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Microsoft Turns Mangers Into Managers

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Lynn Gaertner-Johnston Updated on

Reading an e-newsletter a minute ago, I came across an error I see often. Can you find it in the sentence below?

The New Hampshire-based organization surveyed 117 senior executives and mangers around the globe for the survey, whose results were distributed April 26.

Yes. It’s those mangers again. And we can’t blame Microsoft Office. After all, manger is a perfect word, especially in sentiments expressed in Christmas cards.

The writer obviously intended the word manager. But this is a mistake that did not have to happen. It did not even need to be caught through proofreading. It could have been eliminated from the start.

How? Easily. Unless you write about mangers in your business, use your Microsoft AutoCorrect feature to automatically change manger to manager anytime you type it. It takes just a few seconds, like this:

  1. Click Tools.
  2. Click AutoCorrect Options.
  3. In the Replace box, type manger.
  4. In the With box, type manager.
  5. Click Add.
  6. Click OK.

I have written several times about how I now have Microsoft automatically change pubic to public. The result? I no longer offer any pubic seminars.

So no more excuses about silly typographical errors! Get rid of that doe snot (does not)!  Away with those mangers!

The result? Your readers will focus on your message–not your mangers.

Lynn

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By Lynn Gaertner-Johnston

Lynn Gaertner-Johnston has helped thousands of employees and managers improve their business writing skills and confidence through her company, Syntax Training. In her corporate training career of more than 20 years, she has worked with executives, engineers, scientists, sales staff, and many other professionals, helping them get their messages across with clarity and tact.

A gifted teacher, Lynn has led writing classes at more than 100 companies and organizations such as MasterCard, Microsoft, Boeing, Nintendo, REI, AARP, Ledcor, and Kaiser Permanente. Near her home in Seattle, Washington, she has taught managerial communications in the MBA programs of the University of Washington and UW Bothell. She has created a communications course, Business Writing That Builds Relationships, and provides the curriculum at no cost to college instructors.

A recognized expert in business writing etiquette, Lynn has been quoted in "The Wall Street Journal," "The Atlantic," "Vanity Fair," and other media.

Lynn sharpened her business writing skills at the University of Notre Dame, where she earned a master's degree in communication, and at Bradley University, with a bachelor's degree in English.

3 comments on “Microsoft Turns Mangers Into Managers”

  • We did have someone type up some Christmas songs for a special meeting once, and everyone struggled through singing “Away In a Manager.” Very hard to keep a respectful atmosphere!

  • In the newest version of Office the manger/manager mistake would be discovered. If ewe rote that there a good company, it would underline at least 3 words in green.

  • Thanks for your comment. Did you actually try pasting my sample sentence (with “senior executives and mangers around the globe”) into the new Office? If it actually flags that kind of error, it’s a must-have version.

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