Salutations in Letters and Email - Business Writing Blog

Salutations in Letters and Email · The standard way to open a business letter is with Dear, the person's name (with or without a title), and a colon, like this: Signin BestPicks Email Proofreading GlobalCommunication FAQ TakeaCourse BusinessWritingTune-Up ProofreadLikeaPro MeetingNotesMadeEasy PunctuationforProfessionals More Etiquette Books CourteousWriting GemsofLanguage GrammarandUsage HowtoWrite____ MeetingNotesandMinutes PositiveLanguage Presentations PunctuationPointers Talk TeachingBusinessWriting Tips TipsonMicrosoftOffice Uncategorized WritingCondolences WritingTips Signin Welcome!Logintoyouraccount yourusername yourpassword Forgotyourpassword? PrivacyPolicy Passwordrecovery Recoveryourpassword youremail Search Signin Welcome!Logintoyouraccount yourusername yourpassword Forgotyourpassword?Gethelp PrivacyPolicy Passwordrecovery Recoveryourpassword youremail Apasswordwillbee-mailedtoyou. BusinessWritingBlog BestPicks Email Proofreading GlobalCommunication FAQ TakeaCourse BusinessWritingTune-Up ProofreadLikeaPro MeetingNotesMadeEasy PunctuationforProfessionals More Etiquette Books CourteousWriting GemsofLanguage GrammarandUsage HowtoWrite____ MeetingNotesandMinutes PositiveLanguage Presentations PunctuationPointers Talk TeachingBusinessWriting Tips TipsonMicrosoftOffice Uncategorized WritingCondolences WritingTips HomeEmailSalutationsinLettersandEmail EmailEtiquetteFrequentlyAskedQuestionsWritingTips UPDATEDINDECEMBER2016 DearReader:  DearReader,  DearMs.Reader: DearMr.andMrs.Reader: HiReader,  Reader, Thispostisallabouttheetiquetteofsalutations(greetings)forbusinesslettersandemail.It’sdedicatedtothemanywhohavevisitedthisbloginsearchoftipsonhowtobeginaletter. RulesforBusinessLetters ThestandardwaytoopenabusinessletteriswithDear,theperson’sname(withorwithoutatitle),andacolon,likethis: DearLouise:  DearMs.Chu:  DearMr.andDr.Paige:  DearProfessorAmato:  DearPatrick: (FormorediscussionofDear,seemypost“DoIHavetoCallYouDear?”) ThestandardwaytoopenasocialbusinessletteriswithDear,theperson’sname(withorwithoutatitle),andacomma,likethis: DearNigel,  DearDr.Tarabi,  DearReverendJans, Asocialbusinessletterissocialorpersonalratherthanbusiness-focused;forexample,lettersofcondolence,personalcongratulations(forweddings,births,promotions,andothercelebrations),andthankyous. Ifyoudon’tknowthereaderwelloriftheletterortherelationshipisformal,useatitleandalastname(DearMs.Browne).Otherwise,usethefirstname(DearGila). UnlessyouarecertainthatawomanprefersMissorMrs.,usethetitleMs. Ifyouarewritingtotwopeople,usebothnamesinyoursalutation,likethis: DearMr.TrujilloandMs.Donne:  DearAlexandDrenda, NeverspelloutthetitlesMr.,Ms.,Mrs.,andDr. Dospelloutthesetitlesandsimilarones: Professor,Dean,Sister,Rabbi,Imam,Senator,Governor,Captain,Admiral,Judge Ifyoudon’tknowaperson’sgender,usethefullnameratherthanatitle: DearDanaSimms:  DearT.K.Spinazola: