{"id":5158,"date":"2025-01-30T19:51:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T18:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/?p=5158"},"modified":"2026-07-10T01:57:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T00:57:43","slug":"yes-excellent-grammar-still-matters-when-writing-to-influence-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/30\/yes-excellent-grammar-still-matters-when-writing-to-influence-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Excellent Grammar STILL Matters When Writing To Influence People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Recently, I came across a LinkedIn post that supported a worrisome trend about the irrelevance of good grammar in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The writer opined \u2014 and I could visualise him huffing and puffing at the injustice of it all \u2014 that grammar wasn’t that<\/em> important in writing. His premise was that sticking to grammatical norms stifled authenticity, which was more important in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reading his post, I headed to the comments, expecting to see people echo the reason that excellent grammar was instrumental to powerful writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my dismay, many people chimed in and supported the argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, to be clear, this is my position:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excellent grammar remains the solid foundation for building your business writing skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note the operative words: business writing<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business writing is a specific segment that encompasses writing for professional <\/em>purposes to achieve business outcomes. Therefore, emails, memos, reports, letters, presentations, papers, articles, etc., are examples of business writing outputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To defend excellent grammar, below are three rock-solid reasons you should take it seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1) Excellent grammar signals your professionalism and credibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Your writing paves the way for you and sets you up for opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an ambitious professional, executive or leader, good grammar is your ally when writing to move people to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2) Excellent grammar makes your writing more precise and more fluid<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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You might doubt this claim, but bear with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s true that grammatical rules can sometimes be stiff, unglamorous, and bothersome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what should you do to find a balance between being fluid and correct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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a) Learn the rudiments of grammatical accuracy.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Therefore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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