I am pretty quick to remind people that it doesn't matter what you say, or even mean to say - it's how it is perceived that counts. Basic communication failures probably account for over 50% of the "he said - she said" types of conflicts we see here. In an effort to not sound like a broken record I need to find different ways of getting the point across, so I think the following joke might help!
This woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day. One day, when he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer. As she sat by him, he whispered, eyes full of tears, "You know what? You have been with me through all the bad times. When I got fired, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house, you stayed right here. When my health started failing, you were still by my side... You know what?"
"What dear," she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to fill with warmth.
I learned that lesson a long time ago when I worked with a guy from Iran. I asked him to come out with some friends and I to lunch and he declined. I told him "awww you're a party pooper" and he got SO UPSET. He yelled at me and said that I offended him and I was genuinely confused
Later he apologized after discovering what party pooper actually meant but due to a language barrier he thought I was calling him a piece of shit lol
I realized it's never what you say or how you say it and always how that person receives it ... Also reminds me of how someone thought my username THERAPIST said THE RAPIST lol but that's another story
“A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife annual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”
When you're talking about your personal brand or your business brand and your grammar, spelling, and punctuation represent you in the world. It sends the reader a message about your authority and attention to detail. It's a trust signal; it says, I do good work.
