Only you can prevent word crimes.

Kelli Brignac

If there’s a funny grammar meme out there, it’s a safe bet to say I’ve seen it (and loved it). My friends and family make fun of me all the time for my love of words. Some of my favorites are to comfort with the words there, they’re, their (sent by my friend Chelsea), the grammar dog (sent by my friend Kent) and the grammar police (sent by my Aunt Laura). But my all-time favorite came to me a few weeks ago in the form of Weird Al’s #wordcrimes (sent by my friend Amanda).

I’m not kidding when I say that if I’m feeling a little down for any reason, watching word crimes makes my day better. I’m a huge nerd, I know. But the video does a lot for calling out some really common things that I see all the time. As a follow-up to my PRoofread post from 2012, here are a few ways you can prevent word crimes.

If you think I’m wasting your time, think again!

You may think you don’t need grammar or spelling. But you never know who is watching. It’s a joke in my family that I don’t eat at restaurants called a “kafé” instead of a café. I don’t bring my dry cleaning to the “kleaner.” Now this is not to say I would totally discount a business using a K instead of a C, but it does mean that it’s much harder for me to take someone seriously who doesn’t spell things correctly. Ask any hiring manager, and they’ll say misspelled words on a resume are often a deal breaker. Your written word is often the first thing people see…so make your first impression a good one!

Weird Al makes some good points.

He went over a few common word crimes. If you missed them in the video, I’ll outline them here:

• Less vs. Fewer – As a general rule of thumb, if you’re discussing items that can be counted, use fewer. An example would be “I have fewer pencils.” If it’s an abstract thing, use less. One example of that would be “I have less pain.”
• Could care less – I get my husband on this all the time. Think about it. If you could care less, it means you do care a little. If you don’t care at all, then the phrase should be that you couldn’t care less.
• Its vs. it’s – In this case, literally follow the rules of a contraction. It’s means “it is” and “its” is possessive.
• The Oxford comma – Some of my friends like to tease me with memes like this one about why they still use the Oxford comma. I don’t use it. And that’s OK. There’s a place for both schools of thought here. But I will say this: If you’re relying on memes like that to make your point, you’re missing out on a whole word of words you can use to re-arrange that sentence!
• Text speech – I know I’m one of the few who uses “you” instead of “u” in text messages. But please, for the sake of the English language, do not let your text speech invade your writing! As Weird Al says, BRCU are letters. Be, are, see and you are words!
• Figurative vs. literal – This one is a result of dramatic exaggerations. And I’m guilty of it sometimes! But the fact is people literally overuse literally way too often.

The I vs. me debate

When you were younger, odds are your mother, father, teacher, babysitter or the overzealous older kid down the street corrected you when you said something like “Me and John are going to the store.” They probably told you that the correct way to say it was “John and I are going to the store.”

In that case, those people were right. But you may also have been scarred for life! These days I see a lot of people misusing I when me is actually correct.

As an easy way to remember, think about what you’d say if there was no one else in the sentence. For example, “John and I went to the store.” Without John, it’s just “I went to the store.” That means I is correct there. But if you were saying something like “Alice called me and John,” then me is correct, because without John, Alice just called me. If it bothers you that much, just change the sentence and use us.

Got any pet peeves I missed here? Leave them in the comments!

How to Get an ‘A’ from Your Editor

Kerri Guyton

With my recent job promotion, I took on many new duties at our firm. One of those is editing. I am responsible for editing every piece of news or marketing collateral that our team produces – and let me tell you, our team produces a lot. 

Through this new job function, I’ve learned a lot about how our team members write, the different nuances they use and how they each communicate differently. I have also learned that there are certain mistakes that everyone makes. This is why we have the editing function in our production process – so there is always a second eye (and sometimes a third eye) checking to make sure we’re producing the best work we can for our clients. 

I understand that not everyone has access to an editor to review everything written before it’s turned in to a client (or a class, for that matter). However, I think that anyone could benefit from taking these steps to ensure any piece is client-ready, which will make any editor’s day.

Use Spell Check

This is such an easy step that so many people fail to take. Spell check is especially important for Excel documents that don’t always point out misspellings as you go. Also, spell check can be utilized for something as simple as email. Be sure you have an automatic spell check set to review your email after you hit send to catch any possible errors.

Don’t Rely Solely on Spell Check

Spell check isn’t going to catch everything, so be sure to read through your document carefully to make sure you aren’t using a word that, while spelled correctly, isn’t the word you meant to use.

Read Through a Document Three Times Before Sending

Read once for grammatical errors, a second time for message clarity and a final time to catch anything else you may have missed. As an editor, I follow all of these steps for editing team documents, but I can tell when the author did not. I may find that there aren’t any grammatical errors (so, step one was done), but there may be a sentence that is garbled or confusing, meaning they were probably reworking the sentence in different ways and didn’t delete portions of previous versions. Obviously, they didn’t review the document for message clarity before sending it for editing. Luckily, I did.

