I think faster than I can write:
I will be breezing along in creative flow thinking that I am writing something wonderful and worthwhile. Something worthy that others will enjoy reading, basking in the glow of feeling like “wow this is good.” Only to read back over my musings and find that I have misspelled words or used phrases unworthy of a second grader. The self satisfaction factor suddenly evaporates to be replaced with the OMG thought; I was going to post this on my blog site?
Use spell check religiously:
I have long had a personal policy to never send even an email without first hitting the spell check. I know, I know, with all the texting and am emailing using abbreviations and acronyms in some circles it is considered “Kool”…… an old timie word, not to be grammatically correct. Let me try a more up to the minute descriptive word; let’s say it is “Sweet” to disregard basic spelling and grammar in what you write. However, in the overall scheme of things using correct English and spelling is a sign of education and respect for the person who will be reading what you have written.
Several months ago I was offered the opportunity to use a program called Ginger, http://www.gingersoftware.com . Ginger checks spelling and grammar on anything you are writing on your computer. It sits at the top of your screen in whatever program is open. As long as the icon is green you know you have no errors in what you are writing. When it changes to red you know that Ginger has found something you need to check.
In being offered the opportunity by Ginger to use this program their one request was that I write a blog post regarding the value of the program and what I thought about the program. I have been using the program now about three months. I felt that I needed to be involved with the daily use before I commented or recommended.
If English is a second language, Ginger can help:
Ginger’s marketing claim is the program is good for people for whom English is a second language. Though I don’t speak another language, I have taught many agents for whom English is not their first language. In class I have observed many struggling with the phraseology of “street English” which we all use. English is taught throughout the world in elementary and high schools but it is the King’s English not the street English that is spoken and written in the US.
I was reading recently a blog post by Chris Abraham, http://blog.rosettastone.com/author/rschrisabraham/ talking about his foray into learning German and some of the hurtles he encountered in learning another language. In the US the secondary schools offer courses in other languages but we face the same problems Chris describes in his blog. In the process of learning another language we are not exposed to using what we are learning on a daily basis to communicate and interact. Another point Chris mentions is that in social situations in Germany, where he has a business and spends half of his time, he found that he understand some or most of what was being said but often he didn’t understand the culture and didn’t get the joke. In teaching cultural diversity classes to real estate agents one point I stressed was when working with people from other parts of the world, don’t try to make jokes and be funny. In cultures outside the US the words, actions and hand motions we use daily and think nothing about, can be offensive to people from other parts of the world. Studying basic cultural courtesies is a wise use of time if you are going to work with people from other parts of the world. People who speak English as a second language often have difficulty in writing English because of the difference in verb placement and other peculiarities of translating their first language into English. Ginger also has a speech element.
How Ginger Works:
When the program is downloaded a green icon appears on the top of the computer screen. The icon will be visible in every program you work in. When the Ginger icon turns red it is an indication there could be a mistake. The icon will read (Mistakes Found! (F2) the program will quickly scan the writing and gives you two options. Either to (skip) and accept what you have written or (approve) and change to what Ginger suggests. Often what Ginger suggests would change the meaning of what your writing so you would skip in that instance and keep the writing the way you have written. The good thing is that the flow when checking is fast and it makes you review what you have written and notice if you want or need to make changes along with Gingers checking spelling and grammar.
Why everyone needs to use Spell Check at least:
I have received emails from people I know are brilliant and they will misspell words or have made typos and not noticed them before they hit send. I know these people would cringe if they realized that they had sent something that was not correct or misspelled. I know when I get a reply to one of my emails and I read over what I have sent and see a mistake I cringe. Ginger will not only catch the spelling but will catch using a good word that is used in the wrong place or a word that is pronounced the same way but spelled differently with different meanings. The spell check/grammar check on your word processor will not do that.
What I wish I could change/control:
Ginger isn’t perfect. Nothing is. A few things that I wish I could control or change in Ginger. I wish that I could check just the section of the document that I have just written and not have Ginger go back through the entire document which has been checked each time I hit F2. I wish that Ginger would remember that I already skipped that sentence and I don’t want to make a change even though Ginger’s approve section is still making the change suggestion.
Using Ginger has added greatly to my confidence in posting to my blogs and sending emails and other writing. If my thoughts make you think you would like to try the Ginger there is a free offer on their website to use Ginger for a few days to see how you like it. http://www.gingersoftware.com.
Give it a try. I think you will like Ginger.
