5 Hacks to Improve your Spelling and Grammar
Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors. We're only human and we are all guilty of doing it! I don't know about you but I find that I tend to make more mistakes when I'm in a rush and just need to get that email out or post up before my child wakes up from her midday nap. Ya feel me? And I generally do feel like a bit of a dick when I go and read what I wrote once it's already gone out. All that proof-reading I do for my clients is something I often lack to do for myself.
But I do have a few hacks to help ensure your spelling and grammar are on point (before you look like a silly sausage):
Never ever write anything and hit send after a massive day right before you're about to go to bed. Ever. You know how they say you should never do your grocery shopping on an empty stomach (cos you'll end up buying that snickers bar for $1 right near the check-out because you're famished and because it's on sale), well IMO same goes for writing something important and sending it before you have given your brain the fuel it needs to focus and concentrate. Sleep. Definitely jot those notes down before bedtime, but don't you go hitting that send button until the very next day when you've woken refreshed and energised. You may even have some ah-mazing ideas to add!
Try and use a program like MS Word which has the functionality to spell-check for you first. You would be surprised by the number of errors that get picked up this way which you never noticed before, or even little suggestions that it offers to rephrase things. Helpful tip - ensure you select English (Australia) and not English (United States) as the language.
Proof-read. With your own eyes and do it out-loud if it helps. Don't worry if Ivy next door can hear you and now thinks that you’re bat-shit crazy - this is to help you. Now, I know my point above was all about using the computer to make your life easier, and it totally does but here is the thing. Spell-check functions in programs like MS Word are great because they will correct your spelling mistakes - winning! The problem here is that you may be a total boss and all your words are spelled correctly, but you may have accidentally used some in the incorrect context. Confused? Here’s an example. ”They talked through the long dark forest...”. All correct but MS Word doesn’t necessarily know you meant walked not talked which is why you always need to proof-read your work after spell-checking anyway.
Phone a friend. Dead serious here. Getting a fresh pair of eyes to check out what you've written is a great way to not only see if they can pick up on anything that needs to be corrected BUT it's also a way to ensure they understand the message you're delivering to your audience. Two birds, one stone. Not that I want to throw stones at birds (big animal lover right here), but you get what i'm saying, right??
Try and give yourself as much time as possible to ensure that it isn't rushed and that you can give some or all of the above a go.
TOB x