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So here’s the thing. Sometimes it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it.

Of course voice tone and intonation are really easy to understand when you’re talking and listening to another person but with text and written copy sometimes it can be harder.

How many times have you received a text from your spouse or your parent and you completely misunderstand the message because you’re reading it in the tone in your head and it wasn’t at all the tone in which it was written? Well all of this is part of your content (believe it or not). It represents who you are and what you stand for. Yes. Your tone in the written word is a message about YOU so think about it.

When you write a piece of content for your business and you push it out on social, you probably reread it multiple times (at least I hope you do). Proofreading matters. But when you send a text or a quick email, you might think it doesn’t matter as much.

Ask yourself this: if you were going to pick up the phone and leave someone a voicemail, would you say it in the tone in which that same message could be read? My point is that it  all matters. It matters for your business and it matters we all have a personal brand and speaking in the brand voice matters, no matter if you’re writing on behalf of the company on behalf of yourself. This all comes back to proofreading. I’m a stickler for proofreading. Nothing makes me more crazy than finding a typo and of course we all do it. It happens. Most of the time my fingers type faster than my brain can think.

Here are some simple steps to follow:

  • Write
  • Breathe,
  • Proofread
  • Edit
  • Proofread again
  • Send

This is just a much better way to send messaging. If we could all slow down so many things would be better. Remember back when email was new? Maybe you’re not as old as I am so maybe you don’t…but we were much more careful in the messaging that we sent. I think we understood “this is in writing, make it count.” 

Today even if I send a text to one of my children with punctuation that child assumes I’m angry. Proper grammar equals anger. Did you know this? Do you have a teenager? Have you ever typed and put a period at the end of a proper sentence and freaked your kid out? 

The point is you have to read your messaging as if you are the receiver. Just because you intended to be one way does not mean it will be taken that way so write it ,deep breath, proofread, edit , send. It’s really the only way to go. 

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