Yesterday’s post, “Are You Really Your Best Client?” was meant to spur questions like “Who IS my best client?”, “Am I really like them?”, and “What do THEY want – and am I just doing stuff that would appeal to people like me?”
My SEED clients are educated. They have high-paying jobs. They are experts in their field. They probably supervise others.
If they’re looking for a coach, they have to trust the coach’s authority.
What erodes that authority? Signals – overt or otherwise – that I’m less educated than they. Or less smart. Or lazy.
It’s difficult to judge brainpower or intent online. We’ve all been misinterpreted, misread or misjudged. Facebook doesn’t allow for much inflection; it’s black-and-white. But spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and bad language stand out like red flags.
This is SO important that I’ve asked a close friend to prepare a module on grammar for Two-Brain gym owners. We spend our days asking people to reconsider their basic squat and gait – movements they’ve practiced since birth. It requires humility to reconsider your use of language. I suggest you do it anyway.
Here’s a starting point:
- You’re = You Are
- Your = It belongs to you
- They’re = They Are
- There = A Place
- We’re = We Are
- Were = Past tense of ‘Are’
- Where = A Place
- Then = A point in time
- Than = A method of comparison
- Two = The number 2
- Too = Also
- To = Indicates motion
Of note: this blog post probably isn’t perfect. There are “grammar police” out there who delight in finding mistakes. I’m not one. Don’t allow the pursuit of perfection be the tripping-block of “good”. But someone has to say this stuff!
A potential high-end client might not care about your grammar. She might overlook your misuse of “you’re” and “they’re.” Or she might not. Is it worth the gamble?
