Is "Dear All" Appropriate In A Work Email? (8 Better Alternatives)

Dear Colleagues · Dear Team · Dear Students · Dear Faculty · Dear Staff · Dear Parents · Dear Club Members · Dear Important Employees. Skiptocontent“Dearall”isoneofthemostcommonlyusedemailstartersamongformalemails.However,thatdoesn’tmeanit’sanappropriatewaytowriteanemail.Thereareplentyofalternativesouttherethatit’sbettertouse,butlet’sfindoutwhy“dearall”isano-go.TableofContentsIsItInappropriateToWrite“DearAll”InAWorkEmail?TheMeaningOf“DearAll”WhenIsItFineToUse“DearAll”InAnEmail?FamilyWorkplace8BetterWaysToWrite“DearAll”InAFormalEmailDearColleaguesDearTeamDearStudentsDearFacultyDearStaffDearParentsDearClubMembersDearImportantEmployeesAvoidStartingAProfessionalEmailWithTheseGreetingsIsItInappropriateToWrite“DearAll”InAWorkEmail?“Dearall”isformalandappropriatetouseinaworkemail;however,itisconsideredlazy,andmanypeoplewon’treadtheemailfurther.Using“all”insteadofthegroupyou’rereferringto(i.e.,dearcolleagues)impliesthattheemailcouldbeforanyoneandisthereforeinappropriate.Watchthevideo:Only1percentof...PleaseenableJavaScriptWatchthevideo:Only1percentofourvisitorsgetthese3grammarquestionsright...TheMeaningOf“DearAll”Whenweuse“dearall,”itisseenasaformalgreetingandisalmostalwayswritteninemails(andnoothermediums).That’sbecauseemailsallowustosendtomultiplepeopleatthesametime,makingthe“all”portionofthephraseappropriate.Dearallmeans“hellotoeveryoneI’vesentthisemailto.”“Dear”isagreetingusuallyreservedforalovedoneoranimportantperson,butthewordhassincebeenadaptedtobemoreacceptableinformalsituations.“All”meanseveryoneinthiscontext.Wheneverwewrite“dearall”inanemail,wesendittomultiplepeople.Youshouldneversend“dearall”ifyou’reonlytalkingtooneperson.However,it’sbestifyoucanavoidusing“dearall”entirelybecausemostpeoplewillnotwanttoreadthecontent.“Dearall”isseenaslazy.Youcaneasilyreplace“all”withanotherwordlike“colleagues”or“employees”withoutwastinganymoretime.Thissimpleadditionofaspecificgroupofpeoplemakesitmorepersonalandallowseveryonetoenjoytheemailalotbetter.It’smorerewardingforthereaderstobeappreciatedasagroup,ratherthanjustputtogetherin“all.”WhenIsItFineToUse“DearAll”InAnEmail?Therearesomecaseswhere“dearall”willwork,thoughtherearealwaysbetteralternatives.Ifyouwanttouse“dearall”inanemail,makesureyou’resendinganemailtoalargergroupofpeople.Ifyou’reonlysendingittoone,two,oreventhreepeople,thenyoucansimplyrefertotheirnames.“All”impliestherearetoomanypeopletonameindividually.Let’slookthroughsomeexamplestoshowyouwhatwemeanbythis.FamilyDearall,I’mwritingthisemailtoletyouknowaboutthecampingtripcomingup…Seeyousoon,FredPetersWecanuse“dearall”inthissensetogroupourwholefamily.Again,“dearall”isn’tverypersonalinthiscontext,andyoucouldeasilyreplaceitwith“dearfamily”andgetamuchbetterresponsefromit.WorkplaceDearall,I’mnothappywiththemessIfoundinthestaffkitchen…Actionthisimmediately,Mr.ChambersWecanalsouse“dearall”intheworkplace(whichiswhereit’smostcommontofind).Usually,formalspeechwithoutpersonallanguageiscommoninworkemails.Still,inthiscase,“dearall”lookslikeanangriergreeting,especiallywhenwereadthecontentoftheemail.Toavoidthisaggression,startingwithsomethingsimplerlike“dearemployees”or“dearteam”wouldhaveworkedmuchbetter.Thebosscouldstillscoldhisteamfortheincident,butatleasttheywouldn’thavetoworryabouttheconnotationsof“dearall.”8BetterWaysToWrite“DearAll”InAFormalEmailOkay,sowe’vedeterminedthat“dearall”isn’tthebestoptionwhenwe’rewritinganemail.Whileformalemailstypicallydon’tneedapersonaltouch,ithelpstoincludethemintheintroductionandgreetingtokeepthingspolite.