How to start and end a business email - Speakspeak

Hi, everyone informal, friendly (to several colleagues), Use an informal close, relevant to the content of the email. Speakspeak|Howtostartandendabusinessemail Howtostartandendabusinessemail ClicktoshareonFacebook(Opensinnewwindow)Clicktoemailalinktoafriend(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonWhatsApp(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonTwitter(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonTelegram(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonLinkedIn(Opensinnewwindow) StuartCook November12,2011 Letterwritingarticles 38 OnourpageaboutbusinessletterwritingphraseswelistedtherulesforwhentouseYourssincerelyandYoursfaithfully.Quiteafewusersofthesitehaveaskedifthereareanysimilarrulesforwritingemails. Inanswertothequestion,Ithinktherearetwothingstoconsider. Firstly,emailshaveashorthistorycomparedwiththatofletters,andconsequentlytherearenofixedrules.However,thatdoesn’tmeanthatthereisnoetiquetteforemails–theredefinitelyis. Secondly,ifwearetryingtoestablishsomekindofgeneralrule,weshouldrememberthattherearebasicallytwotypesofemail: theformalemail(business,work-related) theinformalemail(usuallytofriendsoracquaintances). Obviouslyaformalemailwillrequiredifferentphrasesandlanguagestyletoaninformalemailwrittento,say,afriend. HerearesomeexamplesofthewayIusuallystartandendbusinessemails. Whenweknowtherecipient’sname: [salutation] [sign-off] DearMrSmith Regards DearMrsColes Regards DearMissJones Regards Whenwritingtoacolleagueorclosebusinesspartner: [salutation] [sign-off] DearVladimir Bestregards/Bestwishes DearAnnemarie Bestregards/Bestwishes AfriendlierformherewouldbetowriteHiVladimir,HiAnnemarie.Thisiscommonatmanycompanies. Whenaddressingmorethanoneperson: [salutation] [sign-off] Gentlemen formal(toseveralmalecolleagues) Regards DearAll formal(toseveralcolleagues) Regards Hello,everyone informal(toseveralcolleagues) Useaninformalclose,relevanttothecontentoftheemail. Hi,everyone informal,friendly(toseveralcolleagues) Useaninformalclose,relevanttothecontentoftheemail. ThesearetheguidelinesthatIuseformybusinessemails.However,Iappreciatethattrendscomeandgo,andthatetiquettecandifferfromcountrytocountryandfromcompanytocompany. Whatdoyouuseinyouremail?Doyoupreferanyotherphrases,suchas Warmregardsor Warmestregards?Pleaseleaveacommentbelowandshareyouropinionwitheveryone. DoyouneedtowritebusinessemailsinEnglish? Oure-book'BusinessCorrespondenceLanguage'hasallthelanguageyouneedtowriteprofessionalbusinessemails,including: Howtomakerequestsandaskquestionspolitelyandprofessionally Howtousewordssuchastherefore,however,nevertheless,however,etc Howtouseopeningandclosinglinesinyourbusinessemails Alistofcommon'email'words+examples Speakspeak.comisafreesite.Pleasesupportusbydownloadingthisebook–thanks! Getthee-bookforjust$8 Seeasample *VATmayapply ClicktoshareonFacebook(Opensinnewwindow)Clicktoemailalinktoafriend(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonWhatsApp(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonTwitter(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonTelegram(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonLinkedIn(Opensinnewwindow) ByStuartCook StuartisanEnglishteacherandrunstheSpeakspeakwebsite.HecurrentlylivesinPragueandhasbeenteachingforover25years.⎜ ContactStuart 38Comments Peter-February27,2012,6:39pmReply It’snicetoseetheartofletterwritingappliedtoemailcorrespondence.Inthesetimesoftextmessagesandforumshortcodes,theskillofwritingisalmostbecomingalostartform–andinbusinessitshouldbeevenmoreimportantthatprofessionalismandcourtesyismaintained. Carla-February23,2014,6:31pmReply ShouldIcapitalizethefirstletterofthewordeveryonewhenIwriteasalutation?OnyourwebeveryoneiswritinginlowercasesbutI’veseenitwritingdifferently;forexample:HiEveryone. StuartCook-February23,2014,9:49pmReply Carla, Usingacapitalletter(DearAll,HelloEveryone,etc.)probablydoesindicatealittlemorerespectandmaybeusefulformoreformalemailsand/orwhenaddressingsuperiors.Intheend,Ithinkit’samatterofpersonalchoice–I’dsticktolowercaseininformalemails. Carla-February24,2014,5:57pmReply Thanks! Roman-March14,2021,2:07pmReply HiCarla,theyarenotGods,solowercaselatterismychoice.