The Truth About “i”
When you want to be viewed as a professional, you need to communicate as though you desire to be taken seriously.
When you type “i” when it should be “I” — you appear uneducated and/or lazy.
Perception is the Only Reality
Today alone, I’ve received 5 email inquiries where the person on the other side of the screen didn’t feel it was worth the effort to hit the caps key to capitalize “i”. Being a professional myself, I need to be very selective when I take on new clients and projects — it’s called time management.
When I receive an inquiry without proper capitalization or sentence structure (I’ve talked about this before here.), I hesitate.
Why do I hesitate? Off the top of my head…
- If they do not care how they are perceived in email, do they have what it takes to understand the importance of perception when it comes to their website? Or will they take short cuts there too?
- If they do not think it is important to communicate like a professional when inquiring to another professional, what will be the chances that we can form a professional partnership?
- If they think that little things like this do not matter; what else do they underestimate and assume does not matter as well?
- What will it be like to coach and work with someone on the complexities of online business and marketing when they aren’t even willing to use their grade school education in an email?
You get the idea… When you email professionals, you want to email as a professional.
Use the Shift Key
What is so darned difficult about capitalizing the letter “i”? When I type about anything where I refer to myself, I capitalize “I”. I don’t cut corners and try to “save time” by not hitting that shift key. (What minuscule amount of time is actually saved?) Never has the thought crossed my mind to not use the shift key when appropriate.
Besides proper sentence structure, punctuation and grammar — capitalizing “I” shouldn’t be overlooked or underestimated. Perception is the only reality online and how you type will reflect on you — good, bad or indifferent. Why not take one little step forward today and start by using that shift key?
If you have an education — use it.
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
~ Albert Einstein
