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Listen to the podcast: If I Had to Do It
All Over Again.... 
[This podcast was originally published February 23, 2006. -Leo]
Transcript
I sometimes wonder at how I got here. Not in the biological sense, I mean the long strange trip that ended up here with websites like Ask Leo! and podcasts such as this one.
And if I had to do it all over again, what one thing would I change?
I would have paid more attention in English class. Heck, I would have taken more English, grammar and writing classes.
The bottom line is that regardless of your profession, writing - especially in this internet-enabled age - is becoming more and more critical. The ability to express yourself clearly and even entertainingly is often a key differentiator between being good at a job and being great at it.
I hated writing in school - absolutely hated it. It wasn't until I started working a real job that I discovered that not only could I write relatively well (though I couldn't spell to save my life - I still can't), I actually kinda sorta enjoyed it.
What I hated in school wasn't writing. It was writing about things I knew nothing about and wasn't interested in. Once I got past that words started to, well, to trickle out. I'm certainly not about to write the next great American novel, but write I do.
I bring this up because of the number of people who write to me who, to put it bluntly, can't. They fall into two camps: non-native speakers for whom English is a second language, and those who've grown up speaking English but still couldn't write their way out of a paper bag. While I have a lot of sympathy for the first group (technically, English is my second language too), I have very little for the second.
Sad as it is, both groups are at a severe disadvantage. It may not be fair, it may not be politically correct, but the practical reality of the internet is that speaking and writing English well matters.
There used to be a commercial for some vocabulary product that began "People judge you by the words you use ...". It's not fair, but it's very, very true. You may be the smartest, coolest, most wonderful and professional person on the planet, but if your email and your internet posts and your other writings sound like a spoiled teenager who didn't finish high school, don't be surprised if that's exactly how you're treated.
Article C3219 - November 24, 2007
Worth the repeat!
Posted by: Greg at November 24, 2007 11:27 PMI spend quite a lot of time in support forums. It's really hard to help people who use bad grammar because you don't know what they're trying to say.
Posted by: stueycaster at November 25, 2007 5:40 AMEvery time I visit this website from Google I am given horrible results with an irritating color of text. Seriously, if you are trying to out due your competition of AskDave then you've done a horrible job. Quite frankly, you've failed.
Posted by: Kyle at November 25, 2007 3:03 PM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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Black text on white background is a horrible color? Not sure I can help you
there, I'm afraid.
(And if you mean askdavetaylor.com, he's a friend. I don't think we're trying
to outdo each other. :-)
Thanks,
Leo
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So true, so true. In the numerous technical newsgroups I frequent, those who are obviously using English as a second (or maybe third or fourth?) language are given plenty of slack, as long as the main idea comes through. On the other hand, those who post things like "can u hlp me plz" are, at best, silently ignored, or answered with statements like "u doesn't post here anymore".
And, unless Google plays with your page somehow, I can't imagine what is the problem with "black text on a white background".
Posted by: Ken B at November 26, 2007 11:18 AMKyle,
"Out due"? You're just proving Leo's point.
Posted by: Greg at November 26, 2007 2:07 PMI teach computer science at a local junior college. I am going to start my next class with this article - you said it all ! !
Posted by: Bill Holland at November 30, 2007 7:33 PMI have donated to Leo's and to Dave's and appreciate the differences in style, content, and layout!
What I do not understand about illiterate posts are the misspellings. I use the Google spell check in MS and the right-click under red-lined words in Linux. For every post and e-mail and document. It is so quick and easy. A dictionary in search bar when I really butcher a word.
I can excuse poor grammar and structure but not misspellings. It is a sign of slovenliness and disrespect for SOMETHINGS (fill in blank).
Posted by: Terry Coon at November 30, 2007 10:29 PMGood job! - I hope you don't mind if I send a copy of this article to my grandkids. They need to learn the importance of writing intelligibly. I'll credit it to you, but they've heard similar comments from me in the past.
Posted by: Bill Nelson at December 1, 2007 2:19 AMLeo, I'm an English teacher and I tell my kids this all of the time. I'd love to share this article with them, as I think it may impact some of them. Thank you for your good work and your commitment to good grammar and writing well.
Posted by: Paul Bavuso at December 1, 2007 5:55 AM