A Day for Nitpickers

The room was full of professional speakers, both beginning and accomplished. The presenter, a well-known marketing expert, was talking about achieving credibility as a speaker. A bullet on his PowerPoint slide, which I was following on the handout, said “Always site your sources.”

As I always do, I corrected the handout, crossing out “site” and writing “cite.” I turned to my friend and pointed it out. She acknowledged it with a nod.

“It affects his credibility,” I whispered.

“Are you going to say anything?” she asked, knowing my penchant for correcting people in public. She edged ever so slightly away from me, in case she needed to deny knowing me if, and when, I said something embarrassing.

A debate started in my head. Should I mention it? The guy had written something like 27 books. He was an expert. Then, again, it would save him from embarrassment in front of audiences that were not…(Read more)