To many English language users, grammar can make or unmake good communication. Good grammar use has become an absolute measure of one’s English language proficiency. No questions asked. It has become a fixation that borders on the pathological.
What gives?
Good grammar is an unwritten rule in the workplace. It is thought that office workers consider spelling and grammar errors a sign of inadequacy. Anyone tagged with grammar misuse in speech and writing comes up short. Here we see how spelling, grammar, and reading comprehension skills are grossly overestimated to a point they penetrate the personal dimension. In answer to this, enterprising tech people have come up with apps and tools that tweak spelling and grammar errors. These apps are making a killing today.
This doesn’t suggest that we should ignore little grammar errors and not bother to correct ourselves—because after all, it’s only language, it’s only the workplace. The reason why corporate workplaces are unforgiving of glaring grammar errors is because it is widely assumed language use reflects the company image. Grammar banners the company’s reputation. Although it does not appear in the company’s vision statement, effective communication through excellent language use is vital to the company’s existence. In office communication tools such as emails, corporate bulletins, minutes of meetings, and reports, excellent language use is critical.
Companies, therefore, demand that employees should have good if not above average communication skills to keep up the business’s good reputation and to propel the business to reach its goals.
A well-written content in the way of correspondence and advertisement cuts the company’s image above its competitors, and thus hammers in credibility.
On the other hand, haphazard content or corporate communication copy that contains glaring grammar errors, results in a tarnished image—going deeper as to suggest that the higher-ups and the CEO are shoddy at their work. If someone comes across content that’s written shoddily, he or she usually skips it or stamps the error on the company and its personnel.
The fundamental use of grammar has always been for clear comprehension: getting the same meaning and content out of one person’s head and into another. Grammar guides have been written and are subscribed to the extent that they help their users communicate their meaning clearly, without wasting words, and get in the way of comprehension. This means that even small things such as writing long-winded or literary texts whether that be for creative or poetic effect have no place in corporate communication.
As to how grammar is learned and “perfected”, like all other skills, it requires time and practice. Plainly, it takes time to get used to getting it right. That comes with a mix of common sense, patience, and a can-do attitude. Welcome mistakes, but make sure not to make the same mistakes again. When you commit something to a written and spoken text, it’s your name and the companies that precede it. Handle it well and look after it as if it were your own body.