Common word choice mistakes set your messages just a little “off key.” The English language contains many word pairs that are used interchangeably but shouldn’t be. The words have almost the same meaning, but not quite.
When we use the wrong one, our readers might not even see the problem. They’ll just know that the sentence doesn’t feel quite right.
That causes them to stop reading and look twice at a sentence.
And at that point, we’ve lost the connection with the reader. Instead of effortlessly absorbing the
message, they start noticing the words themselves again. Instead of being thoughts and impressions that were going directly to their brains, the words turn back into words.
Because we do want our readers to absorb our messages, we need to avoid using words that disrupt the flow of reading. With that in mind, watch out for these troublesome word pairs.
Consider the words that and which.
When used as pronouns, we see these words used interchangeably all the time, but they’re different.
“That” is used to introduce an essential (or restrictive) clause. It precedes information which is essential to the meaning of the sentence.
“Which” comes before a non-essential (or non-restrictive) clause. This clause presents information which may be interesting, but is not necessary for the meaning of the sentence. The clause following “which” is generally set apart by commas.
Examples:
The course that I need is only offered in September. (designates the course – the one I need)
The course, which covers real estate law, is essential to becoming licensed. (adds information – what the course is about)
Another troublesome pair is fewer and less.
This should be easy, but it does get mixed up.
Fewer is used to denote things that can be counted, such as apples or the number of questions on a test.
Less is for things that are not counted. For instance, “We got less rain in July than in June.”
We don’t usually see fewer used in place of less. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say there was fewer rain. However, we do see them saying less apples or less questions – and that’s just far enough “off key” to make a reader pause.
Farther vs. Further can be a stumper.
Here’s one that gets even professional writers mixed up. I’ve seen them say (write) that they stop and look it up before using either one. And since many people don’t do that, this instance of being just a little off key is a common one.
“Farther” denotes measurable distance, as in “Our new home is farther from work than the old one.”
“Further” denotes figurative distance, as in “We should consider this further.”
Advice and advise get a lot of people confused.
I don’t know why, because advice is a noun and advise is a verb, but I see it all the time.
An easy way to remember this one is to think of the ice in advice. They’re both nouns and you can give them to someone. To advise is something you do.
Affect and effect confuse some people so much that they re-write a paragraph just to avoid them.
When you choose incorrectly, your readers will feel that something is a bit off key – and they may stop to read it twice, just to be sure. And that’s not what you want. So keep them straight.
You affect something when you change or influence an outcome. The result of that is the effect, or the consequence.
- Affect is a verb.
- Effect is a noun.
“Your client’s credit score will affect the interest rate on his mortgage loan. A high score will have a positive effect.”
“While drinking coffee affects many people’s ability to fall asleep, it has no effect on Jerry.“
Next, words that have a psychological impact…
Using these incorrectly won’t cause your readers to stop and look twice. Instead, they may lead your readers to a wrong conclusion.
First, consider the words anxious and eager.
They both mean that you’re looking forward to something with anticipation. But one is positive and conveys excitement and the other is generally perceived as negative – conveying fear or dread.
You might tell a homeowner that you’re eager to get their house on the market or tell a buyer that you’re eager for them to see a listing you just found on MLS.
If you’re worried about the outcome of an inspection or appraisal you might tell your partner that you’re anxious to have it over with.
The word “anxious” doesn’t automatically imply worry, it just leaves it there on the edge of thought. So if you’re about to meet some long-distance clients for the first time, be sure to tell them you’re eager to meet them – not anxious.
This next one can be important to real estate professionals and real estate investors.
House vs. Home: When talking to clients, do you talk about houses or homes?
A house is a physical structure. It has the potential to become a home when occupied by the right people. But until it is occupied, it is only a house.
Therefore, when you’re talking to homeowners who have decided to sell but may be a bit sorry to leave a home they’ve loved, you should refer to it as their house, not their home. Remove the emotional component from your own speech in order to help them begin to emotionally detach from the house.
On the other hand, when showing houses to prospective buyers, refer to those structures as homes. Help them get their emotions involved with the search.
These are just some of the words that could be damaging your career…
If you know you often make mistakes in word choice, or if you know you need a little help with grammar, get a copy of my Grammar Guide for Real Estate Agents.
In it you will learn:
- More of the words that real estate professionals mis-use most often.
- The proper use of personal pronouns: me, myself, and I.
- Punctuation: the correct use of apostrophes and commas, and the proper placement of quotation marks.
- The difference between forming plurals and possessives, and how to make sure you’re using the proper words in each case.
- The difference between “first person” and “third person” composition, and why consistency is a must.
- How misplaced modifiers can destroy your message.
- The most common malapropisms and homophones used by agents to confuse and confound their readers.
- The importance of the words you use in writing property descriptions.
- Common grammar myths you can safely ignore.
- Proofreading, and why you must not rely on spell checkers or grammar checkers to keep your writing on track.
The Grammar Guide for Real Estate Agents is written in simple non-academic terms, and includes both examples and tricks to help you remember which words to use.
