Some people bite their nails, some people chew the end of their pencil and some people play with their hair… my annoying habit – my ability to zoom into the tiniest of spelling mistakes.
I don’t know why but somehow I can spot a spelling mistake a mile off, especially when it comes to other people’s work.
Everybody should take spelling and grammar mistakes very seriously, not because I’ll notice, but because their potential customers will.
A spelling mistake says that you don’t take care in your appearance and you’re not bothered what you look like. You’re not a perfectionist, you’re rushed and if you’re too busy to take pride in yourself why would a customer trust you to take care of them?
What is even more frustrating is that when you see professionally printed display pieces (like the one in the image above) not only has the graphic designer missed the mistake but so has the account manager, along with the client AND the printer.
This is why it is absolutely crucial that you find your very own office spell checker, who shares my annoying habit.
I say annoying because I notice every spelling mistake from online newspapers (would you believe I found a mistake in The Times Online,) to clothing descriptions and restaurant menus.
Chances are, I’m not the only one with the ‘spell checking ability,’ which means there are plenty of potential clients/customers out there likely to spot a mistake, so make sure you don’t make one.
My advice for you would be to proof read your content or whatever it is you’ve written out loud. Better still; get someone else to read it.
An even simpler tip would be to copy your content and paste it into Microsoft Word. Spell checker will instantly highlight all your mistakes with a red or green line. Simple you think? Yes, you’re right but seriously, you wouldn’t believe how many mistakes I’ve found this way in copy that I’m re-writing for clients.
Unfortunately for me, now I’ve claimed to be ‘the office spell checker’ I’m literally going to have to go through this with a toothcomb – damn.