=) leah-March27,2014,1:46pmReply Isitokaytosay‘okay’whenreplyingtoaformalletter? StuartCook-March28,2014,4:55pmReply No,wedon’tuseokayorOKinformallettersoremails.Dependingonthecontext,youmaywanttosaythatsomethingisfine,convenientorsuitable.Therearemanysynonyms. Margaret-April29,2014,11:49amReply Ihaveaquestionrelatedtoendingaformalletter.Ifwewriteaformalinquiryorohterbusinesstypeletter,isitrecommendedtoputadditionalinformationaboutoursexinordertointroduceourselvestoarecipient. Forinstance: (Mrs)MargaretMiller Thanksforareply. StuartCook-April29,2014,11:15pmReply Hello,Margaret. Itdependswhoyou’rewritingto,Ithink.Italsodependsonyourname.AnativeEnglishspeakerwouldhavenoproblemunderstandingthatMargaretisawoman,butsomenon-nativespeakersmaynotbeawarethatMargaretisafemale’sname.I’veknownEnglishpeopleassumesomeonecalledJanisawoman(shortforJanetintheUK).Onthecontinent,however,Janisaman’snamemoreoftenthannot.I’dsuggestwritingMargaretMiller(Mrs)ifyouthinktheremightbeamisunderstanding. Anotherthingtoconsider:It’shelpfulifawomanaddsMrs,MissorMstohernametomakeitclearhowshepreferstobeaddressed. Mindahun-May7,2021,10:20amReply iwouldappreciateitifyoushouldsupportmebecauseofican’twritegoodbusinessletter. BhargavSai-June30,2014,8:24amReply Thankyouforthisarticle.IhavealwayswonderedabouthowIcouldwriteeffectiveemailsthatcommunicatemyintentionswelltotheclients.Ihavebeenusing“Hi”inmymailsatthebeginning,because“Dear”isusedbynooneinmyorganization.EvenmyclientswhoworkforveryreputableInternationalOrganizationsdon’tusetheword“Dear”.Hence,using“Dear”makesmealittleuncomfortable. Woulditbeconvenienttowrite“Hi”insteadof“Dear”orwouldyousuggestanyotherwordIcoulduse? StuartCook-June30,2014,10:09amReply Ifyoudon’tfeelcomfortablewithDearbecausenooneelseusesit,thenthat’sfine.It’simportanttofitinwiththeculturethatyourclientsarefamiliarwith,Ithink. IfyouwantalevelofformalitysomewherebetweenDearandHi,youcoulduseHello: Hello,Peter[withafirstname] Hello,MrAnderson[withasurname]. kerrianaclement-August20,2014,12:32amReply IneedhelponwritingainformationemailbutIdon’tknowhowtostartorfinishonnorhowtocreateonrandomly thxs meriem-December7,2014,3:11pmReply It’sagoodideabecauseinmyworkwedealwithcustomersandsuppliersforthatineedtolearnthebasisofagoodbusinessemailbothinFrench&English.please,sendittomeviamye-mail. anniesophia-December10,2014,8:26amReply Iamatranslator,soImustwritemanyletterstothesponsors,parentsandchildrensforthegifts,soiwanttoknowhowtostarttheletterandendit. Liudmila-February11,2015,9:07pmReply DearStuart,couldyoupleasecommentonasalutationlikethis“dearcolleagues”,“hello,colleagues”orsimply“Colleagues”intermsofauthenticityandimplicationsofhierachy(who’swritingtowhom).InthecompanywhereIteachit’saverysensitiveissue.Thanks! StuartCook-February11,2015,11:37pmReply Hi,Lludmila It’shardtocommentwithoutknowingthecontentoftheemail.Thesalutationmaychangedependingonwhethertheemailiscongratulatory,hasasterntone,givesbadnews,etc.Dearcolleaguesisquiteneutral,Ithink(forabosswritingtohisteam),whereashemaywriteToallemployees/colleagueswhenwritingmoreseriousnews. Liudmila-February12,2015,5:43pmReply Whatabout“Hellocolleagues”writtenbyanemployeetoseveralrecepientsincludinghisimmediatemanager,arepresentativeoftheircustomerandacoupleofteammembersofthesamestatusontheproject?Togiveyouacleareridea,it’sITspherei’mconcernedabout.Ingeneral,projectproblemsarediscussed,solutionssuggested,etc… StuartCook-February15,2015,11:54pmReply