Avoiding Email Disasters

A few years ago I promised myself I would never send another email with a typo or spelling error. The story begins when I was applying for a new job. I carefully constructed my resume and was ready to apply for this new position. My decision was to use the body of the email as my cover letter and so I wrote a very nice paragraph, attached my resume, and pressed “send.” I was certain that my cover letter and resume was so well crafted that I would certainly get a phone interview. A few days passed and I had not heard from my potential employer and so I looked back at the email.

Horror. Embarrassment. Shock. My face turned red, my pulse quickened, and I almost wanted to cry. There in the letter were at least two mistakes. In one case I meant to write the word “from” and somehow typed “form.” In another sentence I wrote the word “manger” and of course wanted to use the proper spelling of “manager,” but failed to catch that mistake.

So the sentences read like this: “My skill sets have been honed form quality education and project success. With my qualifications, I am certain that I have the skills for the position of manger.”

This was an email sent for a professional reason and, in less than 100 words, I had two typos. No wonder I never heard from the potential employer. At that moment in time, I devised a system for making sure I never sent another professional email with errors again. Sure, if I am writing to a friend or Aunt Ruth, an occasional typo is not a problem.

Here are the three surefire methods I use to keep those typos from torpedoing my professional emails:

1. Change the color of the text. Our eyes are very accustomed to reading black text. Change to green, blue, or some other color and it will make you pay attention.

2. 2. Change the font type. Use a font type that is more difficult to read. This will force you to read more slowly and pay attention to each word. With more attention to each word, it gives you a chance to catch those errors.

3. 3. Change the font size. If you increase the font size, it puts fewer words per line and, most often, you read more slowly. By reading more slowly, your brain has time to look for those errors on the page and it keeps you from skimming your own emails.

Be safe when emailing and follow the three suggestions I have shared with you above. These help me keep my sanity so that I avoid sending poorly written emails. As you all know, spell check does not catch every typo. I hope these above suggestions save you from email disaster and embarrassment.
Safe emailing friends!