Why Proofreading Matters: Avoiding Costly Mistakes in Business Communication
“This item is reduced due to misspelling of the word Bird.”
We’ve all done it: you’re working down to a deadline, or trying to multitask, or you just need to send this message off quickly so you can get back to your project. You hit send or print, or pick up your proposal from the printers, only to then notice a glaring mistake. Not only can these grammar, punctuation, and formatting mistakes muddle your meaning, they can even cost you respect, reputation, or even a job. Don’t let your documents go out into the world without a thorough round of proofreading to avoid these costly mistakes!
Costly Mistakes
Imagine this: you complete a business quote and send it off to the client. Only after you send it, do you notice the misplaced decimal in your price quote. Suddenly, you’re faced with a choice: lose income due to your negligence and face having to explain that mistake to future clients who may come your way hoping for this “discounted” rate, or fix it now and potentially lose the client in front of you. All of this could have been avoided with a detailed proofreading session.
You can also risk losing the respect of your clients or colleagues. Misspellings, typos, and incorrect punctuation lead to miscommunication and confusion at best and outright offense at worst (imagine misspelling your client’s name or business! Yikes!). Do yourself a favor and always double-check your work – or better yet, hire a professional proofreader to check for you.
Humans vs. AI
Spell-check and grammar-check tools can only go so far to ensure your work is error-free. English has so many homophones and homonyms; a spell check won’t know you meant “knew” instead of “new” since they are both correct English words. Sometimes only the human brain can catch these detailed differences. Having a human proof or edit your document also helps you maintain tone and nuance.
The Benefit of Professional Proofreaders
Professional proofreaders can be briefed with a style guide from your organization so they can ensure your documents are consistent with your brand. They will keep your work error-free, clear, and polished. Make sure your brand reputation stays clean by always ensuring your work is proofed and ready for publication.
Remember, mistakes happen to everyone – I made mistakes while writing this blog post! But I proofed it after writing, and then proofed it again before hitting “publish.” Don’t fall victim to our society’s fast-paced business expectations without taking your time to check your work, or better yet, hire Grammar Guardian Proof+Edit to do the nit-picky double- and triple-checking for you! Grammar Guardian will provide the reliable and professional proofreading solutions you and your business need to succeed!
-written by Erin Hanson, Grammar Guardian
