Here’s an excerpt from a quarterly bulletin that one of our clients
asked us to review.
“….Nothing could be farther from the truth. Irregardless of the pandemic, we’re
actually heading towards a record year. Our gross margin went from 60% to 80%. That’s
a 20% improvement, even though we had less full-time people on staff than in
2019. That positively effected our bottom line. That was a no-brainer. At the
end of the day, our team
is comprised of top-notch professionals who think outside the box (see Team
page of our web-site). That insures our clients remain very happy with us. With
regards to 2021, it goes without saying we are very optimistic. We just haven’t
decided who we’ll go to the awards show with.”
Ouch! This excerpt is
riddled with credibility killing errors, many of which will not be flagged by
your spell checker or grammar checker. How many red flags do you see in the
paragraph above?
As President-elect Biden would say, “C’mon,
man!”
Let’s take a closer look:
“….Nothing could be farther from the truth. Irregardless of the pandemic, we’re actually heading
towards a
record year. Our gross margin went from 60% to 80%. That’s a 20%
improvement, even though we had less full-time people on staff than in 2019. That positively effected our bottom
line. That was a no-brainer.
At the end of the day, our team is comprised
of top-notch professionals who think outside the box (see Team page of our web-site). That insures our clients remain
very happy with us. With regards
to 2021, it goes
without saying we are very optimistic. We just haven’t decided who we’ll go to the
awards show with.”
1. Further vs. farther.
Generally.. Use farther only
when you are referring to distance, literal or figurative.
Use further only to mean “more”
-- It’s farther away than I'd thought. (farther = at a greater distance,
physically).
-- Further research is needed. (further = more)
-- I do not want anything further to do with this mess. (further = more)
2. Irregardless vs. regardless.
While “irregardless”
is technically a word, DON’T use it in your writing! When speaking, there are
some in which “irregardless” can be used emphatically to shut down a conversation,
but most people will think you are lazy or uneducated when you use such a double
negative form even though the word is in the dictionary. Instead, go with the
simpler “regardless” when you mean
to say “without concern” or to insinuate advice, warning, or hardship.” Still
stuck on using irregardless? Consult this video tutorial first.
3. Towards vs. toward.
Towards (plural) is NOT a word. Don’t ever use
it if you want people to take you seriously.
4.
From 60% to 80%
Ok. We have a lot going
on here...
·
First,
modern business style is to lead with the most recent number (80%) and finish
with the oldest number (60%) when making a comparison. Go with “….margin
improved to 80% from 60%.
·
Second,
and perhaps most egregious, our client made a math error. If something improved
to 80% from 60%, it was an improvement of 20 percentage points, but
80 is 33% MORE than 60. That’s an improvement of 33.33 PERCENT!
·
Finally,
in keeping with AP style, you should spell out percent in most cases, with a few exceptions. We
use the percent sign (%) in these circumstances:
-- Tables and in technical
or scientific writing.
-- Headings and subheadings.
-- Interface labels
-- Captions and
infographics
We use the % percent sign in these cases to improve content’s scannability,
allowing readers to digest the content more quickly.
5. Less vs. fewer.
Fewer should be
used when discussing countable things, while less is used for singular
mass nouns.
EXAMPLE: You can have fewer ingredients,
dollars, people, or puppies, but less salt,
money, honesty, or love. If you can count it, go for fewer. If you can’t, opt
for less.
6. Effect vs. Affect.
Effect,
when used as a noun, means result. As a verb, it means to cause. Affect,
when used as a verb, means to influence.
-- The storm affected outdoor
events across the Midwest.
-- If I listen to his advice, it may affect my life in
ways I can’t begin to imagine.
-- When they worked as a team, Sam and
Jim achieved the effect they desired.
-- She believed that the cause was much less important than the effect.
7. “A no-brainer”
This jargon can be replaced with “easy” or “simple” or “not
complicated.”
8. “At the end of the day”
If you really need a summary phrase, go with "finally"
or "ultimately" instead. Try leaving off the jargon and see if your
sentence reads fine without it.
9.
Comprise vs Compose.
Comprise means “to
include” or “to be composed of.” A basketball team comprises five players.
Comprise is often misused for compose. It’s
common for speakers to say that a basketball team “is comprised of five
players” instead of “is composed of five players.”
If you want to be
completely safe from criticism, you should use composed of and
not comprised of.
10. "Think outside
the box”
People often use this phrase when talking to new job recruits or
when encouraging creative thinking. Why not simply say, “we need more
creativity”?
11. Website.
It’s one word. No hyphen.
12. Ensure vs. Insure
To ensure something is
to make sure it happens—to guarantee it. To insure something or someone
is to cover it with an insurance policy
13. With regard to vs. With regards to
With regard to is a preposition that signals a reference to the
subject of a sentence. With regard to is the correct phrase. With regards to
is a spelling error. You can send someone your regards, but in this case we are
talking about “in reference to,” so keep it singular.
14. “It goes without saying”
If it goes without saying, then why the hell
are you saying it?!?!
15. Who vs. Whom
In a sentence, who is used as a
subject. Examples:
Who would like to go on vacation?
Who made these awesome quesadillas?
Whom is
used as the object of a verb or preposition. Examples:
To whom was the letter addressed?
Whom do you believe?
I do not know with whom I will go to the prom.
Now read the revised paragraph:
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Despite the pandemic, we’re heading toward a record year. Our gross margin improved
to 80 percent from 60 percent. That’s a 20 percentage-point improvement, despite
having fewer full-time people on staff. Our team is composed of top-notch professionals,
who always make our clients happy. With regard to 2021, we are very optimistic.
We just haven’t decided with whom we’ll go to the awards show.
Not perfect, but hopefully
the revised paragraph sounds more fluid and economical to you.
Conclusion
I was a C student in high school English, by the
way. Basic grammatical blocking and tackling is something I worked hard to improve
over my career. You can, too. I just takes a little practice and discipline. Think
of it as a new exercise routine for your brain. If nothing else, just don’t be
a lazy writer or jargon-filled communicator. Your reputation is at stake.
As the old grammarian joke goes: The supermarket cashier understood that
the phrase "12 Items or Less" violated a received rule of
grammar. She just wished fewer people would complain to her about it.
For tips on improving your speaking and presentation skills, see Tina
Dietz’s recent guest post 6 Tips for Being a Great Podcast Guest
Do you have a grammar pet peeve? What’s your take? I’d love to hear from
you.
#bestpractices #clearwriting
#businesscommunication #grammarflaws
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