Value of a Careful Read and Consistent Messaging

One of the problems with being a writer and editor is that I find myself editing things in my head all the time, such as menus and billboards and the flyers that appear on bulletin boards everywhere.

Sometimes the editing process erupts outside my head, and the friends I’m with get to hear me mumbling things like, “Oh man, they spelled ‘Dedicate’ wrong,” or “Wow, this flyer about the free talk doesn’t say when it is – or where.”

It’s exhausting really. But I can’t help myself.

I advise that business owners always check, and check again, when they are approving signage or hanging a flyer or posting a message on Facebook, for that matter. (All the world is an editor when typos appear on Facebook.)

When your message is done and you are ready to print or thumbtack it up or post it online, take one last look at your spelling. Are all the words spelled correctly? Did you transpose any letters? Did you accidentally drop the “l” in the flyer for your “public hearing”?

Check to make sure that your homonyms are spelled correctly so you don’t say something like, “The classroom ade will be their to help” or “Thanks for your patronage. Hope you eight well” or “Come meet the new school principle.”

Believe me, it happens.

Check, too, to make sure that your message on an event gives all the information – who, what, when, where and how to register or get more information.

While you’re at it, make sure your messaging is consistent, and above all, make sure the name you use for yourself is consistent on each and every material you put out to the public.

I was in a restaurant several weeks ago with my parents, and I was so distracted by all the conflicting signage, I couldn’t begin to think about what I wanted to order.

Outside, the sign that got our attention as we drove by said, “The Eggshell Restaurant.” Inside, the menus said “The Egg Shell” and a note on the daily specials on the bulletin board read, ‘The EggShell.”

I am struck by how often that particular lack of consistency occurs – particularly in restaurants. Make sure you are clear on what your name is and stick by it.

I hope the message of this blog syncs in.

And I hope you got that pun.