Page 154 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

THE SIX MOST COMMON LANGUAGE MISTAKES 145

expect to improve, in terms of profi ts,” try, “We expect to make a
profi t.” Instead of, “In terms of labor, we are hiring more people,”
just say, “We’re hiring more people.” Instead of, “In terms of out-
look, the future is not promising,” try, “We could be doing a lot
better.” In our sentence we seek an active verb. Instead of “in terms
of productivity,” we choose “. . . boost productivity.”

6. Never place an at after where is. Instead of, “Where is he at?”
or, “He knows where it’s at,” or “I know where the fi les are at,” how
about just, “Where is he?” “He knows where it is,” and “I know

where the files are.” So our original sentence could come down to
this: “If we had stayed, we would have had to boost productivity to
increase profi ts.”
If you don’t think any of this matters, think again. A junior
person from company A makes a sales pitch to a senior person from
company B and her staff. Company A doesn’t get the business—and
will never know why. The reason is that although the junior person
from company A was intelligent, apparently competent, and seem-
ingly knowledgeable, he was also to some degree inarticulate. The
senior person from B comes away with the impression that the per-
son from A is out of his depth, in over his head, a little lacking in
sophistication, a little naive perhaps, and (if the way he talked is any
indication) also short on the kind of education that people from
company B would look for in a business partner or relationship.
Here are a few other bear traps you might want to avoid:
Incorrect: “If I was him . . .”

Correct: “If I were he . . .” (Were must follow if, and he must
follow the verb to be.)

Incorrect: “You did real good.”
Correct: “You did really well.” (Good is not an adverb, and

you have to throw an ly on an adverb that modifies another
adverb.)