Better done than pefect
When I was in second grade we were assigned to draw the picture that was above the blackboard of George Washington. I remember drawing that picture and making a mistake and felt really bad about it. I brought it home and my parents thought it was the best thing in the whole wide world. And they framed it. It had hung in my childhood home for almost 60 years and now I have it in my office. It reminds me that it's always okay to make mistakes and that you will still be loved.
I write a lot of emails to my list. I call them 'VALUE' emails because I pack them with 'how-to' tips and my 20? plus years of wisdom as a coach & business strategist. Sometimes I get a reply with..."Susan I need to let you know that you have a typo in paragraph 2 sentence 3."
I scratch my head and wonder why someone would do that? Are they telling me I'm messy? Damaged? I had an aunt that would say stuff like- "You have a pimple on your nose." Thanks! I mean REALLY...What can I do about that?
Or is it that they think I care about the typo and I SHOULD know so I can fix it so I CAN LOOK GOOD? Here's the truth...I don't CARE about typos. I really don't - in fact when I've got one- it means that I had something very important to say to get it out to my list pronto. Better done than perfect.?
Please comment on which is right for you:
Managing Partner - New Link Consulting Grup, Senior Associate Coach at John McKee & Associates
2 年I'm between 1 & 3 ... how does this sound? It's true and the difference is made, now that I'm thinking about this (thank you Susan for making me think about it) by the audience and the purpose of the communication. On the other hand, English not being my native language ...I might make mistakes anyhow :)
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2 年Done us better than perfect, no question. Let’s be honest, the typo thing is not what keeps people from putting their stuff out there. It’s revealing though - “…If people are going to judge my typos, how much more will they judge my content ?” And the obsession with letting people know about typos is, IMHO, control issue. I think people obsessed with typos are operating from the premise, “Typos are unprofessional. They diminish the value of my work.” That ship has pretty much sailed. Though some ppl will always dismiss your work with typos. And too many will make you appear sloppy. But who has all day to spend proof-reading? Let’s go change some lives??????
Business Management Coach | Helping service-based business owners create clarity with flow & frameworks ?? without overwhelm or overcommitment ?? to grow with confidence and ease | Use Ai & Human Insight to Align Success
2 年I'm actually in between 2 & 3. I wasn't an English teacher, but in a job I had (and my mother was the boss) she was very strict about proofreading. I do point them out to people I care about, so they can correct it and move on. I'm also not going to beat myself up over a typo. I think there is a balance... especially these days with something like Grammarly to do a quick review. I agree Susan, an email is one thing and not something you can go back and change. However, I have paid good money for some trainings that have had typos in them and it can be distracting, for me anyways.