10 bad habits that make you look unprofessional

flickr/alancleaverDisorganization and sloppiness makes you look unprofessional.

Picture this. I was at a networking event last winter. It was cold outside, but quite
warm in the room. Most of us balanced winter coats and heavy bags. I made
small talk with a few other people, when a new guy approached the group.

"Damn, you guys are carrying a ton of sh*t," he said. "You know, you can check
your sh*t for free at the coat check."

Boom! Instant credibility suck. I get that he was trying to help us, but none of us
paid him any mind after that introduction.

It's not really just that the guy swore; most of us are pretty immune to that these
days. It's that three of his first 22 words were curses (assuming you count
"damn" as a curse). That's just lazy, as if he couldn't be bothered to come up
with better descriptions of all the things we were carrying. Instead, he went with
the barnyard default, and that made him seem unserious and unprofessional.

(Just off the top of my head, since I'm sure some of you are about to ask what he

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 could have called the things we carried instead: coats, bags, laptops, stuff,
purses, briefcases, jackets, coats, gear, kit, pouch, totes, baggage, portage,
luggage, junk, tunics-heck, call my a bag a man-purse, if you want to at least
score a C-minus joke).

The truth is, nobody's perfect. We're all prone to semi-conscious verbal foul-
ups that make us look totally unprofessional. That's why we all need a reminder
now and then. Here are 10 examples of similar things to avoid.

1. Lazy profanity

OK, this one really is at the top of the list. Again, it's not the profanity itself
(although that often doesn't help). It's the laziness. If someone constantly uses
the F-word as an all-purpose adjective, it makes you wonder whether they're
equally uncreative and slothful in everything they do.

VFS Digital Design/FlickrDon't be late.

2. Lateness

I must admit this is a tendency I've had to work hard to combat in my own life.

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 The phrase "Murphy Standard Time" would not be met with blank stares by
some of my friends and family. Yet I've learned that being on time is a matter of
respect. Show up when you say you will, and you send a message that you're
professional enough to care.

3. Leering

We're all human. We're mammals. We notice alluring members of whatever

gender we're biologically predisposed to be attracted to. Yet, that same
humanity also means we should have the self-control to keep the "up-and-down
look" under control, so to speak. Eyes up here, my friend, or you'll look like a
creepy amateur.

4. Pollyannaishness

I've always been a bit bothered by the fact that the word "Pollyannaish" suggests
the concept of having too much unrealistic optimism. Check out the 1913 book if
you don't understand why. Still, when, after a disaster, a colleague or a vendor
insists that things are absolutely fine-while simple common-sense tells you
they're not-it undermines their professionalism.

5. Flightiness

To be flighty is to be fickle and irresponsible. Tell someone you'll be at a certain

place, or that you'll accomplish a certain thing-and then never do it? Sorry,
you're flighty.

6. Disorganization

(Anyone who gets more than 1,000 emails a day probably falls into this category.)
As most of us who run businesses understand, clients and customers expect you
to reply quickly. They want you to be able to talk about their situations
(seemingly) off-the-cuff. If you aren't in control of your own situation, they'll
wonder how you can possibly be in control of theirs.

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 Gvahim/FlickrArticulate.

7. Inarticulateness

This one is like, so like, obvious and yet a lot of people like, they don't really,
like, get it. And that just, like, totally makes them seem like well, not really
professional, because they, like, can't even get to the point of what they want to
say and like, make it clear and stuff.

'Nuff said. I'd actually throw bad grammar into this category as well-although
with the caveat that we've all known some very smart, professional people
whose language simply betrayed their lack of formal education, or whose first
tongue wasn't ours. (Seriously, if this column were written in French or Spanish,
we'd all have a good laugh at my grammar.)

8. Secrecy

Sure, we all have private lives, but most of the time our businesses don't truly
involve them. If you're hiding important information from employees or clients,
you're not doing much for your reputation as a leader, and you're probably
making them wonder whether they can trust you.

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 9. Overpromising

A really brilliant salesperson once told me her art of selling was about "making
the maximum promise you can, consistent with your ability to deliver."
Entrepreneurs often push the envelope on this, but the key is to make sure
you're confident you will eventually be able to make good on your promises.

10. Cheating and lying

These two are obvious. As President George W. Bush once tried to say, "Fool me
once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Read the original article on Inc.. Copyright 2015. Follow Inc. on Twitter.

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