Have you ever read through an article and noticed a spelling error? Sometimes you just let it go, and other times you feel as if you should point it out to the author.
When you’re scanning through someone’s LinkedIn profile, you may also come across misspellings and grammatical errors. Depending on your closeness with the individual, you may want to let them know about it so that they can correct it. After all, misspellings and grammatical errors can reduce our level of expertise by making us look uneducated or have a lack in quality.
Unfortunately, pointing out someone’s mistakes may not go over well, and the individual may get mad or embarrassed. So how exactly do you let someone know their profile has a typo without embarrassing them?
Keep it private.
The very worst thing you could do would be to point out the misspelling on a public forum. Never send a message to the user where other users can see it, and never post it as a blog comment where other readers can find it. Having you find the mistake is one thing, but having it pointed out to a variety of other individuals will make the situation worse and definitely embarrass the author. Instead, you want to make sure that you’re sending a private message that only they will see.
Be sincere.
We are all human, and we all make mistakes, so be sure that your message to them is very sincere. You could always start by complimenting some other aspect of their profile, career history or accomplishments. This will break the ice and let them know that you enjoy their work or skill. Once you’ve done that, simply let them know about the mistake (be specific as to where it can be located on their profile and why it’s incorrect). Let them know that you are only pointing it out to help them and that you’re not trying to be rude. You should also express how you would hope they would do the same for you.
When your note is sincere, it is less embarrassing to the author. They will know that you’re trying to help and that you’re not trying to diminish their credibility or come off as one of their superiors.
Suggest your own tips.
In your message, you could always offer up your own tips for proofreading. Let them know about your proofreading secrets, such as reading their profile aloud or backwards to check for errors. You could also suggest a grammar checking software or SAS that you use in order to ensure your own work is always grammatically correct. If there is one that you use to help you generate content that is always error free, offer it up to the individual. It’s possible they’ve never heard of the program you’re referring to, as most people tend to only stick with the spelling and grammar checker that comes with their word processor.
Eli Rhodes is a professional career coach. He likes to write about career tips and helping people further their career.
