"Proper grammar is power." - Dianna Booher

R U Amazed at the affect email and texting has had on the way we use grammer and how we spell in our electronic communication. It ain't right that you and me have been slackin' off with our spellin' and such in emails.

In fact, sentences with spelling and grammar errors like the one you just read are littering emails that we send everyday. For many, the speed of an email has become more important than the content and the grammatical correctness. So what's the big deal with a few misspelled words and an occasional misuse of the English language, you ask?

Truth is, your prospects and peers will judge your ability to serve them by the words you use. Which means every email you send that looks like the neighbor's first grade kid wrote it tells the recipient that accuracy is not important to you. It also says that you DON'T pay attention to detail. Now let me ask you something. Are accuracy and attention to detail important qualities to you? Of course they are! So understand that every email you send is like a brochure that represents your ability to perform. So here are some email tips that will help you show others that you are PRECISE:

Use Spell Check with every email-it takes 20 seconds and will you from looking unprofessional

Read your email back to yourself pressing the 'send' button-more than half the time you will make a correction

Make your point once and be done with it-use as few words as possible to convey your message; not only will this minimize your changes of making a grammatical error, but it will also help your messsage 'stick' (this work with voicemail, as well)

Take 15 seconds to think about the objective of the email before you write it-email should be a tool for action, so after the recipient reads your email, what do you want them to do? If the email isn't getting them to do something, perhaps it isn't necessary to send it.

So, let's get back to English (and Action) class. While it might not be necessary to start diagramming sentences, it could be time to be more PRECISE with one of our greatest sales and service weapons . . . our written word.

This post is from Brian Sullivan who recently interviewed Dianna Booher, author of Rules of Business Grammer-101 Fast and Easy Ways to Correct the Most Common Errors, on his weekly radio talk show. Brain can be heard Monday mornings at 9:00 (Central time) on HotTalk 1510-his show is The Entrepreneurial Moment. Brian is the author of 20 Days to the Top, and is a dynamic speaker on topics such as sales, customer service, negotiations, and leadership.