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54 Comments on What's the big deal about word choice, anyway?
Hi Marte, Excellent insight into our word choices and how effectively we use them. Loved the cosmetics analogy and would liken much of the agent copy writing to a visual image of the ukulele strumming " Tiny Tim " !
Kevin - Yes they do.
Mike - Yes, that's a very moving video. I'm glad Bart shared it with us.
Bill - Darn it! Now how am I supposed to get good copy written today when the sound of Tiny Tim strumming and singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" is running through my head? In a minute I may have to get up and dance.
Yes...my pet peeve is grammer and spelling. I tend to get distracted away from the point. It's a small thing to write for the audience and slow down too...in my opinion
Hi Marte, great post. I see those stop signs all the time, I can't help it. By now, through blogging, I just continue on because not everyone has these skills, and so I read for content. But, what really bugs me is when you see a glaring mistake in a newspaper or magazine. These people have editors, c'mon!
Mis-used or mis-spelled words say "ignorance" to anyone who knows the difference. It isn't that hard to learn correct spelling and grammar, and I wouldn't ever do business with a person who consistently makes mistakes in those areas. It says, to me, that they just don't care about details.
Karen - Slowing down might be the answer to many errors. We all tend to get in a hurry...
Sandy - Yes, here on Active Rain we've gotten acquainted with the people and know that we just want to read their thoughts. We become a bit like family and friends, so a few little errors are overlooked. It's different in a marketing piece going out to a total stranger. Those need to be proofread and edited carefully because they may be the first and only impression a prospect gets.
As for newspapers and magazines, yes, most have editors. You'd think they could avoid the errors. But what really startles me is when a typo stops me mid-sentence in a hard-bound novel. I don't know, the editor at our local weekly newspaper insists on writing "should of" in spite of being told that it's "should have."
Leslie - I can be a whole lot more flexible if I know English is a person's second language. I think ours must be one of the toughest languages to learn - just because we have so many words that mean "kind of" the same thing, but not really.
And then there are the words that look the same, are spelled the same, but mean something entirely different. A year or so back someone took one of my EzineArticles.com articles and ran it through a spinner before posting it on their site. The results were hilarious. Among other things - where I said "you can" (do something) the spinner wrote it as "you crapper" do whatever it was.
I really admire people who try to get it right - and especially the ones who master it.
Love love love the makeup analogy. Perfect!
Marte:
When writing posts, the words "I, me, my" keep creeping into the post. I try to rewrite the sentence. It is always a challenge. Writing post that are memorable are difficult, but I keep trying to get the hang of writing memorable content.
Marte, hey! I get judgmental about people who are sloppy with writing emails. I even try to punctuate my text messages! And once I got a listing because the seller read one of my rare blog posts that did not have any typos.
Marte, I sure will be.
Marte, spot on! if the message is clouded by misspelling or poor grammar, it won't convey clearly to the consumer.
Sharon
Great post Marte. I admit it. I am guilty of torturing the English language on occasion - especially with my punctuation. I really do attempt to avoid this because I'm one of those people who proofreads when I read anything. A misspelled word in a marketing piece will stop me dead in my tracks every time. In my previous career I actually got into trouble because I refused to interview 2 applicants whose resumes contained typos, poor grammar, and "made up" words. I needed detail oriented employees and if an applicant can't submit a well written, properly spelled resume, how are they going to do detail work?
Thank you for these words of wisdom today Marte, hopefully I will remember them when they are needed.
Erica - Thank youi!
Evelyn - If you're relating an experience or giving your opinion, it's pretty hard to do without using I, me, or my. And there really is no need to eliminate them completely. I forget the rule about using a form of "me" vs a form of "you," but it's either 1 to 3 or 1 to 4. Even in a marketing letter, at some point you need to say what you'll do for clients and absolutely need to say "Call me!"
But I do understand what you mean. It's easy to get paranoid about avoiding those words. (I know that from experience.)
Patricia - Punctuating text messages... that sounds like a challenging task. Now that you've said your posts are filled with typos, I'll have to read them more carefully - because I don't remember ever seeing any. Hmmm... maybe you're like me and try to fix them before you hit the send button. (Not that I don't miss one occasionally.)
Tammie - Meanwhile, I'll bet you'll try to guide buyers to a more careful contractor.
Sharon - No. It can try, but it won't succeed.
Iris - Wouldn't it be good if schools taught kids something about getting out in the world and getting a job? I think we've had too many years of preserving students' self esteem. They need to learn early on that sloppy work has consequences.
Bob - So far I haven't seen you forgetting them. Is that something new since the last time I read your blog?
Great Post - I have and always have had problems with "run on" sentences. When I read the stuff I write back to myself, it's awful. I then go back and try to edit out uneeded words. This takes the most amount of my time, because I'm reluctant to "let go" of any of those words. I know the best blogs are the shortest ones.
Debbie - Taking out words you like is difficult for everyone. In fact, copywriters call it "killing your babies."
I don't mind long blog posts, as long as the information flows and is useful. It's when people fill their writing with fluff and keep repeating things that I get bored and have to leave.
There's been a debate over long copy vs short copy for almost ever. Everyone has their own opinion, but the real truth is, your copy should be as long as it takes to convey your message. No shorter and no longer.
As for run-on sentences - I tend to do that as well. Then I have to go back and break things up.
Maybe another way to look at it is allowing the message to be as long as it can maintain interest. Ted Baker on AR writes very long blogs and comments. And I have not problem with that, as I know that I would read it and enjoy it.
Some people Tweet, some write War and Peace. Of course, the latter is a bit longer :)
Jon - That's exactly the way to look at it.
I have a policy that if a property flyer or other advertisement has my name on it, it will be written correctly.
Also, I am amazed at the way purchase contracts are written incorrectly and with spelling errors. This puts the person who wrote the offer at a disadvantage when the sale is being negotiated.
Another pet peeve I have is the way many MLS listings are written with improper grammar and spelling. Because agents subscribe to an auto-e-mail system for their buyers and the public is sent the customer copy of the listing, poorly written listings make all of us look like idiots.
Katie - Good for you. Once it goes out to the public in print... there's no chance for corrections.
As for MLS listings - Judging from the samples Gwen Banta brings us every week, the MLS is filled with not only improper grammar and spelling, but bloopers that should make a home seller cringe.