Why I write with proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Clarity and trust are core values in my style of communication
Me: "Could you please elaborate with some examples? What is 'uptight' to you? What is 'not uptight' to you?"
Kylie: "this comment a lil uptight feeling w ur proper punctuation and all 😠we gotta take these masks off frfr. i will not be elaborating further<3"
I encountered a discussion thread by a LinkedIn user named Kylie1, who lamented that LinkedIn's conversations feel "uptight". She wished that LinkedIn had a "more homies feeling" instead. The above conversation ensued between me and her.
When I write emails, text messages, instant messages, Tweets, newsletter articles, and LinkedIn posts, I use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. There are several important reasons for this:
1) I value clarity in communication, and I put that value into practice in my writing. Writing with proper mechanics is one important component of clarity.
2) I spend much of my time online discussing math, statistics, and analytics; these topics can be difficult to explain already. If I write bad English, then I make that task even more difficult.
3) Many of my followers do NOT speak, read, or write English as a first language. Thus, if I use bad spelling, grammar, or punctuation, then I will confuse them to frustrating depths. I do NOT want this to happen.
4) There is a happy side effect about my clear and proper style of online writing: It helps to build trust with my audience. People have come to perceive me as a reliable and dependable source of information. I take pride in building and preserving that reputation.
5) Related to Point #4, my reputation sets the tone for how others communicate with me in return. This is a good filtering mechanism; it reduces the likelihood that someone tries to deceive me through weaponized ambiguity.
Kylie has succeeded in her own professional life through her own writing style. She is more prolific on Twitter, where her casual communication is more accepted. Clearly, her style works well for her, which is good. As I commented to her later in that thread, my only objection is her characterization of me having a "mask". My sincerity and diligence are not faults; they are different from her style, and they have proven to be beneficial to me.
I like Twitter and have learned a lot from many smart people there, but I attract less attention there than I do on LinkedIn. It is quite possible that my clear and earnest style of writing is unappealing on Twitter. I would value any feedback that my followers may have about this matter.
Whatever the reason is, I will stay true to my values and maintain my writing style, no matter what the medium is.
If you are reading my posts for the first time: I'm Eric Cai, a statistician based in Toronto, Canada. I write about statistics, communication, and career development for professionals in data & analytics. Subscribe to get my articles delivered to your inbox at 9:30 AM Eastern time on Monday to Friday.
Kylie is not her real name. I am not writing this post to invite attacks on her or start an online feud with her. I am merely using this conversation to highlight my writing style and how it differs from others on social media.