Hi? Dear? The State Of The E-Mail Salutation - Forbes

When in doubt, “Dear” is always safe, and it should be the default greeting for any first correspondence. For Ramsey, the most important point ... 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Gotit!Aug8,2012,11:23amEDT|SharetoFacebookSharetoTwitterSharetoLinkedin Earlierthisweek,ForbesleadershipeditorFredAllencametomewithaquestion:Has“Hi”replaced“Dear”asthemostcommonandacceptede-mailsalutation?Inscanninghise-mails,Fredrealizedthatanincreasingnumberofstrangerswereapproachinghimnotwith“DearMr.Allen”or“DearFred,”butwith“HiFred,”orsimply“Hi.”IsearchedmyinboxandrealizedthatIwasexperiencingthesamephenomenon. Ialmostalwayswrite“Hi”inmye-mailcorrespondencetopeopleIdon’tknow.Imakerareexceptionsforformalcontacts,likeaCEOI’mapproachingcold.Inmostinstances,I’mconsciousthatI’mchoosingtogetfamiliar.Asajournalist,Iwanttheotherpersontoletdowntheirguardandhavearevealingexchangewithme.Likewise,itmakessensetomethatpublicistsorothersaddressingFredandmewouldusetheinformal“Hi”salutation.Theirgoalissimilartomine:Theywanttosoundrelaxedandwelcoming,togetusinterestedenoughintheirpitchtorespondtoit. Butwhatistherestoftheworlddoingwhenitcomestoe-mailsalutations?Howismostbusinessconductedthesedays,andwhatisthebestwaytoapproache-mailgreetings,atatimewhene-mailandtextingincreasinglyreplacevoice-to-voiceconversationsandin-personmeetings? WinAtWork:AneBookFromForbes Landagreatjob,handleyourbossandgetaheadtoday. Foranswers,Italkedtooursocialmediaeditor,AlexKnapp,33,toRoyCohen,57,acareercoachwhospecializesinWallStreetjobs,toour21-year-oldsummerLeadershipintern,AlisonGriswold,andtotwocorporateetiquetteconsultants,LydiaRamsey,65,inSavannah,GeorgiaandCynthiaLett,54,inSilverSprings,Md.IalsotalkedtoFarhadManjoo,33,thetechnologycolumnistforSlatewhorecordsaregular“MannersfortheDigitalAge”podcastforSlate.com.AndIcheckedinwithafriend,CynthiaCross,53,whorunsHagen/SinclairResearchRecruiting,aCaliforniacompanythatrecruitsparticipantsformarketresearchstudies.Finally,ItalkedtoMarkHurst,39,authorofBitLiteracy:ProductivityintheAgeofInformationandE-MailOverload. Igotaninterestingvarietyofresponsesfromthisgroup.Thebottomline:WhileetiquettesticklerslikeRamseyandLettinsistthatallbusinesse-mailsshouldbeginwiththeword“Dear,”thereisnouniformrulethesedays.Butyoushoulddefinitelyusesomeformofasalutation,ratherthanjustdivingintothee-mailtext,unlessyou’rewritingtosomeoneyouknowverywell.Thoughmanypeoplenowsee“Dear”asoutmoded,itisafailsafefall-back,and“Hello,”followedbytheperson’sname,isalsoacceptable.“Hi,”followedbytheperson’sname,hasbeenontheriseforsometime,andisconsideredstandardinmanysituations. Knapp,whonegotiatedcommercialrealestatedealsforalivingbeforejoiningForbesfull-timelastyear,sayshedoesn’tremembereverusing“Dear”asasalutationine-mails.Hedoesn’tuse“Hi”either.“Ialwaysthoughtitwastooinformal,”hesays.“’Hi’”istoocutesy.”InsteadKnappsimplystartswiththeperson’sfirstname,orthelastnameprecededby“Mr.”or“Ms.”AtForbes,Knapptakesthesameapproach,addressingsourcesbyname. Alison,ourintern,whoworksasthenewseditorattheYaleDailyNewsduringtheschoolyear,saysshealwaysuses“Dear,”unless,shesays,“thepersonI’me-mailingis,like,20.”ButAlisonsaysthisislikelybecausehermotherisasticklerwhoinsistedshesendproperhandwrittenthank-younotesasachild.Shesaysthatmostofherstudentwritersuse“Hi,”ortheyusenosalutationatall.