The State of the Email Salutation: Hi, Hello or Dear?

The State of the Email Salutation: Hi, Hello or Dear? · One size does not fit all. · Use “dear” in your initial correspondence with someone whom you have never ... ≡Menu TheStateoftheEmailSalutation:Hi,HelloorDear? byLydiaRamsey It’spossiblethatyouarenotawareofaragingdebateonlineandinprintregardingtheproperemailsalutation.Thecontroversyisnotquiteonthesamelevelasthe politicaldebates,thankgoodness; butlikethosehurricanessomeofusdreadallsummerlong,itisgrowinginintensityandcoveringanever-wideningarea. AwhileagoIwascontactedbytheWallStreetJournalforanarticletitled“Hey,Folks:Here’saDigitalRequiemforaDearlyDepartedSalutation”.ThatwasfollowedbyacallfromareporteratForbes.comseekingmyopinionontheuseof“hi”vs.“dear”asanemailsalutationorgreeting.Fromthecommentsandresponsesinthosearticles,thistopicstirredupquiteacontroversy.Anditcontinues. Opinionsontheproperemailsalutation: Thosewhowereeitherinterviewedorquotedinwereadamantabouttheirstance. Somefelttheword“dear”wasold-fashionedandout-of-date. Onepersonsaiditwastoo“girlie”whileanotherstatedthatitwasextremelyintimate.Yetanotherrepliedthatusingany salutationatall takestoomuchtimeto type.I’mnospeedtypist,butreally?Howlongdoesittaketotypetwoletters? Opinionswerealloverthemap.Manypeoplewhopreferred“hello”over“hi.” “Hey”didnotseemtogetanyvotes. Maybeallthoseinterviewedhadamotherlikeminewho drilledinto methat“hey”wasnotanappropriategreetinginanysituation.“Hayisforhorses”washer responsetoanyone saying“hey”. AsaSoutherner,IhavetoadmitthatIusethewordfrequentlyasaverbalgreetingwithfriends. It’sascommonasgritshereintheGeorgia. Mystanceontheemailsalutation: Onesizedoesnotfitall. Usetheemailsalutation appropriate to thesituationandthepersontowhomyouareaddressingyouremail.Contextandfamiliaritydictatethesalutation. Use“dear”inyourinitialcorrespondencewithsomeonewhomyouhavenevermet andwithwhom youaretryingtoestablishaprofessionalrelationship. Whenindoubt,“dear”isalwayssafeandshouldbethedefaultgreetingforanyfirstcommunication Use“hi”or“hello”onceyouhaveestablishedacomfortablerelationship.“Hi”isviewedasrelaxingandwelcoming. Followtheleadofyourclientorcustomer. Iftheotherpersonalwaysuses“dear”,thensodoyou.Iftheybegintheircorrespondencewithyoubysaying“hi,”followsuit.Asinallbusinesssituations,mimicyourclient. Useasalutationofsomeform. Thereisalwaysenoughtimetobecourteous.Launchingyourconversationwithoutagreetingisthesameonlineasitisinperson.It’sabrupt. Alongwithyourchoseemailsalutationincludetheperson’sname. However,neveruse anyone’sfirstnameinbusinessuntilandunlesstheygiveyoupermission.Whenpeoplesigntheiremailreplytoyouusingtheirfirstname,thatisasignalthatyounolongerneedtouse“Mr.”orMs.” Withfriendsyoumaybeasinformalasyoulike. Ifyoufrequentlyexchangeemailwithcertainfriendsandcolleagues,thereisnoneedtobeformal.Nevertheless,Iamafanofagreetingofsomesortevenifitissimplystartingoffwithyourfriend’sorco-worker’sfirstname. Stillconfused?Letmesummarize: Although“Dear”isviewedasoutmodedbysome,itisafailsafefall-back. “Hello”followedbytheperson’sname,isalsoacceptable. “Hi”,plusthename,hasbeenontheriseforsometime,andisconsideredstandardinmanysituations. Atthispoint,Ileavetheemailsalutationtoyourgoodjudgment.Ifeelconfidentthat“dear”isnotdead. ButIbelievethatwearegoingtoseealotmore“hi”inourin-boxes. AbouttheAuthor LydiaRamsey helpsorganizationsattractandretainclientsthroughthesimplepracticeofmodernmannersandthebasicprinciplesofcourtesy,kindnessandrespect.©LydiaRamsey.Allrightsinallmediareserved. 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