and products are also of poor quality.
When people see you neglect one important area of your work, and social media posts are a vital part of it, precisely because they create the first impressions, they will ask themselves whether you lay emphasis on quality in other areas, namely the services and products you offer as well.
I once saw a YouTube video showing an interview with David Garrett. The world-famous violinist who holds the Guiness Book of Records world record for being the fastest fiddler in the world said that he looks at people’s teeth first.
His reasoning was that it takes time, dedication, discipline and consistency to keep your teeth healthy and clean. He said that if people’s teeth are bad, that is an indication for them not thriving for excellence consistently and this meant, they would not succeed in being outstanding in anything because they give up too easily.
But let’s continue our list of basic grammatical rules.
Grammar Error #3
This is what people get wrong a lot of the time, so let me explain the meaning behind each of them:
Please, make sure, you are clear on which one is appropriate to use in any given context.
Grammar Error #4
Singular & Plural (One & Several)
This is INCORRECT, because the verb does not only refer to you, but also to your team, so it’s all of you who are doing or being something.
The CORRECT form is:
Incidentally, take care that you don’t name yourself first (I and my team), because this is considered bad taste. It makes you look egotistical and self-centred. A little humility and polite address go a long way, especially when you’re offering services. Then you will want to show your prospective client that you are considerate of others.
If you’d like to learn some more about simple grammatical rules, but can’t face working your way through a dry textbook full of technical terms, I greatly recommend the following book by Patricia T. O’Connor, Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English. I promise, rather than falling asleep over it or tearing your hair out by the roots, you’ll be laughing tears.
Take time to learn this and if you have any questions, don’t be shy to pop me a mail to info@tirzaschaefer.com and ask. I’m happy to help make this world a better place and quality in the use of language is part of this.