Ifyoucanaddressyouraudienceandidentifythem,youshouldalwayschoosetodothat.Itshowsthatyoutookthetimetowritetheemailoutentirelyforthemandappreciatetheirattention.Ifyousimplyuse“dearall”togrouppeopletogether,you’realienatingthemfromthestart,andthey’llseeyouaslazy.DearColleaguesFirst,let’slookatoneofthemostcommonalternatives.Wecanstilluse“dear”inthiscasebecausewe’readdressingpeopleinakindandformalway.Usingadifferentgreetinglike“hi”or“hello”doesn’tworkaswellinaformalsetting,sowe’llstickwith“dear.”Ifyou’reworkingwithpeople,theyareknownascolleagues.Whetheryou’reonthesamelevelasthem,oryou’retheirsupervisororeventheirboss,youcanrefertothemascolleaguestomakesuretheyunderstandthatyoumeanwellanddon’twanttobeseenassomeoneabovethem.Dearcolleagues,It’sbeenbroughttomyattentionthatwehaven’thadafundraiserthisyear…Yours,DeanThomasThisisoneexampleofthestructureofanemailwhenweuse“dearcolleagues”tostart.Immediately,weareaddressingouraudienceaspeoplewhoweworkwith,ratherthanalazy“all.”DearTeamIfyouwanttokeepthingsevenmorepersonal,youcanrefertoyourcolleaguesorcoworkersasateam.Ateamiswhenagroupofpeopleworkwelltogethertoachieveacommongoal.It’scommonforworkplacestocalltheirworkforcesateamtokeepsynergyhighandtotryandboostmorale.Ofcourse,itmaynotalwayshavethedesiredeffect,butit’sastepintherightdirectionwhenyou’retryingtokeepthingsmorepersonalandgrouptogetherthepeopleaddressed.Dearteam,I’vefilledinyourovertimeforthismonth,andit’llbepaidlater…Thankyou,ChrisRutherfordSeehowinthisexample,we’reusing“team”asopposedto“colleagues.”However,botharesynonymouswitheachother;itmostlydependsonthenameyougivetoyourcoworkersintheworkplace.DearStudentsLet’smoveacrosstoaschooloreducationalsettingforamomenttoseehowaformalemailmightbeaddressedhere.First,we’lltakealookatitfromthepointofviewoftheteachersortheadministrationteam.Generally,you’lladdressthestudentsinagroupemailwhenyouwanttoshareimportantnewsabouteithertheschooloraboutupcomingthingsthatwillaffectthestudents.Saying“students”insteadof“all”isagreatwaytokeepthemallincluded.DearstudentsTheannualsummerfairiscomingup,andwe’relookingforvolunteers…Welookforwardtohearingfromyou,SchoolAdministrationTeamInthisexample,we’readdressingagroupofstudents.Itworksespeciallywellwhenwe’reaskingforvolunteerslikeweareinthisemailbecauseindicatingthespecificgroupofrecipientsallowsthemtobekeptalittlesweeterbeforeoutrightrejectingtheemail.DearFacultyFacultyisatermweusetorefertoagroupofteachersinaschool.It’sagreatwaytosendoutabulkemailtotheteachersspecifically,ratherthanusingthemoregeneral“dearall”greetingthatwewouldotherwisehavetouse.DearfacultyTermstartsagaininthreeweeks,andwe’dlikeforyouto…Lookingforwardtoseeingwhatyoucando,HeadmasterDavisAsyoucansee,thisisstillaformalemail;we’rejustusing“faculty”inplaceofthetypical“all”thatyoumightexpectoutofanemaillikethis.Itworksmuchbetterthiswayandkeepsalltheteachersengaged(hopefully)whilethey’rereadingthroughtheemail.DearStaffTheterm“staff”appliestoabroadrangeofpeople.Staffisthewordyou’dusetodescribeagroupofpeoplethatworkinaspecificestablishment.However,“staff”isstillseenasafairlygeneralword.Typically,itstillworksbetterthan“all”whenyou’resendinganemail,butyoumightwanttobecarefulusingsomethinglikethis.Sometimes,it’sbettertobemorespecific,evenifyouchange“staff”to“team”tomakeitseemslightlymorepersonal.Dearstaff,I’dlovetohearyourinputonthenewplanstoopenupthewestwing…Yourstruthfully,SarahWilcoxAsyoucansee,“dearstaff”stillworksnicelyasasaying,butit’snotthebestoptiononhere.It’sstillspecificenoughtoworkwellinmostplacesofwork,buthopefully,you’vegotaslightlymorespecificgroupnameforthepeoplethatworkwithyou.Asasidenote,“staff”usuallyappliestoanemailwhenit’sthebosswritingit.Youcan’tcallcolleaguesandcoworkersonthesamelevelasyouare“staff.”DearParentsNowlet’sgobacktoaschoolsituation.Thistime,wedon’twanttomessageoremailthestudentsattheschool.Instead,wewanttoaddresstheparents.Luckily,anamehasalreadybeengiventothisgroupandworksperfectlytoaddressthemall.Ratherthanworryingaboutusing“all,”whichwillenduphavingmostoftheparentsignoretheemail(orgettingitsentstraighttospam),youcaninsteadsay“dearparents”togettheirattentionrightaway.Dearparents,Yourchildrenhavejustfinishedtheirfirstweekofkindergarten…Wecan’twaittosharemorenews,LittleMunchkinsSchoolBoardAsyoucansee,the“parents”inclusionintheemailisagreatwaytodifferentiatethegroup.DearClubMembersIfyou’reamemberormanagerataclub,itmightbeacaseforyoutosendanemailoutinbulktotheothermembers.That’swhyit’simportanttocomeupwithagoodalternativeto“all.”Likeeverythingelsewe’velistedsofar,ithelpsthat“clubmembers”isalreadyanamethatyoucanrefertothemas.Ofcourse,ifyoucanbemorespecificbyincludingyourclubname,thatwouldbeevenbetter.DearMeridianGolfClubMembers,We’vegotanewemployeestartinginthecaféLetusknowwhatyouthink,MeridianGolfClubAsyoucansee,wenamedtheclubsowecouldbeevenmorespecifictotherecipientsoftheemail.Themorespecificyoucanget,thebetter.Sometimes,youmightwishthatyoucouldjustindividuallynameeachperson(thoughwewouldn’trecommendthat).DearImportantEmployeesFinally,ifyou’restrugglingtocomeupwithagoodideaforyourtaskforceorworkforce,youcanalwaysthrowanadjectiveinfrontof“team,”“staff,”or“employees.”Thatway,youcanencouragethemtobethankfulfortheemailandmakethemfeelimportant.Dearimportantemployees,Ihavesomeveryimportantnewstosharewithyou…Ipatientlyawaityourresponses,TomPetersAvoidStartingAProfessionalEmailWithTheseGreetingsWhile“dearall”isaprettybadgreetingmessagetothrowinatthestartofyouremail,thatdoesn’tmeanit’stheonlyonethereis.Infact,thereareafewothersthatwewantedtoincludesoyoucanmakesureyouavoidusingtheseinthefuture.Hiall!Notonlyareyoustillgroupingeveryoneupinanimpersonalway,butyou’realsousing“hi”asaninformalgreetingtotryandbreaktheice.Themessagefallsflatanddoesn’tworkthisway.HelloUsingthegreeting“hello”inanemailwithoutanythingelseisconsideredjustasbadaswriting“dearall.”It’sbadintwoways.Ifyousendittoagroup,you’renotaddressingthegroupinanyway.Ifyou’resendingittooneperson,you’renotevenbotheringtowritetheirname.Eitherway,itshowslaziness.Greetings,everyoneWhile“greetings”isseenasamorefunvariationof“dear,”itdoesn’tworkwellherebecausewe’restillusing“everyone”togroupthepeopletogetherwithoutaspecificidentifier.Ifanything,“greetings”lookspretentiousnowandisn’tgoodtouse.TowhomitmayconcernStartinganemailwithsomethinglikethismakesitasimpersonalasitcanbe.We’renottakinganytimetofigureoutwhotherecipientwillbeandthereforemakingeveryonefeelunwantedwhentheyreadit.Youmayalsolike:10BetterWaysToSay“Dear”InEmails10BestWaysToAddressMultiplePeopleInAnEmailRelatedposts:10BestWaysToAddressMultiplePeopleInAnEmail6StepsToPolitelyRemindSomeoneToReplyToYourEmail10AlternativesTo“HelloEveryone”InProfessionalEmailsThrough,By,Per,orViaEmail?(HelpfulExamples)Postnavigation←PreviousPostNextPost→AboutUsWeareonamissiontohelpyoubecomebetteratEnglish.AsagroupofexperiencedEnglishwriters,weenjoysharingourknowledgeinalanguagethateveryoneisabletounderstand.RecentPostsLabtoporLaptop–WhichSpellingIsCorrect?IsIt“Psalm”or“Psalms”?(CorrectSpelling)Flamevs.Fire–What’stheDifference?(HelpfulExamples)WhisporWisp–WhichIsCorrect?(HelpfulExamples) 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