​Exclamation points are like profanity.

• Their appropriateness depends on the situation and your audience.
• Sprinkling one or two in from time to time can enhance your message.
• But using too many diminishes their impact and makes you look foolish.

​If you do much reading at all, you’ve probably seen these two words mixed up, one for the other. It’s one of the more common errors in the English language.
​

“I’m weary of anything that looks too easy. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.”
“Be weary of anyone who calls or emails you and asks for your personal information.”

I have to admit that this use of weary is one that grates on my ears every time I hear it (or read it).

However, it’s becoming a more and more common error. And as much as I want to harumph and grumble like the word snob I often am, it’s an understandable one.

​But it’s also easily avoidable once you’re aware of it.
​

Today’s post is going to be a short one, directed at those of you in sales and marketing, whether that’s for your own small business or for a large corporation. (It also allows me to rationalize voicing one of my pet peeves.)
​
It’s becoming more and more common to see these two phrases being used interchangeably. However, they’re not the same, and an informal poll among editors from all over the world confirms it.
​

Most of us decide to become writers because we have a message to share with the world. Unfortunately, our instincts often get in the way of sharing that message in a way that readers can absorb.

I’m just as guilty as the next person. I think of what I want to say. Sometimes (usually), I lay it out in a list or outline. Then, I baldly state what I have to say and wonder why no one responds. It’s a lesson I know in my head but am still working on putting into practice. (See most of my blog posts for examples.)
​
Are you guilty of this too?
​

A miniscule portion of the living, evolving creature we know as the English language gets passed along to us through the written word. So many of the everyday words and phrases we use came to us verbally, making converting them into a written language with standardized spelling especially difficult.
​
And while the internet and social media come to us largely through writing, I think we can all agree they have not been a help with spelling and grammar.
​

Ask any group of word nerds to list their grammar pet peeves, and you won’t have to wait long before someone starts bemoaning the fact that no one knows the difference between compose and comprise these days.
​
It’s true that about anywhere you look, the two terms seem to be used interchangeably by many writers. But are they the same? And if not, what’s the difference?
​

We all want to sound intelligent when we’re speaking or writing, and that means we genuinely try to adhere to standard grammar rules.

However, sometimes, we try a little too hard. We try so hard to sound right that we end up getting it very wrong.

​One of the most common mistakes is to use I or myself in a place where a simple me is called for.

​(X indicates a grammatically incorrect example sentence.)
​

I still remember that lesson in elementary school when the teacher tried to convince us that, when someone calls and asks for us, the correct response is, “This is she (or whatever pronoun is appropriate in your case).” Yeah, we weren’t buying it either.
​
It was awkward and unnatural, and we’d never heard anyone say it in real life. But what is the correct usage?
​