Don't Spoil Everything with Bad Grammar

Butler Street
You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
By: Mike Jacoutot

In the spirit of talent development, and to deviate just a little from my normal Monday morning blogs, I think one of the worst things a salesperson or a recruiter can do is to write an email or an InMail with bad grammar. 
 
It is your first impression.  Any client worth selling, or “A” player worth recruiting will take a pass on interacting with you. In the past two weeks, I have received multiple emails and LinkedIn messages littered with grammatical errors and misspellings. 
 
While not one of the ones on our precious list, yesterday I identified the misuse of the word principle for the word principal.  Ten minutes before the webinar started, I asked that it be changed!   You never get a second chance to make a first impression. 
 
Eight Common Grammatical Errors to Avoid

1. Don’t say or write, “between you and I.”  The correct form is “between you and me.”  “Between” is a preposition like “with” or “from,” so it needs the objective pronoun “me.”
2. Don’t confuse the contraction “it’s” with the possessive “its.”  This is one of my problem areas, but I am a recovering contraction addict.  “It’s” is a contraction for “it is.”  “Its” is a possessive pronoun. Correct:  “It’s a nice day.” “The cat hurt its paw.”
3. Don’t use “loose” when you mean “lose.”  When you lose your dog,   it’s lost.   When you lose a game, you lost.  When you loosen your belt, it’s loose.  This is one of the ones I see the most on LinkedIn. 
4. Don’t confuse “their,” “there,” and “they’re.” “Their” is possessive. “There” is a location and “they’re” is a contraction for “they are.” 
5. Don’t use “their” when a singular pronoun is correct.  Incorrect:  Each employee must fill out their application.  Correct:  Each employee must fill out his or her application.  Honestly… I have made this mistake more than once!
6. Don’t write “alot.”  The correct form is two words: “a lot.”
7. Don’t write “all ready” except as in “we are all ready to watch the movie.”
8. Don’t separate the subject and the verb of a sentence with a comma.  Incorrect:  “Those who have not filed by June 1st, will forfeit their rights to the money.”  Correct: “Those who have not filed by June 1st will forfeit their rights to the money.”   I have a little too much comma envy, see what I mean?