In business, no matter what our strengths and weaknesses are, and no matter which side of bed we woke up on that day, it is important to come across as professional. We have all heard, "Dress to impress," "Make sure you’re well-groomed," and "Never interrupt people while they are talking." These are great pieces of advice. There are, however, other areas of your presentation that you need to focus on when it comes to professionalism. This week's blog is about one of them in particular: Writing.
Whether it's your resume, your LinkedIn profile, or your website content, professionally written content builds your reputation. It shows that you’re educated and that you know what you’re talking about. Unprofessionally written content does the opposite. Let’s take your LinkedIn profile for example. If your Summary or Work Experience descriptions in your LinkedIn profile contain spelling or grammatical errors, a potential employer might simply say, “Next!”
One more thing about LinkedIn (my favorite topic of conversation): You do not want a recommendation showing up on your LinkedIn profile that is not professionally written. And if you are a recommender, take care to write that recommendation well! The care you take reflects not only on the person you’re writing it for, but also on you. Errors in recommendations do not look good for either the writer or the recipient. Yet would you believe that more than half of all recommendations on LinkedIn contain errors? That’s what Brenda Bernstein, who carefully reviewed 20 LinkedIn profiles this month, reported to me based on her reviews.
I myself am not the most talented writer and have learned the hard way. Someone who read one of my pieces of writing sent me a straightforward and tactful email making me aware of errors I had made. How embarrassing! From that day on I have made it a point to read over everything that I write several times. I also have built a relationship with a writing expert, Brenda Bernstein (
www.TheEssayExpert.com or
http://www.linkedin.com/in/brendabernstein), who now reviews many of my writings, including my press releases and this blog. It is always a good thing to have a second set of eyes double-check for errors. As they say, “Every writer needs an editor!”
Brenda contributed her expertise in compiling the following list of tips (by no means exhaustive) for writing professionally:
1. Don’t write your professional writing like you’re in a chat room. I know, it takes so much longer to write "tonight" instead of "2nite," but the latter is just too informal. Use real English! ‘Nuf said (hey, rules are made to be broken!)
2. Use proper grammar and sentence structure. Use discretion when starting sentences with “but” or “and.” Avoid run-on sentences and sentence fragments. One tip is to read your writing aloud to make sure it makes sense!
3. Don’t write as you would speak, unless you are writing a very chatty blog. So, like, you know, I totally do not even do that OMG! When you're in the world of formal writing, leave out words and phrases that are not essential to getting your point across. Avoid using well, like, for sure, you know, and any other phrase that takes you back to your high school years.
4. Proofread! Use a spelling and grammar checker at the very least, and come back to your work a day after you write it to give yourself a fresh perspective. With our social media profiles, it is especially easy to get ourselves in trouble with our written words because there is no spell checker. Do not use that as an excuse! Copy and paste your profile into Word or another program with a spell-checker before you publish it to the web.
5. To facilitate tip number 4, do not wait until the last minute to write your copy! Hastily written material is more likely to contain errors and to reflect less favorably on the writer. Give yourself the time and space to write an impressive and professional product.
One of the services Brenda Bernstein offers through
www.TheEssayExpert.com is reviewing LinkedIn profiles to check not just for writing errors, but for the organization, strength and style of the profile. I recommend this service for anyone looking to improve their social media image. In addition, she is currently offering free blog post reviews where she will check for writing errors and suggest organizational improvements. If you would like her to review your social media profile or take a look at your blog post, feel free to email her at
brendab@theessayexpert.com. Mention this blog to claim the free blog review offer, which is good for the first 10 requesters!
When it comes to professional writing, you can never be too careful about how your writing looks and sounds. You never know who might be reading..............
Have a marketing question? Send me an email to
ckokalis@ckmemarketinggroup.com. Also do not forget to check out
www.soccalliveonline.com to learn more about our LinkedIn Live networking events.
As a follow-up to this blog and to help more people, starting Monday May 18th I will be conducting a FREE weekly half-hour conference call to answer marketing questions. This call will take place Monday nights at 8pm eastern time (7pm Central/5pm Pacific). The number for the conference call is (712) 432-0111 and the access code is 358020#. Again, this is a FREE conference call for anyone with marketing questions! On tonight’s call (May 18), Brenda Bernstein will also be available to answer your writing questions.
Chris Kokalis
President/CEO
CKME Group Inc.
414-755-2410 Milwaukee Office
310-492-5058 Los Angeles Office
www.ckmemarketinggroup.comwww.socalliveonline.comwww.linkedin.com/in/ckmegroupwww.twitter.com/chriskokalis
