I work with independent consultants, coaches, and freelancers who are committed to building satisfying businesses that pay them well and give them the time freedom for plenty of play and fun.
As such, one of the things we focus on when we work together is the first clause in the title of this blog post -- getting the words right.
Getting the words right is about mindset, focus, and making strategic decisions more than it is about choosing one word over another in an attempt to use the right word.
The other one -- getting the right word -- is part of the hangover too many people continue to nurse from their days sitting in an English classroom.
Getting the words right vs getting the right word
Grammar police and those voices of sticklers like 8th grade English teachers who covered every paper you turned in with red ink can wreak havoc on your marketing efforts which in turn screws up your growth goals.
Why?
Because somewhere deep down inside you are still trying to please your teacher, get a good grade, and prove that you can too put your ideas down on paper in a way that makes sense and becomes fridge worthy!
Worrying about all the things that didn’t please an authority figure gets in the way of you growing your business today.
It is amazing to me how powerful authority figures are! How amazing that so many people allow those authority figures to continue to influence the decisions they make about, well, everything.
The difference between getting the right words and getting the words right
I am not the grammar police although I encourage everyone I work with to meet the basic standards of written language since guidelines do play a role in the world and yes -- people judge.
If getting judged isn’t a concern for you, cool. You will do what you do and that’s fantastic.
But if you’re like most people, you want to show up the best you can, including what you create in writing and spoken words because ultimately the goal is to move forward in a way that matters to you and the people you serve.
You want what you write to work.
You want what you write to be aligned with what you really want from your business and life.
Try this:
The next time you are writing for your business (e.g. a blog post like this one), pay extra attention to how focused you are on getting the words right so that you communicate your idea vs getting the right words so that you please an invisible authority figure who could very well be dead now anyway (RIP Mrs. Porter).
Growing your awareness in this regard can lead to breakthroughs in your ability to a. get content written faster and b. saying that final farewell to a voice in your head you no longer care to listen to.
Let me know what you discover!
Comments welcome below.
