Messages sent by email lack the visual and auditory cues of real-life conversation, making them particularly vulnerable to being misread or misunderstood. So ensuring that you start and finish warmly and politely can make all the difference.
This article will get your salutations and sign-offs sorted in five easy steps.
Less formal than letters
Back in the days of paper and envelopes, we had salutations and sign-offs drummed into us at school. โDear Mr/Mrs/Msโ went with โYours sincerelyโ, while โDear Sir or Madamโ was paired with โYours faithfullyโ, and โYours trulyโ hovered somewhere in between.
But since emails took over, the etiquette has all gone a bit off-piste. โDearโ sounds too formal in some cases, while โHiโ seems too chummy in others. And then thereโs the increasingly popular no-salutation-at-all approach, the email equivalent of shouting someoneโs name across a busy street.
Down at the bottom of the email, things arenโt much clearer. โBest wishesโ and โKind regardsโ are giving way to abbreviations such as โBestโ, โKRโ and โRgdsโ. But is the time you save in omitting those three or four letters worth it, or does it cost you more elsewhere?
To start and end on the right foot, follow this five-step guide:
1. Even with someone you know, use a salutation
If you know Bob well, thereโs nothing wrong with โHi Bobโ or โMorning, Bobโ. But if you start your email with simply โBobโ, youโd better be pretty sure Bob is down with that kind of thing. When we asked people how they felt about it, their responses included โrude and abruptโ, โone up from โoiโโ, and โlike Iโm back in the 70s and in trouble with my fatherโ.
2. In a formal situation, go old-school
โDear Mr Smithโ does feel rather old-fashioned these days, but itโs still a good starting point, if youโre making the initial written contact. By signing off at the end with your first name, you give the recipient permission to move to a first-name basis in their response.
As for whether or not to put a comma after your salutation or sign-off, thatโs a matter for personal taste โ unless your company has a preferred style. Our style at Emphasis is to omit them.
3. Be careful with thanks
Of course, if the point of your email is to thank someone, then โthanksโ is a safe thing to say. But more often the point of your email is to ask someone to do something. And in that case, a sign-off of โMany thanksโ, or, worse, โThanks in advanceโ, can come across as presumption that it will be done. Thatโs fine if itโs an order, but if youโre asking for a favour, take care.
4. Do sign off
Yes, you probably have an email signature already programmed in along with your contact details, and yes, the recipient knows who you are from your email address. But still, it takes a second of your time to add โBest wishesโ and your name, and people do appreciate it. Be a little careful with โKind regardsโ โ cringingly, โKind retardsโ is one of the more common typos in the English language. If this is your sign-off of choice, you might like to set up an auto-correct for โretardsโ to โregardsโ, if your email program supports it. If youโre writing in Word, thereโs a useful how-to here. (Though we only recommend doing this for words you are never going to want to write on purpose.)
You can still use โYours sincerelyโ or โYours faithfullyโ, in line with the traditional rules, if your message is especially formal, but use your judgement โ if it feels like overkill, it probably is.
5. Donโt abbreviate
Are you really 2 bsy 4 wrds? We certainly all feel that way sometimes. But whatever you decide to omit or abbreviate, never cut back on manners. โKRโ, โBWโ (โKind regardsโ; โBest wishesโ) and โRgdsโ, let alone โplsโ and โthxโ, give the impression of ineptly disguised indifference. And as indifference begets indifference, thatโs not a good lasting impression to leave. But then neither, whatever certain people in PR may have us believe, is a kiss. X
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