Atย Ruby Receptionists, we do a lot of writing.ย Our team of virtual receptionists takes hundreds of messages each day.ย The office is always abuzz with the sound of friendly voices and rapidly typing fingers.ย ย Taking clear, accurate messages while balancing multiple telephone calls and remaining relentlessly friendly is no simple feat, but our team makes it seem so.ย Two weeks ago, I fielded calls for the first time inย many months, and believe me–it ain’t easy.
I started at Ruby as a receptionistย around five yearsย ago,ย and have since taken a position that is centered around writing.ย From my days as a receptionist, working at Ruby has taught me the value of proofreading.ย I’ve become a borderline-obsessive re-reader in an effort to catch any and all errors in my writing.ย The trouble is, re-reading doesn’t always do the trick for me, and those sneaky errorsย have a habit ofย making themselves knownย after an email has been sent or a document published.
Recently, I’ve started using a new proofreading strategy: reading aloud.ย Seems simple, right?ย Obvious?ย Well, it wasn’t to me, sadly, but it has proven very helpful.ย I’ll admit it feels a bit awkward at first, but the resultsย are well worth it for me.ย By the way, in case you’re worried about disturbing your co-workers, you don’t have to read aloud loudly in order for this method to be effective.ย No need to turn your latest memo into a test of your public speaking skills!
The next time you’re proofreading, I suggest speaking up (or speaking quietly to yourself). Now let’s hope this post is error-free…
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