The greetings you should avoid when writing an email

Is “Hey” too casual? Is “Dear” overly formal? Is “Morning!” too cheery? If you're thinking the email greeting isn't all that important and ... StayaheadofthetrendinfashionandbeyondwithourfreeweeklyLifestyleEditnewsletterStayaheadofthetrendinfashionandbeyondwithourfreeweeklyLifestyleEditnewsletter PleaseenteravalidemailaddressPleaseenteravalidemailaddressSIGNUPIwouldliketobeemailedaboutoffers,eventsandupdatesfromTheIndependent.Readour privacynoticeThanksforsigninguptotheLifestyleEditemailFiguringouthowtostartanemail–especiallywhenyou’rewritingtosomeoneyoudon’tknowverywell–canbearealchallenge.Is“Hey”toocasual?Is“Dear”overlyformal?Is“Morning!”toocheery?Ifyou’rethinkingtheemailgreetingisn’tallthatimportantandthatit’ssillytooverthinkit,you’rewrong.Howyoubeginanemailsetsthetoneandmayshapetherecipient’sperceptionofyou.Itmayalsodeterminewhethertheykeepreading.So,yes,it’sveryimportant.RecommendedTheetiquetteguidetoWhatsappgroupchats“Manypeoplehavestrongfeelingsaboutwhatyoudototheirnamesandhowyouaddressthem,”BarbaraPachter,abusiness-etiquetteexpert,toldBusinessInsider.“Ifyouoffendsomeoneinthesalutation,thatpersonmaynotreadanyfurther.Itmayalsoaffectthatperson’sopinionofyou.”WehadPachterandWillSchwalbe,whocoauthoredSend:WhyPeopleEmailSoBadlyandHowtoDoItBetterwithDavidShipley,weighinonahandfulofcommonemailgreetings.Ofcourse,theperfectwaytostartanemailwilldependonwhoyou’rewritingto,butingeneral,whenyou’rewritingabusinessemailtosomeoneyoudon’tknowwelloratall,theysaythere’sonesafechoice—andmanyyoushouldusuallyavoid:WINNER:‘Hi[name],...’Ifyouwanttomakeitalittlemoreformal,youcanalwaysusetheperson’slastname:“HiMsGillett,...”“ThereasonIlikethisoneisthatit’sperfectlyfriendlyandinnocuous,”saysSchwalbe.It’salsoPachter’sfavourite.Shesaysit’sasafeandfamiliarwaytoaddresssomeone,whetheryouknowthemornot.ALSOACCEPTABLE:‘Hieveryone,...’Ifyou’readdressingagroupofpeople,Pachteradvisesyouwrite,“Hieveryone.”GREETINGSTOAVOID:‘Hey!’Thisisfinetousewithyourfriends,buttheveryinformalsalutationshouldstayoutoftheworkplace.It’snotprofessional–especiallyifyou’rewritingtosomeoneyou’venevermet,saysPachter.Schwalbeagrees:“Icannevergetoutofmyheadmygrandmother’sadmonition‘Heyisforhorses.’”(Getty(Getty)‘Heythere!’Alsoavoid“Heythere.”Ittellstheperson,“Idon’tknowyourname,butifItrytosoundcoolandcasual,maybeyouwon’tnotice.”‘Hi[name]!!!!’“Peoplesometimesgetcarriedawayandputanumberofexclamationpointsattheendoftheirsentences,”Pachterwritesin“TheEssentialsofBusinessEtiquette.”“Theresultcanappeartooemotionalorimmature.”Pachterwritesthat,ifyoumustuseanexclamationpoint,youshoulduseonlyone.‘Greetings,...’Thisisagoodbackupto“Hi[name]...”ifyoudon’tknowtherecipient’sname.Butyoushouldalwaysdowhateveryoucantofindoutthatinformation.‘Towhomitmayconcern,...’Therecipientmightthink,“OK,thisdoesn’tconcernme...Idon’tneedtocontinuereading.”It’salsoacoldandveryimpersonalwaytostartanemailmessage.RecommendedIfyousaythese28words,you’reposh‘DearMr/Mrs/Ms[lastname],...’The“Dear”familyistrickybecauseit’snotalwaysterribleorwrongtouse,butitcansometimescomeoffasabittooformal.‘Dear[firstname],...’Again,it’snottheworstgreetingintheworld,butit’salittleold-fashioned.‘Dearfriend,...’“Ifyoudon’tknowmyname,orcan’tbebotheredtouseit,weprobablyaren’tfriends,”saysSchwalbe.‘Dear[JobTitle],...’Granted,addressingyouremailtothepositionyourrecipientisbetterthangoingwith‘Towhomitmayconcern,...’–itshowsthatyouputinsomeeffort.Butitstillreadsasextremelygeneric.Andifyou’realreadyputtinginefforttofigureoutwhatthepositionofthepersonyou’readdressingis,you’dbebetteroffgoingtheextrastepandfiguringoutwhothatpersonis.Allittakesisalittlemoreresearch.