Promotions, Sales, and Success are tied to
Superior Writing Skills
The
proliferation of text messages as the preferred method for personal
communication has spilled over into the workplace. Short quips and acronyms
like lol, omg, and smh are weaving their way into business emails and they are
eroding the usual formal format for inter-office communiqués. There seems to be
a waning sense of urgency regarding grammar rules and precise spelling, but if
you want
to succeed in the workplace you would be prudent to keep them in your
repertoire.
A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review found that:
- Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their profiles reached higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position within the first 10 years of their careers made 2.5 times as many grammar mistakes as their director-level co-workers.
- Fewer grammar errors correspond with advancement. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45% more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same time frame.
- Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20% more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period. This could be explained in a couple of ways: People with better grammar may be more ambitious in their search for promising career opportunities, or job-hoppers may simply recheck their résumés between jobs.
Good Grammar – Onward
and Upward!
Spell check will usually catch typos and other spelling
errors, but grammar analysis is very complex, requiring a deep understanding of
the relationships between words. For this reason, many employers will examine
an applicant’s cover letter as carefully as their resume.
The ability to memorize procedures demonstrates one skill
set, but the capacity to think through unexpected deviations from the norm is
what employers often desire. Building a properly structured sentence tells
demonstrates you can think.
If you are a sales professional, please pay special
attention to this:
In 2013, communication experts Global Lingo polled 1,029 adults
on their attitudes towards online browsing and purchasing. The results were
that 74% notice the quality of the spelling and grammar on the websites they
visit. Also, 59% reported that bad grammar and egregious spelling errors would
make them reconsider making a purchase from that website.
Wordzen editors review your outgoing messages and
then craft a message that is grammatically correct, with solid sentence
structure, and the tone and clarity necessary to make your point. Now,
with Wordzen’s voice-record option it’s even easier to send messages and save
time.
Labels: business, communication, grammar