Ifyoudon’tknowaperson’snameorgender,avoid“Towhomitmayconcern.”Instead,usethejobtitleoragenericgreeting: DearRecruiter:  DearClaimsAdjustor:  DearSirorMadam: Ifyouarewritingtoacompanyratherthananyspecificindividual,usethecompanyname: DearSyntaxTraining:  (Thisisconsideredslightlyinformal.) Forasimplifiedbusinessletter,donotuseasalutation.Insteaduseasubjectinallcapitalletters,followedbythebodyoftheletter,likethis:WAYSTOBEGINABUSINESSLETTER Iamwritingtoshareinformationaboutstandardletteropeningsto.... Simplifiedbusinesslettersareperfectlyacceptablebutnotcommon.   RulesforEmail Forformalemail(thatis,emailusedasabusinessletter),followrules1-7above.Otherwise,uselessformalitywithgreetingslikethese: DearHan, HiEva, HelloKwasi, Hiall, Goodmorning,Ann, Ifyouuseonlythereader’snamewithoutagreeting,besuretoopenwithapositivesentencesoyourmessagedoesnotcomeacrossascold: Sue,  Thanksforyourhelpwiththeorder.  Brooke:  I’mhappytoprovidetheinformationyourequested.  Forinformalmessages,youmayalsoinsertthegreetingonthesamelineastheopeningsentence,likethis: Hello,David.Ihopeyouhadagreatvacation. Goodmorning,Wanda.Iamfollowinguponthismorning’smeeting. Orjustusetheperson’snameintheopeningsentence,likethis: Yiota,youwererightabouttheprices. Ifyouarelookingforadeskreferencethatcoversmuchmoreaboutbusinessletters,email,reports,etc.,IrecommendTheGreggReferenceManual11thEdition, alsoknownasGregg.IusedGreggtochecktherulesandrecommendationsabove. Ifyouwouldliketohavesomeoneeditorproofreadyourmessages,pleaseaskmypartner,Scribendi.Idonotprovidethisservice,butScribendidoesexcellent,fastwork. Formoreaboutrelationship-buildingmessages,getmybookBusinessWritingWithHeart.  DearReader, Goodluckwithyoursalutations! Lynn SyntaxTraining RELATEDARTICLESMOREFROMAUTHOR CourteousWriting IsItAppropriateToUseEmojisAtWork? Email Is“KindRegards”Capitalised? CourteousWriting ShouldYouAvoidThe“IAmWriting”Opening? 47COMMENTS Thankyou!Youhaveansweredaburningquestionformeaboutinformalemailsalutations. Iknowthattherulewhenaddressingapersonwithinconversationistouseacomma.Forexample:“Lynn,doyouknowtheanswer?”Giventhisrule,Iusuallyaddressfriendsinemaillikethis:“Hi,Lynn,…”TheproblemwasthatIcouldnotfindaresourcethatspecificallyconfirmedthatthisiscorrect-untilnow. Ofcourse,Microsoft’sgrammarandspellcheckertellsmethisiswrongandratherthanbattlethelittle,green,please-correct-meline,Iusuallyrelentandremovethe“Hi”andit’scomma,leavingmewith“Lynn,…Hi.” Finally,Icraftedtherightsearchphrase-“grammarsalutationsemail”-andfoundtheanswerinyourpost.Ihaveneverseenanyoneelseapplythisruleinemail. Heather,thankyouforthismessage.Iamsogladyoufoundwhatyouwerelookingfor.BesuretoalsocheckmyFebruary5post.Itisaboutcommaswithnames,anditgoesintomoredetailaboutthequestionthathasbeenpuzzlingyou. Don’tletyoursoftwareintimidateyouwhenitcomestopunctuation.Sometimesyouareright! canweaddressasmadamxyzinformalletters?? “Madam”isusedonlywhenwedonotknowthereader’sname,likethis: Madam: DearMadam: Ifweknowthereader’sname,weuseoneofthese: DearMs.Chan: DearMrs.Chan: DearMissChan: WhatIhavedescribedisstandardintheUnitedStates.Iamnotcertainwhether“Madam”isuseddifferentlyinotherEnglish-speakingcountries. Hello. Iwouldbegratefulifyoucouldanswerthesetwoquestions: 1)Ifthemailrecipienthastwolastnames(eg.ProfessorSmith-Jones)howdoIsalutethem?Isitcorrecttouse“DearProfessorSmith-Jones”? 