The Writing Mistakes Even CEOs Make…And How to Avoid Them

“Wow, I never realized I’ve been writing the wrong word! And I’ve been doing this since…well, since forever!”

Nico is a native English speaker with a Master’s degree from one of the top universities in the United States. He is also the CEO of an engineering consulting firm. He was shocked to discover that he had been writing the word “loose” when he had meant to write “lose”.

“Then the other day, my twelve-year-old daughter came into my home office,” Nico recalled. “She caught a glimpse of the email I was typing on my computer. It was something about how I didn’t want to lose contact with a supplier who is moving to Australia, except I had written ‘loose contact’. Mariah told me l-o-o-s-e was wrong and it should be l-o-s-e.”

Nico laughed it off while his daughter was in the room. “But after she left, I looked it up. Sure enough, Mariah was right.”

Nico’s story shows how even the most accomplished professionals, including CEOs, often fall prey to common writing mistakes. Whether you are a native English speaker or someone who speaks English as a second (or third) language, it can undermine your credibility if you fail to identify and fix these errors. Therefore, we will look at seven writing mistakes that our TextRanch editors often detect when we edit business emails and other professional communications.

Mistake #1: Confusing homophones and other similar words

Incorrect: I will have a courier deliver the documents to there office.

Correct: I will have a courier deliver the documents to their office.

Why it happens: Homophones—words that sound alike but have different meanings—can be confusing. The same goes for very similar-sounding words such as “lose” and “loose”, “advice” and “advise”, and “accept” and “except”. It’s easy to forget which one is which, or to get into the habit of writing the wrong word (which probably explains what happened to Nico).

Tip: Review common homophones—and the contexts where they are most likely to appear—and practice using them in sentences. Also, take a look through our TextRanch blog. We have several articles to help you with confusing word pairs.

Mistake #2: Incorrect prepositions

Incorrect: Amelia from the Singapore office is in the phone right now.

Correct: Amelia from the Singapore office is on the phone right now.

Why it happens: Prepositions and other little words are especially tricky if English is not your first language. There are also some differences between American and British English. The use of prepositions can also vary depending on context.

Tip: Familiarize yourself with common prepositional phrases and their correct usage. Context is key in choosing the right preposition. When in doubt, ask someone else if the preposition you’re using is correct.

Mistake #3: Comma splices and other run-on sentences

Incorrect: We are having a conference call with Judith’s team, please join us at noon.

Correct: We are having a conference call with Judith’s team. Please join us at noon.

Why it happens: Sometimes it’s hard to know where one sentence should end and another one should begin. Other times, the writer isn’t sure about how to use conjunctions. If you use AI tools to help you with your writing, they occasionally produce run-on sentences, as we found here.

Tips: Review your sentences, checking for independent clauses. These are parts of sentences that can form a complete, grammatically correct sentence on their own. If you see two independent clauses in the same sentence, they need to be connected with a conjunction or a semicolon (not a comma), or else split off into separate sentences. See this article for specific details.

Mistake #4: Typos

Incorrect: Brian Chang is supposed to contact you about out flight details.

Correct: Brian Chang is supposed to contact you about our flight details.

Why it happens: Typos happen to everyone. They’re usually due to a slip of the fingers or a lack of concentration. Sometimes when you’re making changes to a sentence, you might accidentally leave in a word that you had meant to take out. The main problem with typos is catching them before anyone else sees them!

Tip: Spend a little time away from your text and then go back and read through it when your eyes are fresh. If you are writing something really important, ask someone else to check it before you send it to your target audience.

Mistake #5: Overuse of the passive voice

Incorrect: The presentation was made by Keisha yesterday.

Correct: Keisha made the presentation yesterday.

Why it happens: Since the passive voice is common in academic writing, some people think using it in a business setting makes them sound more professional or authoritative.

Tip: The active voice is clearer and more direct. Therefore, it’s more appropriate for business communications. Save the passive voice for academic papers.

Mistake #6: Redundant expressions

Incorrect: We must collaborate together to plan our slide show for the conference.

Correct: We must collaborate to plan our slide show for the conference.

Why it happens: Redundancies such as “collaborate together”, “advance forward”, and “refer back” are so common in business writing that they just sound normal, so people keep using them.

Tip: Review your writing for repetitive words and phrases. Streamline your sentences to make them clear and concise.

Mistake #7: Overuse of jargon

Incorrect: To maximize ROI, we should synergize our cross-functional teams and align our core competencies. (Actually, this sentence is technically correct, but there’s enough jargon to make your head spin!)

Correct: To get the best return on our investment, the various teams should work together and focus on our main strengths

Why it happens: Professionals often use jargon to sound knowledgeable. Unfortunately, it can obscure the meaning and alienate those members of your audience who just want you to get to the point without making their heads spin.

Tip: Use clear and simple language to ensure your message is easily understood. Reserve jargon for situations where it is truly necessary and where it will be understood by your whole audience. (See our full article about when to use jargon here.)

Should you try to fix all of these mistakes yourself?

By being vigilant and utilizing the right tools, you can find and fix some of these common writing errors on your own. Still, it’s easy to miss small mistakes, especially typos and homophones. Spell checkers and AI tools don’t always catch them, either.

For example, Nico always uses a spell checker before he sends out any business emails or documents. “But since ‘loose’ is a real word and I was spelling it correctly, the spell checker never flagged it,” said Nico.

Whether you’re drafting an important email, a detailed report, or a company policy, sometimes it helps to have a professional editor or proofreader go over your text and provide you with feedback.

How our TextRanch editors can help

At TextRanch, we offer a variety of services to meet your needs.

• Quick Text: Our Quick Text service is ideal for business emails, social media posts, and for when you just want to know if a sentence is written correctly.
• Document Editing: If you are struggling with a lengthy report and you want a professional editor to go over it carefully and provide constructive feedback, our Document Editing service is right for you.
• Ask an Editor: If you are working on improving your English, our Ask an Editor service can help you understand why certain words or phrases are correct while others are not.

Click the blue box below to get started and find out how we can help you make a great impression every time.