PSA: Proper Selling is Important
Contributed by Taylor Burkhalter
Hello. If you came here for an article about selling, let me introduce you to my first point about the importance of proper spelling. I am tempted to end the blog here, as my point has been made; however, I enjoy telling stories from my childhood, so…
I was the spelling bee champion of the year in 8th grade – a victory I will continue to flaunt until I am dead. (The fact that only 12 people were in my class is irrelevant.) The school gave me a plaque with my name on it, which still, to this day, hangs proudly in a box in my parent’s attic (Next to the box of participation trophies).
I won another spelling bee competition in college – this time against FIVE people.
I have never felt more proud. You should have seen the look on their faces when I correctly spelled the word “subpoena”.
I tell you all of this because I think spelling is important. And it is (The plaque in my parent’s attic says so). One letter can be the difference between a new client and no new client. A job and no job. Shall we reflect on the time I thanked a potential employer for their “massage”?
In my experience, people tend to overlook the importance of proper spelling in the professional world. For example, let’s take a look at LinkedIn. (If you’re not familiar with the platform, LinkedIn is a hybrid dating / political opinion site for the occasional networker.) Here is a message I received this past month:
Wow. Thank you, Clint, for the lucrative preposition.
This message had 28 words – Two of them were spelled incorrectly (not to mention a couple other grammatical errors). Because of that, I probably will ignore it – Plus, at this point, I’m half convinced that Clint is a dark-web robot trying to sell me some counterfeit bitcoin.
He may be a great guy with a life changing “proposition” for me, but I will never know because Clint is totally reckless with his spellcheck. Get it together, Clint!
Now, my spelling is not perfect. I am sure I made a mistake in this article (I hope I did. I love irony.) I simply wanted to remind all of you to be cognizant of your spelling. Just give it a little proofread, y’know? You’re not the best “shirt company” if you forget an “r”.
~ This concludes Taylor’s PSA about spelling ~
WAIT! I leave you with one final question: If you had to spell out your favorite preposition, what would it B and Y?
