While you may think this story doesn’t apply to you, it’s possible that you, like Alice, wouldn’t know if you made these types of blunders. In fact, according to the late psychologist, best-selling author, and Nobel Memorial Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, most of us wouldn’t! “We’re blind to our blindness,” he said. “We’re not designed to know how little we know.”

What can you do if you’re ignorant of your own blind spots, and you want to make a good first impression? After all, a person’s initial interaction with you or your brand can influence whether they perceive your professional goods and services as exceptional, average, or inferior—regardless of their actual quality. And if someone’s first impression is positive, they may assume everything else you do is well done. This positive bias is known as the “halo effect.”

So, how can you make a good first impression, guard against making faux pas, and take advantage of the halo effect?

Choose Your Words Wisely

Never assume that you are saying, writing, or quoting anything correctly. Instead, double-check the accuracy of your words before you make a big presentation or launch your new website. To aid you in that precautionary endeavor, ProWrite has created the following cheat sheet, detailing many commonly confused—and misused—words.

Commonly Confused Words	Explanation	Example
Advise/Advice	Use advise as a verb. Use advice as a noun.	I advised him not to take the job, but he didn’t follow my advice.
Affect/Effect	Use affect (a-fekt) as a verb meaning “to influence or alter.”	The sunlight affected her vision.
	Use effect (e-fekt) as a noun meaning “result.” Hint: Think of “special effects” when trying to remember which one is the noun.	Poor visibility was the effect of the sun’s glare.
	To keep it confusing: In some cases, effect (ef-fekt) can be used as a verb to mean “bring about,” and affect (af-fekt) can be used as a noun to mean “emotional state.”	When Dan’s lawyer couldn’t effect his release on bond, his affect became flat and unreadable.
Allow/Enable	Use allow to mean “grant permission.”	A password allows me to access my banking information.
	Use enable to mean “make possible.”	Privacy controls enable me to block unauthorized users.
Alternately/Alternatively	Use alternatively when making a choice between two or more options.	Jane could stay home and sleep in. Alternatively, she could get up and go to the gym.
	Use alternately to mean “taking turns or replacing one with another.”	She was alternately laughing and crying.
Bad/Badly	Use bad as an adjective following a verb of state and being (i.e., feel, look, appear). Think of this rhyme: I feel happy. I feel sad. I feel good. I feel bad.	I feel bad. And he looks as bad as I feel.
	Use badly only as an adverb to mean “poorly.”	That conversation went badly.
Between/Among	Use between when referring to a relationship of one thing to another.	There was a disagreement between the two partners.
	Use among when referring to a relationship of more than two things.	Worried looks passed among the crowd.
Can/May	Use can to express the ability or power to do something.	We can run the firm without him.
	Use may to ask for or give permission or to express probability.	“May I approach the bench, your honor? I have reason to believe the witness may be lying.”
Capital/Capitol	Use capital when referring to uppercase letters, accumulated wealth, or the seat of government in a state or country.	Use a capital letter when writing the name of a state’s capital city. My grandfather amassed a lot of capital in the many properties he owned.
	Use capitol when referring to a building in which the legislative body of government meets.	We visited the US Capitol when we went to Washington DC last year.
Compare To/Compare With	Use compare to when comparing things that are similar.	Your mom’s chili does not compare to my Aunt Linda’s.
	Use compare with when comparing things that are different.	Compared with oranges, apples are easier to eat.
Complement/Compliment	Use complement to express that something completes, enhances, or improves something else.	The expert’s testimony complemented our defense.
	Use compliment to mean “praise.”	Dan complimented his gardener for a job well done.
Consecutively/Concurrently	Use consecutively as an adverb meaning “one after the other.”	I attended the meetings that were held consecutively.
	Use concurrently as an adverb meaning “at the same time.”	I could not attend the two meetings that took place concurrently.
Continual/Continuous	Use continual as an adjective to describe an action that occurs regularly or frequently.	Receiving calls from “Spam Likely” is a continual occurrence for me.
	Use continuous as an adjective to describe an action that is constant or without interruption.	Our clients have a continuous need for good documentation.
Council/Counsel	Use council as a noun referring to an advisory or legislative body.	City Council meets on the first Tuesday of every month.
	Use counsel as a noun meaning “advice,” “instruction,” or “legal advisor.” Use it as a verb meaning “to advise.”	The counsel I received from my counsel was to plead “not guilty.” I would counsel you to do the same.
Discrete/Discreet	Use discrete as an adjective to mean “separate” or “distinct.”	This program has discrete functions.
	Use discreet as an adjective to mean “inconspicuous,” “cautious,” or “discerning.”	We need to be discreet when discussing certain topics in front of the children.
Gaff/Gaffe	Use gaff as a noun to mean “a long pole with a sharp hook on the end” or as a verb to mean “the act of using a gaff.”	The fisherman’s gaff was a grisly choice of weapon.
	Use gaffe to mean “an unintentional remark that causes embarrassment to the person who used it.”	Dan was prone to making gaffes when he got nervous.
Good/Well	Use good as an adjective to mean “pleasant” or “favorable.”	Barker is a good dog.
	Use well as an adverb to mean “an action that is done in a favorable manner.”	He listens well to instructions.
	Note: Only use well as an adjective when describing health.	I am well now, but I was really sick last week.
Ingenious/Ingenuous/ Disingenuous	Use ingenious to mean “resourceful” or “clever.”	The investigator used an ingenious method to catch the criminal.
	Use ingenuous to mean “honest” or “frank.”	Knowing his client to be ingenuous in his dealings, John realized that his client’s partner was disingenuous.
	Use disingenuous to convey “pretending not to know” or “insincere.”
Regardless/Irregardless	Use regardless to mean “despite the circumstances or present situation.” Never use irregardless—it is not a word.	Regardless of the evidence, he knew his client wasn’t guilty.
Precede/Proceed/ Preceed/Procede	Use precede to describe something that comes before in space or time. On occasion, use it to mean “surpassed in rank.”	The bailiff preceded the judge into the courtroom. The judge preceded the bailiff in authority over the courtroom.
	Use proceed to mean “begin, continue, or carry out an action.”	After the judge banged her gavel, she allowed us to proceed with our defense.
	Note: Use proceeds as a plural noun to mean money made from a sale or event.	The proceeds from the auction will benefit injured veterans.
	Never use preceed or procede—they are not real words.
Principle/Principal	Use principle to mean a rule or truth. Hint: Remember that principle and rule both end in -le. Use principal to refer to the main or head person or the part of a loan that does not include the interest. Hint: Remember that principal ends in -pal.	Dan’s partner was so unprincipled that he lied to the principal member of the board about the amount of the principal he’d taken from the firm as a personal loan.

Have a Professional Review Your Work 

In addition to knowing which word to use, it can be helpful to know which words not to use. Ignorance and unrecognized biases are no excuse for poor communication! Before you find yourself unintentionally saying something offensive, like Alice might do, it’s always a good idea to have an expert examine your content for those sorts of gaffes. 

The best way to ensure that your web content, trade articles, newsletters, speeches, and presentations are sound before you release them into the world is to have them edited for accuracy, clarity, consistency, and appropriateness by trained professionals. 

You can look for top-notch freelance editors and writers yourself, or, alternatively, you can hire a company like ProWrite. We provide editorial and writing services with the help of proven experts in writing, editing, proofreading, and formatting. Our goal is to create effective, informative communication that you can rely on to make great first—and lasting—impressions.