Recently, I came across a LinkedIn post that supported a worrisome trend about the irrelevance of good grammar in writing.
The writer opined—and I could visualise him huffing and puffing at the injustice of it all—that grammar wasn’t that important in writing. His premise was that sticking to grammatical norms stifled authenticity, which was more important in writing.
After reading his post, I headed to the comments, expecting to see people echo the reason that excellent grammar was instrumental to powerful writing.
To my dismay, many people chimed in and supported the argument.
A few people had valid points. They highlighted the prevalence of AI-generated content and explained that authentic writing (aka writing with soul) should trump the generalised content spewed out by ChatGPT and other AI tools. I agreed. However, I differed with their conclusion that grammar stifled authenticity.
The overall position in the discussion was that good grammar wasn’t bad per se; it was more like it was unnecessary for writing well.
I exited that post and its comment thread in disbelief. It didn’t even seem worth my time to point out the power of grammar and how it amplifies writing and sharpens influence. Unfortunately, I didn’t save the post, so I can’t share a snapshot of the conversation.
Nonetheless, to be clear, this is my position:
Excellent grammar remains the solid foundation for building your business writing skills.
Note the operative words: business writing.
Business writing is a specific segment that encompasses writing for professional purposes to achieve business outcomes. Therefore, emails, memos, reports, letters, presentations, papers, articles, etc., are examples of business writing outputs.
To defend excellent grammar, below are three rock-solid reasons you should take it seriously.
1) Excellent grammar signals your professionalism and credibility
Your writing paves the way for you and sets you up for opportunities.
A well-written piece communicates clear thinking, which is tied to sound judgment. And using grammar appropriately shows you’re a thoughtful professional who can be trusted to carry out your duties in a way that reflects the company’s reputation.
Conversely, prevalent grammatical errors in your emails, letters, reports, or other documents (e.g., incorrect subject-verb agreement, wrong word choice, excessive capitalisation, and wrong punctuation) significantly negate your credibility and trustworthiness. They also give the unintended perception of you being a lazy, unprofessional person incapable of handling serious tasks.
As an ambitious professional, executive or leader, good grammar is your ally when writing to move people to action.
Therefore, take your grammar seriously because, in corporateville, excellent grammar signals your professionalism and heightens your credibility, making you the preferred option among the pack.
2) Excellent grammar makes your writing more precise and more fluid
You might doubt this claim, but bear with me.
It’s true that grammatical rules can sometimes be stiff, unglamorous, and bothersome.
So, what should you do to find a balance between being fluid and correct?
a) Learn the rudiments of grammatical accuracy.
Therefore:
- Unlearn the wrong use of punctuation and familiarise yourself with the correct application. The University of Bristol grammar and punctuation page and the Purdue Online Writing Lab grammar section are excellent free resources to refresh your knowledge. Ensure you do the exercises provided to reinforce your understanding.
- Tackle the differences between common and proper nouns to avoid the scourge of excessive capitalisation.
- Adhere to tense consistency and pay attention to sentence structure and word choice.
- Follow Grammar Girl’s content (books, podcasts, newsletters, etc.) for valuable insights on grammar and quick, practical tips to keep you sharp.
The first goal is to learn and use good grammar accurately before proceeding to the next step.
b) Decide when to break grammatical rules to ease reading without compromising quality, clarity, and comprehension.
Cases in point:
I) Ending with a preposition to sound more human and less robotic.
This is the type of behaviour up with which we will not put. (Stiff grammar adhering to the rule of not ending with a preposition).
Versus
This is the type of behaviour we will not put up with. (More fluid).
II) Beginning with ‘and’ to heighten emotion.
Complaints about the poor service poured in after the system malfunction. We weren’t prepared for the onslaught. (Grammatically accurate but fails to trigger an emotional impact).
Versus
Complaints about the poor service poured in after the system malfunction. And we weren’t prepared for the onslaught. (Also points to the emotional impact).
III) Incorporating fragments to introduce rhythm.
Increased government spending on infrastructural projects in the state will not justify the 30% VAT slapped on small businesses. On the contrary, the tax hike will further erode the public’s trust. (Dry, complete sentences).
Versus
Increased government spending on infrastructural projects in the state will not justify the 30% VAT slapped on small businesses. Not in any scenario. On the contrary, the tax hike will further erode the public’s trust. (More persuasive with the fragment).
The bottom line:
Knowing the grammatical rules and then breaking a few to trigger emotion will make your writing clearer, more fluid, and more persuasive.
3) Excellent grammar is a marker of intelligence and influence
When you take the time to learn grammatical rules and apply them skillfully, you catapult your writing to rock-star status.
People understand the work it takes to write grammatically accurate, engaging content but don’t relish unravelling the mysteries and mechanics of grammar. So, when they see you pull off this feat effortlessly (because it seems easy until they try it), they conclude you’re intelligent.
By mastering the dreaded semi-colon, using the apostrophe accurately, or expertly navigating through confusable words (uninterested/disinterested and economic/economical), homophones (cite/sight and lunch/launch), and common confusions (I/me and who/whom), to emerge unscathed—and more importantly—correct and clear, you differentiate yourself from your peers.
Good grammar also sharpens your critical reasoning chops. For example, you’ll need to ensure the desired flow from one paragraph to the other to ensure clarity. Therefore, superb grammar helps you think logically and write persuasively. When you add top-notch editing skills and proofreading techniques, you’ll be able to prune fluff, clarify intent, and create music with your writing—whatever your industry.
Show me any piece of business writing that’s clear, powerful and persuasive, and I’ll point out how the writer used superb grammar to complement his/her style.
Want to influence people with your writing? First, pay attention to your grammar.
Conclusion
So, don’t allow anyone to persuade you that good grammar is unimportant in business writing. (And definitely scroll away if you land on that LinkedIn post where people encourage disregarding proper grammar to remain ‘authentic’).
And if people begin to scoff at spending considerable time learning the grammatical rules (and then breaking some of those rules when necessary), send them this article. Then move on. You can’t win over everyone.
But know that excellent grammar will elevate your writing, thereby positioning you for bigger assignments and lucrative business opportunities. As a result, you will influence people beyond the confines of your circles.
Trust me on this.
Over to you:
Do you need help boosting your communication skills to get results? Sign up for my transformational speaking, coaching, and training programmes.
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N.B: First image is courtesy of PDPics via Pixabay. Second image is courtesy of Maximilian via Pixabay. Last image is courtesy of Silvia Stödter, Pixabay.