Do not post unedited work anywhere, ever. Spelling and grammar are one of the biggest cues available through the written medium, which is one of the few cues available online. Any writing mistakes will make you seem either lazy or uneducated. Because cues such as body language, or other subconscious behaviours are missing in an online environment, cues such as grammar, spelling and writing style are often seen as more meaningful about you as a person than the actual message. You're not going to turn anyone off because your spelling is perfect, but you will definitely turn off a large proportion of people because your spelling is bad.
So, here are some quick and easy tips on editing.
1. Cut 10%. Okay, that's not a hard and fast rule, but I want you to go through and try to cut out as much as you can while still keeping the same meaning. Do you have superfluous words that add nothing to your message? The cleaner and sharper your writing, the clearer your message will be. Make sure that every word is fulfilling a vital purpose. Otherwise, kill it.
2. Sepll-Chekecr. Make sure there is a spell-checker wherever you are writing. Some browsers also don't have a spell-checker built in. You should be editing your profile in a Word document (or similar) anyway so that you can work on it over a number of days - writing it directly onto the webpage means you aren't taking long enough to think about it and edit it.
3. Read it aloud. If you need to, read it aloud to yourself, but it's better if you can get a friend to read it aloud, because you'll be able to hear where other people struggle with phrasing or meaning. If you need to explain how it should be read, then you've failed in your writing. Remember, you'll never get to explain while it's online, so make sure you don't need to.
4. If you didn't get a friend to read it before, get them to do it now to make sure your profile says what you think it says. This is particularly important if your surveys shows you didn't have a great understanding of your unintentional cues.
5. Now, I want you to read it aloud in a stalker or pornstar voice. Is it offensive? Then change it. Creepy? Change it! No one is going to be doing you any favours online, so don't make them need to. If it could be misinterpreted in any way, change it.
After you have done all that, it's time to take it live!
So, here are some quick and easy tips on editing.
1. Cut 10%. Okay, that's not a hard and fast rule, but I want you to go through and try to cut out as much as you can while still keeping the same meaning. Do you have superfluous words that add nothing to your message? The cleaner and sharper your writing, the clearer your message will be. Make sure that every word is fulfilling a vital purpose. Otherwise, kill it.
2. Sepll-Chekecr. Make sure there is a spell-checker wherever you are writing. Some browsers also don't have a spell-checker built in. You should be editing your profile in a Word document (or similar) anyway so that you can work on it over a number of days - writing it directly onto the webpage means you aren't taking long enough to think about it and edit it.
3. Read it aloud. If you need to, read it aloud to yourself, but it's better if you can get a friend to read it aloud, because you'll be able to hear where other people struggle with phrasing or meaning. If you need to explain how it should be read, then you've failed in your writing. Remember, you'll never get to explain while it's online, so make sure you don't need to.
4. If you didn't get a friend to read it before, get them to do it now to make sure your profile says what you think it says. This is particularly important if your surveys shows you didn't have a great understanding of your unintentional cues.
5. Now, I want you to read it aloud in a stalker or pornstar voice. Is it offensive? Then change it. Creepy? Change it! No one is going to be doing you any favours online, so don't make them need to. If it could be misinterpreted in any way, change it.
After you have done all that, it's time to take it live!
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For more great advice on how to present yourself online, see "The Nice Guy's Guide To Online Dating Profiles" on Amazon: Nice Guy's Guide To Online Dating on Amazon
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