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Proper English Grammar Is Important for Businesses

By: Amy Nutt

Maybe you were someone who hated grammar class in school. Perhaps you took literature courses whenever possible to escape the drudgery of the grammar classroom. If you ignored grammar in school, it is time for a refresher now, because using proper English grammar could be the life or death of your business. Even if your business has nothing to do with writing, you will write as part of the normal day-to-day activities involved with running a business. When you send an email to your workforce, you are writing. When you draft a sales letter to send to a potential client, you are writing. If you take your business online, you are writing. The quality of your written words can land or lose contracts for your business. If you do not pay attention to grammar, your business will look less than professional, and you as the owner will look uneducated in the eyes of potential clients. When it comes to correspondence within your business, improper grammar can lead to confusion. Many grammar mistakes, including misplaced punctuation, completely change the intended meaning of a sentence. The only way to ensure that your employees know exactly what you want them to do is to write in clear, correct way.

To further understand the need for proper grammar in business, put yourself in the place of your client for a moment. If you are considering whether or not to spend a large amount of money on someone's product or service, do you want to feel confident in that individual's ability to do the job? Of course you do! Often the written word is the first contact someone will have with you and your business. If you do not come across as professional, you will lose some credibility in that individual's eyes. Sometimes a simple grammar mistake that is easily overlooked by you can stand out to your customer. Your customer may not notice anything else about your letter, because that grammar mistake is so glaring. Also, you never know when the person you are negotiating with is a grammar expert. Sure, your potential client is probably not a school teacher, but many people have grammar pet peeves, and ignoring proper grammar could rub your client the wrong way from the very beginning of your professional relationship. Additionally, if you create ad copy that has grammar or punctuation errors, you will lose many more potential customers. A misplaced apostrophe or comma can show quite a bit to your target audience about your attention to detail.

So how can you brush up weak english grammar skills? The good news is that technology can help. Use grammar and spelling checkers on your computer programs whenever possible. These may have been taboo when you were in school, if they were available, but now that you are in the working world, they are going to become your best friend. Second, always wait before sending out a written document if at all possible. Draft that letter to your client, and then put it on your desk for the rest of the day. Come back to it the next day and read it again. You will be surprised at the number of mistakes that pop out at you. If you really struggle with grammar, hire someone to proofread for you. You may have an employee already on staff that can do this for you. Finally, if you are unsure about the proper grammar to use in a situation, rewrite the sentence so that you do not have to use that particular grammar rule. Make sure that all written letters that come from your office are professional and contain proper grammar. It could mean the difference between landing your next contract and losing it!

Article Source: http://www.just-article.com

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