You're vs your: does it matter?

Homophone: Your vs You're Today I received a business e-mail from a well-educated, native English speaker. The writer is a professional with an important organization. The e-mail had the word "your" when the writer meant "you're". This has happened with e-mails from other people, as well. The impression these e-mails give is of a writer who either doesn't have a good education or is careless. Those impressions reflect on the employer, as well. Your is a plural possessive, as in "It's your coat." You're means "you are", as in "you're going there". There are many homophones which need to be learned. Homo means "same", while "phone" means "sound". Both words in a pair of homophones sound the same, but the spellings and meanings are different. To see one such list of homophones, click here or paste in http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/homophones-list.htm. Details, such as homophones, matter. So does your reputation. Learn the common homophones!

Critical Thinking and Advertisements

Today I received an ad about a "great" job. Last week I passed an ad about a skin care product "with no unnecessary ingredients".

You need to wonder about these creatively written ads. If you search for the "most persuasive words in ads", you can get lists of 108 - 200 words deemed most effective. A simpler way to analyze them, though, is to think "where's the evidence"? What are they not telling us? For example, no company would waste money putting in unnecessary ingredients in a product. A job that a copywriter considers "great" may be merely one that pays his agency a wonderful placement fee.

Be a critical thinker; it pays!

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides training in critical thinking skills in its' executive communication skills seminar and other courses.