Easy
to get wrong. Fortunately, not hard to get right. (Except the whole
"who" and "whom" thing.)
Where
the mechanics of writing are concerned, I'm far from perfect.
One
example: I always struggle with who and whom. (Sometimes I'll even rewrite a sentence
just so I won't have to worry about which is correct.)
And
that's a real problem. The same way one misspelled word can get your résumé
tossed onto the reject pile, one misused word can negatively impact your entire
message.
Fair
or unfair, it happens all the time--so let's make sure it doesn't happen to
you.
Once
again I've picked words that are typically used in business settings, with
special emphasis on words that spell checker won't correct.
Here
we go:
1. Advise and advice
Aside
from the two words being pronounced differently (the s in advise sounds
like az), advise is
a verb while advice is
a noun.
Advice
is what you give (whether or not the recipient is interested in that gift is a
different issue altogether) when you advise someone.
So, "Thank
you for the advise" is incorrect, while "I advise you not to
bore me with your advice in the future" is correct if pretentious.
If
you run into trouble, just say each word out loud and you'll instantly know
which makes sense; there's no way you'd ever say, "I advice you
to..."
2. Ultimate and penultimate
Recently
I received a pitch from a PR professional that read, "(Acme Industries)
provides the penultimate value-added services for discerning
professionals."
Ultimate means the
best, or final, or last. Penultimate means the last but one, or second to
last. (Or, as a Monty Python-inspired Michelangelo would say, "the Penultimate Supper!")
But penultimate doesn't
mean second-best. Plus, I don't think my PR friend meant to say her client
offered second-class services. (I think she just thought the word sounded
cool.)
Also,
keep in mind that using ultimate is fraught with hyperbolic peril. Are
you--or is what you provide--really the absolute best imaginable? That's a
tough standard to meet.
3. Well and good
Anyone
who has children uses good more
often than he or she should.
Since
kids pretty quickly learn what good means, "You did good, honey" is
much more convenient and meaningful than "You did well, honey."
But
that doesn't mean good is the
correct word choice.
Good is an adjective that
describes something; if you did a good job, then you do good work. Well is
an adverb that describes how something was done; you can do your job well.
Where
it gets tricky is when you describe, say, your health or emotional state.
"I don't feel well" is grammatically correct, even though many people
(including me) often say, "I don't feel too good." On the other hand,
"I don't feel good about how he treated me" is correct; no one says,
"I don't feel well about how I'm treated."
Confused?
If you're praising an employee and referring to the outcome say, "You did
a good job." If you're referring to how the employee performed say,
"You did incredibly well."
And
while you're at it, stop saying good to your kids and use great instead,
because no one--especially a kid--ever receives too much praise.
4. If and whether
If and whether are
often interchangeable. If a yes/no condition is involved, then feel free to use
either: "I wonder whether Jim will finish the project on time"
or "I wonder if Jim will finish the project on time." (Whether sounds
a little more formal in this case, so consider your audience and how you wish
to be perceived.)
What's
trickier is when a condition is not involved. "Let me know whether Marcia
needs a projector for the meeting" isn't conditional, because you want to
be informed either way. "Let me know if Marcia needs a projector for the
meeting" is conditional, because you only want to be told if she needs
one.
And
always use if when you
introduce a condition. "If you hit your monthly target, I'll increase your
bonus" is correct; the condition is hitting the target and the bonus is
the result. "Whether you are able to hit your monthly target is totally up
to you" does not introduce a condition (unless you want the employee to
infer that your thinly veiled threat is a condition of ongoing employment).
5. Stationary and stationery
You
write on stationery. You get business stationery, such as letterhead and
envelopes, printed.
But
that box of envelopes is not stationary unless it's not moving--and even then
it's still stationery.
6. Award and reward
An
award is a prize. Musicians win Grammy Awards. Car companies win J.D. Power awards.
Employees win Employee of the Month awards. Think of an award as the result of
a contest or competition.
A
reward is something given in return for effort, achievement, hard work, merit,
etc. A sales commission is a reward. A bonus is a reward. A free trip for
landing the most new customers is a reward.
Be
happy when your employees win industry or civic awards, and reward them for the
hard work and sacrifices they make to help your business grow.
7. Sympathy and empathy
Sympathy
is acknowledging another person's feelings. "I am sorry for your
loss" means you understand the other person is grieving and want to
recognize that fact.
Empathy
is having the ability to put yourself in the other person's shoes and relate to
how the person feels, at least in part because you've experienced those
feelings yourself.
The
difference is huge. Sympathy is passive; empathy is active.
Know
the difference between sympathy and empathy, live the difference, and you'll
make a bigger difference in other people's lives.
8. Criterion and criteria
A
criterion is a principle or standard. If you have more than one criterion,
those are referred to as criteria.
But
if you want to be safe and you only have one issue to consider, just say standard or rule or benchmark.
Then
use criteria for
all the times there are multiple specifications or multiple criterion (OK,
standards) involved.
9. Mute and moot
Think
of mute like
the button on your remote; it means unspoken or unable to speak. In the
U.S., moot refers
to something that is of no practical importance; a moot point is one that could
be hypothetical or even (gasp!) academic.
In
British English, moot can also mean
debatable or open to debate.
So
if you were planning an IPO, but your sales have plummeted, the idea of going
public could be moot.
