Good Grammar is Sexy

Several years ago, my daughter, Eleanor spotted a pillow in a small shop in Denver, Colorado. She sent me this photo. “Good grammar is sexy.” Grammer. Sexy. Maybe!

Here’s a quick grammar refresher.

How often have you heard, “Me and Daniela are working on the proposal.” There are two errors here. Number one, putting yourself before the other person and number two, Using the wrong pronoun. To fix it, drop the other person’s name and listen. You wouldn’t say, “Me is working on the proposal.” You’d say, “I am working on the proposal.” Now, honor the other person by adding their name back, first.  Say, “Daniela and I are working on the proposal.”

Here’s another example: “Please send the report to Marcus and I to review.” Same strategy, drop Marcus’s name, temporarily and listen: “Send the report to I to review.” No. The correct pronoun is me. “Send the report to Marcus and me to review.”

One more example. “Please contact myself or my colleague, Chip, with questions.” You wouldn’t say, “Please contact myself with questions.” Here’s the right version: “Please contact my colleague, Chip, (his name first) or me with questions.” Like the other two examples, this sentence honors the other person by using their name first and it uses the correct pronoun.

And here’s a Pro Tip:

‘Myself’ is always paired with the pronoun, ‘I’ and includes something you do yourself. For instance,

• “I reminded myself…” or

• “I’ll handle the report myself.” or

• “I thought to myself, if anyone has questions, I want them to contact my colleague, Chip or me.”

  
  

Here’s the point: Nobody gets distracted when you use correct grammar, but they may notice when you don’t.

The bigger your career, the bigger your audience, and the bigger your influence. People expect you to show up professionally in every way. How you speak. How you write. How you treat other people. How you carry yourself. And this isn’t about being stuck up or arrogant, it’s about owning the role you have or going for the role you want. And honoring the people around you who you lead, serve, or influence.

Think of good grammar as a gift. It keeps people focused on your message (not your mistakes). elevates your professional presence and in turn, your confidence.

So, is good grammar sexy? Let me think a minute. Ummm. Yes!

Thanks for reading.