Keep an AP Stylebook On-Hand at all Times

AP Style is very important for us to follow at Obsidian because it is important to the end user – the media. We write client news and promotional materials in AP Style so that anything we distribute to the media can be used as is – without having to be re-edited. (We strive for ‘A’ ratings from newspaper editors, as well.) So, our team is well aware of most AP Style rules. However, there are always unique situations that require an expedition through the AP Stylebook or the website, to which we subscribe.  

Google It!

Research company and organization names to make sure that you are using the correct spelling of the entity’s formal business name. Google unfamiliar terms to make sure you are spelling them correctly and using them appropriately. Make sure you find a credible source, such as a national trade publication or Merriam-Webster online, to get this confirmation.

News Releases: Things you thought were OK but really aren’t

Lauren Hannaford

During some weeks, my colleagues and I may send out a dozen or more news releases for our clients to local media. There’s no doubt reporters in Memphis get hundreds or even thousands of emails, some relevant and some not. Part of our job is to help reporters do their job more quickly. We help make it easier and more seamless for them.
 
Sometimes, new clients aren’t fully aware of what all that entails, and that’s OK because we take time to explain and educate clients about our processes. For example, when a client has news that warrants a full news release, we write the release according to Associated Press guidelines. We do that because that’s how it has to appear and will appear in the news. It also makes it easier for the reporter or editor to pull language from the release. If you’re wondering what AP Style looks like, here are a few examples.
 
•    Memphis, Tenn. not Memphis, TN.
•    John Smith, chief executive officer of ABC Company not John Smith, Chief Executive Officer of ABC Company (unless the title must precede the name, like, Mayor A C Wharton)
•    4 p.m. not 4 PM, noon not 12 p.m.
•    “More than” not “over”
•    The New York Times not “The New York Times”
 
Beyond AP Style rules, there are other AP guidelines we follow, as well. In news releases,

we avoid fluffy sensational language because it hurts credibility. Saying that your new service is “the absolute best service and the only one you will ever need” is an opinion and is meant for paid advertising (although we wouldn’t recommend saying that in an ad either). We also try our best to be concise. That goes back to helping out the reporter. It’s important to be straightforward and avoid flowery language. Jargon, language that applies only to certain professions and industries, is also an issue. When it’s absolutely necessary to include jargon in a news release, it must be explained. However, who wants to read a news release full of explanations? We coach our clients on how to cut out jargon during interviews. 
 
We understand that many businesses have brand guidelines and writing style preferences, and that’s OK for internal use. However, it’s simply not appropriate for the news. While we will always stick to our clients’ brand guidelines, it’s not incorrect to change something to AP Style. Journalists who read properly written news releases, or pitches, will be more likely to respond, and that’s how Obsidian gets great news coverage for our clients!

It’s not what you say, but how you say it.

Kelli Eason

If you’ve ever spent any significant amount of time around a PR person, journalist or anyone else who writes for the media, you may have heard of AP style. It stands for “Associated Press” style, and it’s meant to guide media writers through some of the more tricky writing rules, from hyphens to state abbreviations.

AP style also addresses how to say some things. One example I remember from college is that “firefighter” is the preferred term, not “fireman.” This is because someone fighting fires may be a woman.

www.apstylebook.com

A while back, the AP stylebook online emailed a few updates it was making in 2013. The updates were not exactly light reading – one related to illegal immigration, and another specified when to use homicide so as not to accuse a suspect of murder before he or she has been convicted. While no one gets excited about these topics, they’re often necessary in our world. That got me thinking about the importance of how you say something in everyday life and how it can shape perception of your brand or your personality.

The change to the “illegal immigration” entry was to drop the word “illegal” when describing a person. The rationale is that an action can be illegal, but a person is not illegal. This entry, along with the homicide entry, focuses almost exclusively on the how. How does the word “murder” sound when used in a story about a suspect who has not yet been convicted? (It makes him/her sound guilty.) How does the word “illegal” sound when describing a person? (Not good. The person committed an illegal act, but he or she is not inherently illegal.) 

The principle is not exclusive to this AP style change. We discuss it all the time at Obsidian. Sometimes companies have the unfortunate task of breaking bad news, and sometimes the nature of a brand’s competitive landscape calls for an adjustment in their language or presentation. You’ve probably heard of a “compliment sandwich.” Basically, it’s a faulty idea that if you start and end with a compliment, you can throw the bad news in the middle, and it’s possible no one will notice. Paula Abdul used to do it all the time on American Idol. She would start by telling the contestant how wonderful he or she looked, then follow up with a negative review of the performance. It never worked.

Be honest about things. Don’t try to hide the negative, just look for a better how. You might be surprised about how the reactions change.