And
if you decide not to talk about it anymore, you will have gone mute on the
subject.
10. Peak and peek
A
peak is the highest point; climbers try to reach the peak of Mount Everest.
Peek means
quick glance, as in giving major customers a sneak peek at a new product before
it's officially unveiled, which hopefully helps sales peak at an unimaginable
height.
Occasionally
a marketer will try to "peak your interest" or "peek your
interest," but in that case the right word is pique, which
means "to excite." (Pique can also mean "to upset," but
hopefully that's not what marketers intend.)
11. Aggressive and enthusiastic
Aggressive is a very popular
business adjective: aggressive sales force, aggressive revenue projections,
aggressive product rollout.
But
unfortunately, aggressive means ready to attack, or pursuing
aims forcefully, possibly unduly so.
So
do you really want an "aggressive" sales force?
Of
course, most people have seen aggressive used that way for so long they don't
think of it negatively; to them it just means hard-charging, results-oriented,
driven, etc., none of which are bad things.
But
some people may not see it that way. So consider using words like enthusiastic, eager, committed, dedicated, or
even (although it pains me to say it) passionate.
12. Then and than
Then refers in some way to
time. "Let's close this deal, and then we'll celebrate!" Since the
celebration comes after the sale, then is correct.
Then is also often used
with if. Think in
terms of if-then statements: "If we don't get to the office on time, then
we won't be able to close the deal today."
Than involves a
comparison. "Landing Customer A will result in higher revenue than
landing Customer B," or "Our sales team is more committed to
building customer relationships than the competition is."
13. Evoke and invoke
To
evoke is to call to mind; an unusual smell might evoke a long-lost memory.
To
invoke is to call upon some thing: help, aid, or maybe a higher power.
So
hopefully all your branding and messaging efforts evoke specific emotions in
potential customers. But if they don't, you might consider invoking the gods of
commerce to aid you in your quest for profitability.
Or
something like that.
14. Continuously and continually
Both
words come from the root continue, but they mean very different things.
Continuously means never ending.
Hopefully your efforts to develop your employees are continuous, because you
never want to stop improving their skills and their future.
Continual means whatever you're
referring to stops and starts.
You
might have frequent disagreements with your co-founder, but unless those
discussions never end (which is unlikely, even though it might feel otherwise),
then those disagreements are continual.
That's
why you should focus on continuous improvement but only plan to have continual
meetings with your accountant: The former should never, ever stop, and the
other (mercifully) should.
15. Systemic and systematic
If
you're in doubt, systematic is
almost always the right word to use.
Systematic means arranged or carried out according to a plan,
method, or system. That's why you can take a systematic approach to
continuous improvement, or do a systematic evaluation of customer
revenue or a systematic assessment of market conditions.
Systemic means belonging to or
affecting the system as a whole. Poor morale could be systemic to your
organization. Or bias against employee diversity could be systemic.
So
if your organization is facing a pervasive problem, take a systematic approach
to dealing with it--that's probably the only way you'll overcome it.
16. Impact and affect (and effect)
Many
people (including until recently me) use impact when
they should use affect.
Impact doesn't mean to
influence; impact means
to strike, collide, or pack firmly.
Affect means to influence:
"Impatient investors affected our rollout date."
And
to make it more confusing, effect means to accomplish something:
"The board effected a sweeping policy change."
How
you correctly use effect or affect can be
tricky. For example, a board can affect changes by influencing them and can
effect changes by directly implementing them.
Bottom
line, use effect if
you're making it happen, and affect if you're having an impact on
something that someone else is trying to make happen.
As
for nouns, effect is
almost always correct: "Employee morale has had a negative effect on
productivity."
Affect refers to an
emotional state, so unless you're a psychologist, you probably have little
reason to use it.
So
stop saying you'll "impact sales" or "impact the bottom
line." Use affect.
(And
feel free to remind me when I screw that up, because I feel sure I'll
backslide.)
17. Between and among
Use between when
you name separate and individual items. "The team will decide between
Mary, Marcia, and Steve when we fill the open customer service position."
Mary, Marcia, and Steve are separate and distinct, so between is
correct.
Use among when
there are three or more items but they are not named separately. "The team
will decide among a number of candidates when we fill the open customer service
position." Who are the candidates? You haven't named them separately, so among is
correct.
And
we're assuming there are more than two candidates; otherwise you'd say between. If
there are two candidates you could say, "I just can't decide between
them."
18. Everyday and every day
Every day means, yep, every day--each
and every day. If you ate a bagel for breakfast each day this week, you had a
bagel every day.
Everyday means commonplace or
normal. Decide to wear your "everyday shoes" and that means you've
chosen to wear the shoes you normally wear. That doesn't mean you have to wear
them every single day; it just means wearing them is a usual occurrence.
Another
example is along and a long: Along means
moving in a constant direction or a line, or in the company of others,
while a long means
of great distance or duration. You wouldn't stand in "along line,"
but you might stand in a long line for a long time, along with a number of
other people.
A
couple more examples: a while and awhile, and any way and anyway.
If
you're in doubt, read what you write out loud. It's unlikely you'll
think "Is there anyway you can help me?" sounds right.
Any
words you'd like to add to the list? Share in the comments!
Response Magic 