2)IfthemailrecipienthasatitleDr,meaningaPhDratherthanbeingadoctor,howdoIsalutethem? Thankyouinadvanceforyourtime Marina Marina,youarerightabouthowtogreetapersonwithahyphenatedname.Youusebothnames: DearProfessorSmith-Jones: ThePhDquestionisalittletricky.Itisbestifyoucanfindouttheperson’spreferenceorthestyleusedintheperson’senvironment.IntheUS,manyPhD’sinacademicsettingsuse“Dr.”However,intheUK,Ihaveheardonly“Mr.”and“Ms.”Outsideauniversitysetting,“Mr.”and“Ms.”aremorecommonthan“Dr.”–evenintheUS. Thankyouverymuchforyouranswer.Itwasextremelyhelpful. CanyoupleasetellmehowtoaddressandstartalettertoanExecutiveMayor?IsitHisExcellencytheMayorandthenDearCllrSo-and-so? Thankyouforyourhelp! Marianne,Idon’tknowtheanswertoyourquestion.Iwouldphonethemayor’sofficeandaskforadvice.Ifthatapproachwouldnotworkforyou,Iwouldtryalibraryoranembassyinyourcountry(SouthAfrica?). Iwishyouluck. Thanks. Hi,Ihaveaquestionaboutsalutationsinbusinessletters.Iftheperson’sfullnameendsin“Jr.”or“Sr.”shouldIformatitas,DearBobSmith,Sr.:–or–DearBobSmith,Sr:??? I’minclinedtogowiththesecondoptionbecauseitlookslessawkward,buthaven’tbeenabletofindanyreferencesorstylemanualsthataddressthisparticularissue.Ingeneral,doesacoloneverfollowaperiod,ordoesthebottomhalfofthecolondodoubledutyandfillinforanynecessaryperiod?Thankyousomuch! Chris,pleaseseemyDecember18,2006post.Iwroteittoanswerandexpandonyourquestion. Lynn IamaddressedintheUKasMrE.F.Green,FCAbutintheUSAonlyasE.F.GreenFCA.AsachildIwastaughtintheUKnottowriteMr.AJones,Esq.ItwaseitherMrarEsq.HastherulechangedHopeyoucanclarify Eric,goodquestion!Ihadtodoresearchtofindoutwhat“FCA”means.BasedonwhatIfound,Iamguessingthatitis“FellowshipofCharteredAccountants.”Isthatcorrect? IfFCAislikeEsq.,itisusedintheU.S.withoutanothercourtesytitle.Thatis,FCAwouldbeusedwithoutMr.orMs.ThestandardU.S.styleagreeswithwhatyougrewupwithintheUK. Thankyouforintroducingmetoanewabbreviation. HowdoyouaddressalettertoaCaptainandhiswife?IsitCaptainandMrs.JohnSmith? Thankyou. Lori,youwouldaddresstheenvelopeasyouindicated: CaptainandMrs.JohnSmith Forthegreeting(salutation),youwouldwritethis: DearCaptainandMrs.Smith: Inabusinessletter,thegreetingisfollowedbyacolon.Forapersonalletter,useacomma. HowwouldanenvelopebeaddressedtoJerry&DianeShieldswhenheisaMr.andsheisaRev.Woulditbe Mr.Jerry&TheRev.DianeShields? Theotherministerinourchurchiseasysinceitis TheRev.