Becauseacustomerisoneoftherecipients,I’dprefertouseDearcolleagues,asit’sslightlymoreformalthanhello.It’ssubjective,however. LomoSenoamadi-February23,2015,3:48pmReply IamasupplierIwanttosendtargetedclientsemailsaskingforameetingtodopresentations.Iwanttoknowhowtostarttheletterandendit StuartCook-February24,2015,9:51amReply TryGoodmorning/Goodafternoonfollowedbythenameoftherecipient.Ifyoudon’tknowtheirname,simplywriteGoodmorningorGoodafternoon. ArtiSurat-January6,2016,10:27amReply Inyourintroductionyouusetheperiodandthecomma(onceeach)outsidethequotationmarks.Injustabouteveryrelatedarticleonthissite,theruleforAmericanusageisstatedashavingthecommaandtheperiodwithinthequotationmarks.[endquote] Asyounoted,Jimmie,thatistheruleforAmericanusage.However,cluesinthisarticlerevealthewriterwasnotnecessarilywritingfirstandforemosttoAmericans…e.g.spelling:“organisation”vsorganization(Americanspelling).Related,non-Americanpracticeistoputtheperiodoutsidetheendingquotationmarks.ThisissomethingIlearnedwhenIleftthegoodol’USofAforacoupleyears’ RuthSnowsill-January14,2016,9:13amReply Iamlookingforacourseforacolleaguewhoisbeingperformancemanagedregardinghere-mailwriting.Iliketheformatofyoursiteandwillseeifithelps tiffany-October27,2016,4:55pmReply Doweneedtoincludecommawhenwriting“DearColleagues”informalbusinessemail? StuartCook-October27,2016,8:44pmReply Usingacommahereispersonalchoice;Idon’t.I’dalsousealower-case‘c’forcolleagues. janga-August28,2017,5:01pmReply Hi Canwrite‘HI’tomybosswhilewritingtheemail? NADER-December26,2017,10:03amReply isitcorrecttostartanemailwith”DEARS”?. StuartCook-January8,2018,9:01pmReply No,itisn’tused. EricMead-January22,2018,7:13pmReply Is“Gentlemen”appropriatewhentherecipientisanunknownmaleorfemale?Forexample,Isentanemailtoagenericdeptatauniversitynotknowingwhowouldrespond.Mywifetellsmemyaddresswasoutdatedandsexist!?? StuartCook-January29,2018,8:28pmReply Yes,I’dsayitisoutdated. LucyGoosey-April6,2018,2:21amReply OftenIseeemailslikethis:“HiJenny”or“Helloall,”bothofwhicharemissingadirectaddresscomma.Almosteveryoneomitsthedirectaddresscomma,andIwaswonderingifIamrighttocontinueusingiteventhoughothershavechosentoabandonthisgrammarrule? Thanks, Lucy StuartCook-April12,2018,2:44pmReply Whenusing“hi”or“hello”Ialsoprefertouseacomma.Yes,we’reintheminority,butIdon’tconsideritincorrectjustbecauseit’slesscommon. Mustafa-April12,2018,9:08amReply whatabout DearRespectedcolleagues Zuzana-April30,2018,7:56amReply IspossibletoopenanemailbyDearbusinesspartners?Thankyouforanswering. StuartCook-May2,2018,8:50pmReply Yes,that’sfine,Zuzana. Niteesh-February11,2021,11:03amReply HiStuart, SayifIamaddressingnumerousmalesandfemalesinanemail,isitappropriatetoaddressbytyping“Gentlemenandladies” StuartCook-February15,2021,8:13amReply ”Ladiesandgentlemen”,yes,butbeawarethatthisisratherformalandold-fashioned.Ifyou’readdressingpeopleyouworkwith,stickwith”Dearcolleagues”orsomethingsimilar. Eranjith-February25,2021,4:25amReply WhatisthebestwayofaddressingaVVIPoradiplomatinanemail? LeaveaReplyCancelReply Loginsafelywithyourfavouritesocialnetwork: Youremailaddresswillnotbepublished.CommentYoumayusetheseHTMLtagsandattributes:Name Email Website Notifymeoffollow-upcommentsbyemail.Notifymeofnewpostsbyemail. Δ RelatedPosts BusinessletterwritingphrasesBusinessEnglishvocabularyConfusingwords:close,shutMoreusefulphrasesforbusinessemailsandlettersBusinessvocabularyexercise:phrasesinbusinessemailsElementaryvocabularyexercise:oppositesofverbsBusinessvocabularyexercise:prepositionsinbusinessemailsBusinessvocabularyexercise:however,providing,asAmericanSignLanguage(ASL)speakerlearningtowriteEnglishBusinessvocabularyexercise:correspondenceverbs(attach,reply,forward,enclose)ex.2 Contact|Privacy|About|©2022Speakspeak/StuartCook