Here’s something that might be quietly undermining your credibility as a thought influencer without you even realizing it. I admit, I sometimes get tripped myself.

I’m talking about those seemingly harmless words: “this” and “that.” Not to bring back painful memories of high school English, but most of you are in the financial world. Knowing the difference between “this” and “that” is vital for preventing dangerous ambiguity, clarifying complex financial concepts, and for maintaining regulatory compliance. Even slight phrasing errors can confuse investors and your clients, skew data interpretations, or violate strict SEC “plain English” guidelines

Let’s take a look at some of the most common misuses of this and that and simply fixes I try to use to keep them straight.

EXAMPLE 1. Vague reference (the most common problem)

UNCLEAR: “Revenue declined, operating costs rose, and the dividend was cut. This impacted shareholder confidence.”

PROBLEM: “This” floats around without a clear antecedent. “This” could refer to revenue, operating costs or dividends.

BETTER: “The combination of declining revenue, rising costs, and a dividend cut impacted shareholder confidence.”

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EXAMPLE 2. “This” used as a noun when it should modify one

UNCLEAR: “The Fed raised rates by 50 basis points. This caused bond prices to fall.”

BETTER: “The Fed raised rates by 50 basis points. This hike caused bond prices to fall.”

EXPLANATION: Adding the noun (“hike”) anchors “this” and makes the sentence easier to scan quickly — important in financial prose where precision matters.

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EXAMPLE 3. Inconsistent distance signaling

UNLCEAR: “Refer to the balance sheet above. That figure includes deferred tax liabilities.”

BETTER: “Refer to the balance sheet above. This figure includes deferred tax liabilities.”

EXPLANATION: “That” implies distance or separation; “this” implies the thing is right at hand. Since the reader is being directed to the figure, “this” is more accurate.

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EXAMPLE 4. Dropping the word “That” incorrectly in subordinate clauses

UNLCEAR: “The auditors confirmed that the reserves were understated.”

BETTER: “The auditors confirmed that the reserves were understated.”

Dropping “that” is fine in casual speech, but in financial writing — where the difference between confirming something happened vs. confirming a specific claim can have legal weight — including “that” removes ambiguity.

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EXAMPLE 5. Stacking “this” across paragraphs

UNCLEAR: “Margins compressed in Q3. This was due to input costs. This led management to revise guidance. This concerned analysts.”

BETTER: “Margin compression from rising input costs prompted a guidance revision and raised concerns among analysts.”

EXPLANATION: Each “this” points back to a different thing, forcing the reader to mentally track a chain — a real problem in earnings reports or analyst notes.

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Conclusion

Whenever you use “this” or “that,” ask yourself whether a reader skimming at speed might misidentify what “this” or “that” refers to. If so, either add a noun or rewrite the sentence. Spending a few extra minutes to be crystal clear could save you hours of headaches down the road.

Do you have a good system for keeping “this” and “that” straight? I love to hear more.