The proof is in the pudding

Proof reading is a wonderful (if occasionally tedious) thing. In the PR industry, there are many essential attributes that make us good at what we do; and one of those is a scrupulous attention to detail. It’s all well and good being able to draft a piece of writing that would leave Shakespeare himself quivering in awe, but if it’s full of typos and reads like one of the bard’s very own ‘foul papers’ then it probably isn’t going to get you very far. Even if your client doesn’t pick you up on it, then the journalist you’re sending your crudely crafted content to most certainly will (generally these days by taking a poke at you on Twitter).

However, despite the benefits and necessity of a rigorous proof read having been widely recognised by the PR and journalist community alike, it’s not uncommon for the odd blunder to slip through the net on both sides of the fence. Just last Thursday, I noticed a cracker on the front page of the Financial Times no less; ‘Bernanke sees QE3 ending in mid-2004’. From this, I can only surmise that Bernanke has had a severe lapse of time, or else someone at the FT took their eye off the ball for a moment. This goes to show that even the best amongst us can let the odd typo slip from time-to-time, so I thought this would be the ideal opportunity to share some top tips on proofing:

• Paper doesn’t grow on screens – but it does grow on trees, which despite all the fuss don’t appear to be in that much of a short supply; so forget your environmental credentials for a moment, do your bit for the economy (paper company executives and loggers need to eat too you know) and print your work out! Having a hard copy of your latest literary masterpiece in front of you (perhaps inexplicably) makes it easier to spot any errors and iron out those typos. You can always pop it in the recycling bin afterwards to soothe your conscience.

• Not too hasty – take your time over proof reading your work. The problem is that you already know what you intended to write, since you’re the one that wrote it; so if you read it back in a hurry, your eyes will see what they expect to see, rather than what’s actually there. Read it slowly and preferably not immediately after you’ve finished writing it, so you can approach it with a fresh pair of eyes. A cup of tea and optional biscuit will help the process along nicely too.

• Stage your proofing – you’ll find that your writing flows much better and ultimately makes a lot more sense if you proof your work as you go. When you reach the end of a paragraph or talking point, read it back to yourself; tidy it up and make sure there aren’t any typos in there. This ultimately means that by the time you reach the full proof read stage, there shouldn’t be any errors in there anyway, which makes the whole process less frustrating and time consuming.

• Bribe your colleagues – what are colleagues for if not for mutual support and going for a knees-up after work? Once you’re happy with your first draft, send it on to someone else to give it a completely fresh pair of eyes. Chances are they’ll notice things that you’ve missed yourself, and may have suggestions about how you can improve the final article overall. If the subject matter itself isn’t gripping enough to have your colleagues climbing over each other to take a look, all you need is a little added incentive. In the Spark office, pictures of cute fluffy animals tend to do the trick, but for the saner amongst you, the offer of a pint or a returned favour further down the line should work equally well.