‘DearMa’am,...’Apartfrombeinggenericandgivingoffanimpersonalvibe,thisonecanbeoffensivetotherecipient.AsoneinformalNewYorkTimespollfound,fewwomenreallyappreciatebeingcalled“ma’am”—ittendstomakethemfeeloldanddisrespected.(GettyImages(GettyImages)‘DearSirorMadam,...’Waytooformal!Plus,thissalutationtellstherecipientthatyouhavenoideawhotheyare,saysPachter.“Whythenshouldthereaderbeinterestedinwhatyouhavetosay?”Schwalbeadds:“Thisoneisverystiff.Italwaysfeelslikebadnewsoracomplaintwillfollow.”‘Hello,...’Notbad,butabitinformalifyou’readdressingsomeoneyoudon’tknowverywell.‘Goodmorning/afternoon/evening,...’Itmaynotbemorning,afternoon,oreveninganymorebythetimeyouremailreachestheperson—orifthey’reinadifferenttimezone—soit’sbestjusttoskipthese.‘Mr/Mrs/Ms[lastname],...’Anotherstiffandabruptone.Therecipientmayfeellikeyou’reabouttoreprimandthem.RecommendedBosswantstomakefour-dayworkingweektrialpermanent‘Mr/Mrs/Ms[firstname],...’Pachtersaysthatthisishowyoungchildrenaddresstheirteachers:“MrsSusan,canyouhelpmewiththismathproblem?”It’snotappropriateintheprofessionalworld.‘To[name],...’Thiswordingisawkwardandjuvenile-sounding.‘HiMrs...’“Use‘Ms’unlessyouknowthewomanwantstobeaddressedas‘Mrs,’”Rubinwrites.‘[Firstname]!’Firstoff,it’sabitinformalandabrupt.Thenwhenyoutackontheexclamationpoint,itjustgetsannoying.“It’sabitjarringrightoffthebat—likesomeoneisshoutingatme,”Schwalbesays.“Evenwithouttheexclamation,it’sabitabrupt.Bettertoprecedethenamewith‘Hi’thanjustblurtitout.”‘Yo!’Dowereallyneedtoexplainwhythisoneisano-no?(Getty(Getty)‘[Misspelledname],...’Spelltherecipient’snamecorrectly.“Manypeopleareinsultediftheirnameismisspelled,”saysPachter.“Checkforthecorrectspellingintheperson’ssignatureblock.Youcanalsocheckthe‘To’line.Often,people’sfirstorlastnamesareintheiraddresses.”‘Hifolks,...’“Thoughthebusinessworldismoreinformaltodaythaninthepast,”Pachterrecommendsavoidinglaid-back,colloquialexpressionslike“folks”inbusinesscommunications.‘Heyy’all,...’Thisisanotherlaid-back,colloquialexpressionthat’sbestavoidedinaprofessionalemail.‘Higuys,...’Tobeginwith,“Higuys”isconsideredtoolaid-backforprofessionalemails.Butusinggenderedlanguagetoaddressmixed-gendergroupspresentsotherproblems.First,it’sinaccurate.Andsecondly,itcouldcauseoffence.“Failingtoacknowledgewomenbyusingamalecatchallphraseevokesthesexismwovenintoeveryaspectofbeing,”writesDianeRubino,anadjunctinstructoratNYUandColumbiaUniversity,forWiley.RecommendedManwhostudiedrichpeoplefound3etiquetteaspectstheynevershirk‘Gentlemen,...’Thisone’salsosexist,Pachtersays.‘Hi[nickname],...’Don’ttakeituponyourselftocallWilliam“Will”orJennifer“Jen.”Unlessthepersonhasintroducedthemselvesusinganicknameorusesoneinthesignatureoftheirownemails,sticktotheirfullname.‘Hi,...’Thisgreetingnotonlysoundsabrupt,butitalsolacksthecustomisationnecessarytograbyourreader’sattention.Includingtheperson’snameinanemailisacrucialwaytogettheirattention,DannyRubinwritesin“Wait,HowDoIWriteThisEmail?”“DaleCarnegie,alegendaryauthorandspeakeronleadership,believedaperson’snameisthe‘sweetestandmostimportantsoundinanylanguage,’”hewrites.“Samegoesforemail.”(GettyImages(GettyImages)‘All,...’Thisonealsosoundsabrupt.Again,ifyou’rewritingtoagroup,use“Hieveryone.”‘HappyFriday!!!’Youdon’twanttobeoverlyenthusiastic.It’snotprofessionalandsetsthewrongtone.Plus,itmightgetundertherecipient’sskin.[Nogreeting]Alwaysuseasalutation,Pachterwrites:“You’llseemfriendlierifyoudo.”BusinessInsider 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