Helping with Business Grammar

Question

We have some employees who frequently communicate with customers. These employees are native English speakers and yet somehow their written communications come across as though they really struggle with the language. It is difficult, because many sentences do not make sense in the body of a communication. I'm not talking about incorrect uses of there and their (although that also happens). The main issue, other than unclear information being disseminated is that we cannot have them help with online product content for their accounts (which we need to do), because we are not confident in their written skills.

What is the most tactful and respectful way to let a colleague know that when they type emails and other written communications, they need to use more care.

What techniques have others used that were helpful?

In terms of verbal skills, there are no issues. It just seems like they are trying to fly through things too quickly, perhaps, and frequently use some flourishes that just do not make sense. This is a regular issue that really needs to be addressed, not one email out of 100 - it is almost everything they type. I am not their manager, but they work on things for my department, so I don't want it to feel like a reprimand by going to their boss about it. Just looking for friendly ways to say "You need to proof read what you're sending".

Answer 1

In my experience, most people - no matter how much they claim to appreciate constructive criticism - detest having their spelling or grammar corrected. Common exceptions to this are people learning a language, while native speakers (more germane to your question) exist on the other end of the spectrum.

I don't think letting people know they need to use more care would solve this problem. Since these are native speakers, and as you've pointed out, have no issues with verbal communication, this is most likely the result of long-term bad habits in written communication. One or two conversations are unlikely to change a well-formed bad habit.

If I were in your shoes, here's what I'd do:

1. Collate anonymized excerpts from some of these outgoing communications that illustrate there is a problem. These have to be generic sentences that would be difficult to tie back to a specific individual. Ideally, the writer should read it and say "Wow, that's awful" without realizing they wrote it. That way getting people's buy-in to the existence of a problem and the need to solve it isn't a problem.

2. Take this list to someone that has the power to implement one or both of the habit correcting changes suggested below

   • Install a grammar checking software that reviews all outgoing communications and points out potential errors for correction in real-time
   • Have a random selection of emails reviewed periodically. Having someone external do this is ideal (a freelance English teacher for example) as it removes all the potential friction and discomfort that held you back from speaking out about this

I totally feel your pain on this issue. It has taken me a long while, but i'm finally comfortable with bad written English by apparent native speakers all across the internet. I mean, "must of" will soon be considered correct English at this rate. However, business communication should be the exception to whatever mistakes we're willing to accept. It represents the devaluation of brands and puts a question mark around the accuracy/competence of the writer and by extension, the company. You're right to be disturbed by it.