My Top 5 Reads for PR professionals

Sarah Lichterman

Being in the high-speed world of public relations, the luxury of having time to search for the perfect book is rare. I am here to help! I ventured through the shelves at the Booksellers at Laurelwood and did some additional research by reading online reviews to discover my list of top five reads for a PR professional. Here are my findings (in no particular order):

www.flickr.com/photos/azrasta/5088254388/

• Crush it! by Gary Vaynerchuk
  This is the one book on this list that I have actually read and highly recommend. Vaynerchuk explores all areas of social media by using examples from his own life and research to prove that anyone can live their passion and make things. He outlines his steps to success in order to build a name for a business or personal brand. This book will help you find your passion and be empowered to accomplish your dreams.
• The New Rules of Marketing & PR: how to use new releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing & online media to reach buyers directly by David Meerman Scott
  This book is good for those who are just starting out, as well as for seasoned pros in both marketing and public relations. It gives a fresh perspective regarding new ways to use social media, blogging and online marketing to remain competitive with the constantly changing trends of online PR.
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  Published in 1937, this classic has sold more than 15 million copies and has been referred to as the public relations bible. In this book, Carnegie explains many techniques that bring professional knowledge and personal touch together. It focuses on building relationships and how to build leadership skills.
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
  
  “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” This book analyzes patterns in human behaviors. It is thought-provoking and explores different trends of word-of-mouth marketing.

And last but not least… 

• Associated Press Stylebook by the Associated Press
  Published and updated annually, the AP Stylebook is the No. 1 must-have for any public relations professional or student. This book contains important guidelines for journalistic writing. If you don’t have a personal copy already, go get it now! I recommend getting the spiral-bound version for easier use.

If you have read any of these books or have any suggestions for a good PR read, please comment and let us know! Happy reading!

The 10 most common grammar & AP Style mistakes, plus the importance of using AP style

Kim Morrison

Is it sad that when I saw this topic in our blog list I got just a little giddy? I’m very much a grammar nerd. I cringe while reading most Facebook posts, using every bit of willpower to ignore the need to correct the poster. I’m the person my friends and (previous) co-workers will ask to edit something, and I’m usually the first to start rattling off letters when someone asks how to spell something. Interestingly enough, I was an English major before switching to journalism, so there were many habits I had to change to become compliant to the AP Style gods. Here’s a list of some egregious grammar issues and AP Style errors.

That vs. which

This is one that still trips me up. That is used for essential clauses (the sentence would lose its meaning without the clause) and doesn’t use commas. Which is used with nonessential clauses (meaning the sentence doesn’t lose meaning without the clause) and uses commas. I came up with a little rhyme to help with this; use that when you have to have it, use which when you can ditch it.

Its vs. it’s (plus their vs. there vs. they’re and you’re vs. your)

This is a simple one that drives me up the wall. It’s is a contraction of it is or it has and its shows possession. Along this same problem area: their shows possession, there is a place, they’re is a contraction of they are, you’re is a contraction of you are, and your shows possession. Get it? Got it? Good.

Toward

It’s always toward, without an “s.” Never add an “s” to toward, ever.

Punctuation with quotation marks

Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks, whether they’re punctuating the quote or the flow of the sentence. Dashes, semicolons, questions marks and exclamation points only go inside the quotation marks if they directly apply to the quote, otherwise they go outside the quotation marks if punctuating the whole sentence.

Months, days and seasons

Only abbreviate months if used with a specific date, otherwise spell it out. Also, only the following months should be abbreviated and in this way: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. If you’re writing for tabular material, the following forms are acceptable, without a period: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov and Dec. Likewise, only abbreviate days of the week for tabular material, without periods, as so: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat. Seasons are not capitalized unless they are part of a formal name.

Titles (formal)

I’m talking about mayor, sheriff, chairman of the board, president of the United States, etc. Essentially, only capitalize a formal or working title when it comes before the person’s name, otherwise it should be lowercase. The rules vary when you start to talk about military titles, royal titles, long titles, short titles, etc. The AP Style guide has a whole page about formal titles, so check it if you’re in doubt about how to properly address someone in print.

Numbers

The AP Stylebook has about a page and a half dedicated to numbers. In general, spell out the numbers zero through nine, and use the number for 10 or more. Try to avoid starting a sentence with a number, but if need be, spell it out, unless it’s a calendar year. There are a number of rules regarding decimals and numbers in a series, so check out the Stylebook for more detailed rules.

State abbreviations

Be wary, the postal code abbreviation and the dateline abbreviation will most likely be different. Plus, there are eight states that aren’t abbreviated in datelines, listed here: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. The District of Columbia is also not abbreviated in the dateline. Only use the postal code abbreviation with addresses.

Commas in a series

Ah yes, lastly, but definitely not least, the Oxford or serial comma. The habit that many an English teacher probably propelled you to develop. It’s amazing how passionate people are about their punctuation. People seem to either love or hate the Oxford comma, and the AP Stylebook is part of the latter group. Don’t use the Oxford comma in a simple series before the conjunction. Only use it to avoid ambiguity, if part of the series contains a conjunction or if you have a complex series of phrases. I was a fan until I realized it wasn’t AP Style, all hail AP Style…

Honorable mention

a.m. and p.m.  - That’s how they’re used. The periods may seem picky, but they’re proper.

These aren’t life-altering changes, so what’s the big deal? You got into journalism because you want someone to read your work, right? AP Style is the Bible as far as the journalism industry is concerned. If your work isn’t in AP Style, it isn’t going to get read. It’ll be thrown in the trash, or become fodder for the office to laugh at, and maybe even live on in viral infamy online. So do yourself a favor, buy the book or the online membership, and become very, very close friends with it; your livelihood depends on it.