&Mrs.JefferyDeardorff David,hernamecomesfirstasareverend(oranypersonwithaspecialtitle).Therecommendedwayistoaddresstheenvelopelikethis: TheReverendDianeShields Mr.JerryShields Analternativeistoputtheirnamesonthesameline: TheReverendDianeandMr.JerryShields Althoughtraditionallytheman’snamecomesfirstinalettertoamarriedcouple,whenthewomanhasaspecialtitle(Dr.,Rabbi,Senator,etc.),hernamecomesfirst. DearLynn, WhenaddressingalettertoarecipientwithwhomIhaveaidealogicaldifferenceofopinionoradisputeoflegalorbusinessnature,itfrustratesmetoopentheletterwith“Dear”.e.g.“DearSenatorHyperbole”. Whatotheroptionsareavailableforapropersalutation? James,youhaveacoupleofchoiceswhenyouwritetoSenatorHyperbole.Oneistousethesimplifiedletterformat,whichskipsthegreetingaltogether.Iillustrateitinthepostyouhavecommentedon(above).Seealso“DoIHavetoCallYouDear?”(intheetiquettecategoryonAugust16,2005). Theotheroptionissimplytouse“Dear”asawayoftakingthehighroadwithyourmessage. Ibelievefollowingtheconventionsofwriting(using“Dear”)showsthatyouareanintelligenthumanbeingwhoknowstherulesofeffectivecommunication. Pleaseletmeknowwhatyouhavedecidedtodo. Lynn Whatisthepropersalutationtoalocalpracticingattorney? Inourfundraisingdatabase,wehaveanumberofwomendoctors.1.Doesthespecialtitleruleapplytowomendoctorsmarriedtomenwithouttitles?WouldDr.JaneSmithandMr.JohnSmith’senvelopebeaddressedtoDr.andMr.JohnSmith?WouldthesalutationbeDearDr.andMr.Smith:? 2.Iftheyarebothdoctors,wouldtheybeaddressedasDrs.JohnSmith? Thankyou, Natasha Natasha,pleaseseemypost“WhenDoctorsMarry”fromAugust15,2006. Lynn DearLynn, Iwentthroughyourarticleaboutsalutation.Ihavesomespecificquestions: Iworkforaprojectwithagroupofpeople;someofthemarejuniortomewhilesomeofthemaresenior.Wedailyinteractwitheachotherthruemail,averycommonsituationanyemployedpersonfaces. 1.HowdoIopenaformalemailwhenwritingtomycolleague?AfterreadingyourarticleIunderstandthattherearemanywaystobeginaformalletter,butwhichonesuitsbestforthesituationImentionedabove? 2.Thereisacultureinthegrouptostartformalemailwithperson’snamewithacomma(eg.Tom,).Isn’tthatabitrudewaytostartaformalemail?WhatsalutationshouldIusewhilereplyingtosuchamail(fromjuniorandfromsuperior)? Anyanswerstothesequestionswillreallybehelpful. Thanks, ASK. Ask,Ithinkitisfinetousejusttheperson’snamewithacomma,asIhavedoneinthissentence.Idonotfinditatallrude. Ifyoucommunicatedaily,Idonotseeareasontobeformal. Ifyouwanttobemorefriendly,youcansimplyusepositive,friendlylanguage,suchas“happyto,”“pleased,”and“Itwasgoodtohearyourview.”Oryoucanuse“Greetings”or“Hi”withtheperson’snameifthosewordsfityourculture. Whynotaskotherpeopleatworkhowtheyfeelaboutsalutations?Maybeyouandyourcolleaguescanagreeonthebestwaystobeginamessage. Lynn Isitimpropertouse“&”betweennamesinasalutation? Rose,accordingto“TheGreggReferenceManual,”using&isimproperinsalutations. Whichiscorrect,ScottandJulieMillerorJulieandScottMiller? Botharecorrect. Whataboutthecaseofawomanwhohastakenhermaidennameashermiddlename;forexample,SharonSmithJones(nothyphenated).WouldthesalutationbeMrs.JonesorMrs.SmithJones? Whatistheproperwaytoaddressalettertoachild?Whatisthecorrectsalutationwhenwritingalettertoachild? Ihopeyoucanhelpme.Ineedtosendalettertothreepeople–amarriedcoupleandawomanwiththesamelastname.Addressingtheletterissimple,butwhatisthepropersalutation? Mr.andMrs.SmithandMs.Smith?oristhereapluralforwomenlikeMessrs.formen? Thankyouforyourhelp. Linda