“Idon’treallyknowwhatyou’resupposedtodo,”sheconfesses. BusinessetiquetteconsultantRamseythinksAlisonisdoingtherightthing.Butsheaddsthatcontextandfamiliaritydictatethesalutation.Whenindoubt,“Dear”isalwayssafe,anditshouldbethedefaultgreetingforanyfirstcorrespondence.ForRamsey,themostimportantpointistousesomeformofsalutation.Otherwise,e-mailistoocoldandimpersonal.“It’soneofthewaysyoucanwarmupe-mail,”shesays.ConsultantLettismoreadamant.“EightypercentofthepeopleIknowwillnotdobusinesswithsomeonewhostartsane-mailwiththeirfirstname,becausetheydon’tfeelliketheyarebeingrespected,”shesays.“E-mailisaletter,notaconversation,”shemaintains. CareercoachCohenagreeswiththeetiquetteconsultantsthat“Dear”isawisefall-backforanyinitialcorrespondenceinajobsearch,thoughhedoesnotfeelasstronglyasLettabout“Hi”andafirstnamebeinguniformlyunacceptable.Insomebusinesses,likedigitalcommunicationandmarketing,alessformalapproachisbest,headds. Manjoosayshehasnoticedthat“Hi”isbecomingincreasinglyacceptableasareplacementfor“Dear.”“’Dear’seemsreallystuckintheprintandhandwrittenage,”hesays.Searchinghisowne-mail,hecouldfindonlyonenotethatused“Dear.”Itwasfromhisbank.“Idon’tthinkactualpeopleuse‘Dear,’”hesays.Forajobapplication,Manjoolikestheword“Hello”asasalutation,becauseit’smoreformalthan“Hi,”butnotasstiffas“Dear.” In marketresearchrecruiting,Crosssaysthatsheandherrecruitershaveused“Hi”orjust“Name”foryears,“exceptforveryformaloutreach,whichweseldomdo.”Justyesterday,shereceivedaprojectrequestfromastrangeratamajortechnologycompany.Thee-mailbegan,“Hithere.” MarkHurst,authorofthebookBitLiteracy:ProductivityintheAgeofInformationandE-MailOverload.,believesthat“Dear”istotallyoutmoded.“Yousimplydon’tstarte-mailswiththeword‘Dear,’”hesays.“It’ssimplynotapracticeIsee.” ForHurst,ane-mailshouldbejudgedonwhetheritcommunicatesasclearlyandsuccinctlyaspossible,notwhetheritusesaparticularsalutation.“What’satstakehereisnotbeingpolite,”hesays.“It’sthetimeandattentionyou’reaskingfromthepersonyou’ree-mailing.” Myconclusion,aftertalkingtoarangeofpeople,andreflectingonthestateofthee-mailsalutation:IdisagreewithHurstthat“Dear”isdead.ThefactthatIeasilyfoundtwoetiquetteconsultantswithsubstantialpracticeswhosayit’sanessentialwaytostartbusinesse-mailsmeansthatplentyofpeoplestillseeitasthepreferredwaytoopenane-mail.Ontheotherhand,Ididn’thuntfartofindManjooandHurst,e-mailproswhoneverusetheword“Dear.”Cross,alongtimemarketresearchmanager,underlinestheirpoint.Iwouldstickwith“Dear”asawaytoopenaninitialpieceofbusinesscorrespondenceoranye-mailyouaresendingthathastodowiththefirstcontactinajobsearch,unlessyouhavegoodreasontothinkthatthepersonyou’recontactingprefersalessformalformofaddress.ButIalsobelievethat“Hi”isbecomingmoreacceptable,andinmanybusinesses,it’sthenorm. Whatdoyouthink?Howdoyouaddressyoure-mails?Iwelcomecommentsonthispost. WatchonForbes: SusanAdamsEditorialStandardsPrintReprints&Permissions