Business writing & speaking

Mistakes are made in text and in speech.  Making these mistakes and errors can hurt a business or one's self.  Fixing these simple mistakes will take you a long way.  Some mistakes that employees commonly make are listed below.

Mistakes employees make in business writing and speaking

• too long and not concise (make everything to the point)
• typos/ misspelling words
• grammar errors (proofread your work)
• bad punctuation
• run on sentence/ paragraphs (don't drag on sentences)
• writing as if "texting" (don't use slang)
• unprofessional (write professionally, not like you're talking to a friend)
• facts are not correct (check your sources to make sure they are accurate)
• not knowing the audience (know who you are speaking or writing too)
• ideas aren't clear (make main points really clear and easy to understand)
• not proofreading (check your writing several times to check for any errors)

I feel that writing errors are more damaging than speech errors.  When writing someone has time to reread your work and ask someone else to proofread it before sending it.  While speaking sometimes people make errors because they don't have time to think about the correct way to say things.  Employers are willing to give more sympathy to their employees speaking than writing an important message. 

Correcting these errors is crucial.  Not fixing them will affect a business in a negative way.  If an employee has to email another company on a regular basis and continues to make the same mistakes, the company will eventually just delete the email.  This could affect business' sales and a business' goodwill like their reputation and company name.  Making these mistakes can harm you personally because this could set you back from getting another job or keeping your current one.  Plan what your going to say, write it out, then revise your work for errors.


Craig, T. (2008, August 19). How to write with impact. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA183348691&v=2.1&u=lom_adriancollg&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w

Korkki, P. (2007, August 26). Young workers: U Nd 2 improve ur writing skills. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/business/yourmoney/26count.html?_r=0