We’re all guilty of it — moving too fast and missing important stuff.

Making assumptions.

Blaming the other person for not being clear … when WE could have taken just a minute more to truly understand.

I wanted to know how to delete a “favorite” game on a solitaire program on my computer, and I went online to see if anyone else knew. Lots of answers, but no help.

So I wrote to the company.

My question: “How can I delete a ‘favorite’ game?”

And I got a response!

But.

The response: “When you wish to add a game to your list, just click on “Favorites” – “Organize Favorites” The first blue arrow is to add games, the second to remove games from your list.”

Do you see what happened?

And sad to say, I wrote back thanking him but saying he hadn’t read my question.

But neither had I read his whole answer.

My thought for improvement for all of us?

When we answer a question, let’s be sure we START with what was asked. Here, he started with adding, not deleting, so I stopped reading.

That’s on me, by the way, not him.  I could have kept reading; it was only one more sentence … I made an assumption. I was so wrong.

(Yes, I wrote again and apologized for not reading his whole answer. )

Has this ever happened to you? What would you suggest we do in the future?

Author(s)

  • Susan Rooks

    The Grammar Goddess | Editor / Copy Editor | Corporate Educator | Blogger | Cruciverbalist | Happy Woman

    Grammar Goddess Communication

    I help authors of anything business-related shine by finding and correcting their typos before they publish. My clients, who are bloggers, best-selling authors, web content creators, ghostwriters, even professional résumé writers, write nonfiction books, annual reports, blog posts, and tech articles. Their articles have appeared in a wide range of publications and venues including CNBC, Huffington Post, Inc., Forbes, and regional magazines. My only goal is to help all writers look and sound as smart as they are!