So you’ve got a new district manager and you know nothing about her.  Everyone is so excited to meet her or initiate conversation with her in anyway.  And then you receive a welcome email from her.  You can barely wait to catch a glimpse of your new and exciting leader.  But midway through the second sentence you’re distracted by a typo.  We all make mistakes—that’s no big deal.  You keep reading.  You read another sentence and find another typo.  And then a grammatical error.  And then another typo.

I don’t see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words. We might as well make all clothes alike and cook all dishes alike. Sameness is tiresome; variety is pleasing. ― Mark Twain

You should not base your first impression of your new leader on her inability to press the spell-check button.  Mistakes are a part of life and these miniscule errors should not matter.  But in this case they do matter.

Are you horrible at spelling?  Do you worry that you may one day make this lasting negative impression on your peers?  Well fret no more.  You should never feel anxious about composing any document that others will read.  If you are a terrible speller or writer, there is no reason that anyone ever needs to know.  Here are a few tips to overcome your spelling mistakes.

1.  Always use spell-check.  But spell-check does not alert you if you use “than” instead of “then” or “affect” instead of “effect.”  It only checks that you spelled the words correctly.

2.  Read your composition aloud and listen to make sure that it sounds correct.  You will catch many mistakes just by listening to it.

3.  Try using Microsoft Word to compose your document—even if it is an email.  (You can always copy and paste.  It is worth the extra minute.)  Word will notice if you use “than” instead of “then” and it is usually correct when it suggests that you revise your sentence.

4.  If you are still feeling inadequate, ask a colleague to proof read it for you.  Pick someone that you trust who will improve your document without changing the way it sounds.  Select someone that writes better than you.

Above all, be honest about your spelling ability and humble enough to thank that person you asked to assist you.  The fact that you cannot spell should not be a secret.  But it shouldn’t be obvious in your writing.

It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.

― Andrew Jackson