Linda,thereisapluralforMrs:Mesdames.ThepluralofMs.isMses. Ifyoucannotusefirstnames,Iwouldusethis: DearMr.andMrs.SmithandMs.Smith: Alternatively,writetwoletters.Inthefirstsentencesaysomethinglike“IamwritingtoyouandtoMs.Smith....” Larysa,girlsandboyswhoare13orolderareaddressedasadults.YounggirlsmaybeaddressedasMs.orMissorwithnotitle.VeryyoungboysmaybeaddressedasMasterorwithnotitle. Canweuse‘DearAll’formanyreceivers?Should‘All’startwithacapital‘A’? IamwritingalettertoseveralcompaniestorequestMSDS(materialsafetydata)sheetsabouttheproductswepurchasefromthem.Isitokayjusttouse“Gentlemen”asasalutation? WhatisthepropersalutationwhenwritingaMayor? What’stheproperwaytosignforsomebodyelse? 1.“AllenBakerforCharlieDay”or 2.“ForCharlieDay,thisisAllenBaker”or 3.justsignas“CharlieDay”evenifsendingfromAllenBaker’semailaccount whenwritingaletterandtherearemorethanonesendingsame,soulditread,Sincerelyweare, PatMike Whenwritingapersonalletterandthereismorethanonepersonsigning,theclosingshouldreadasfollows: Sincerely, PatandMike Forabusinessletter,theclosing(“Sincerely”)staysthesame,buteachpersonhashisorherownsignatureblock,likethis: PatrickWhite Manager,CustomerService MichaelaBest RegionalManager Thesignatureblocksaresidebysideoroneabovetheother.Eachpersonsignsabovehisorhername,usingfirstnameonlyorfullnamedependingontheformalityoftheletterandtheirrelationships. Lynn Whenawoman’snameishyphenated,isitcorrecttowriteDearMrs.Jones-Cooper,orsincethelastnameisdifferentfromherhusband’s,isitcorrecttowriteDearMs.Jones-Cooper?Ihavenotbeenabletofindanyrulethataddressesthissituation. Howdoyouaddressacouplewhoarebothcaptains?WoulditbeCaptain&CaptainJohnSmith?Unusal,Iknow,butIamfacedwiththissituation.Thanks. Here’show: CaptainsJohnandReneSmith Ijustgotmarriedandhyphenatedmylastnameandmyhusbanddidnot.Howdoweaddressourselvesasacouple?Woulditbehisfullnameandthenmyfullnameorcouldwehavefirstname&*firstname,butwhatlastnamedoweuse.Mineorhis? Kristina,IwroteaboutwhattocallmarriedwomenonJuly13,2007,soreadthatpostforideasonyourname. Asforbothofyou,IbelieveheremainsMr.First-NameWingler,butyoucanprobablyintroduceyourselvesanywayyouwant. Inmyfamily,sociallywearetheGaertner-Johnstons,butofficiallyweareMr.MichaelJohnstonandMs.LynnGaertner-Johnston. Congratulations!Ihopeyouhavealong,lovelylifetogether. Lynn IneedtowritealettertoagentlemanallIknowishisnameandbehindthathehasPh.D.DoIaddresshimasDr.SmithPh.DorDr.Smith Typehisnameintheaddressblocklikethis: JamesSmith,Ph.D. Addresshimas: DearMr.Smith: OrifyouknowhelikestobecalledDr.,usethis: DearDr.Smith: Commentsareclosed. 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