Email Start Greetings

Email Greetings

With business communication—especially that is done through emails—salutations play an important role. When it’s the matter of speaking face-to-face with someone, vocal intonations and body language give context to our words – a luxury that we don’t have when communicating electronically.

Whenever I sit to write an email, I always think twice about the start greetings. Being a copywriter I perceive my work a bit ‘serious’, going to the extent of making sure that I use new greeting every time I write. Lately I decided to make myself a list of some email start greetings, so that every time I don’t have to waste my time in choosing one. And what can be the best way of storing them other than online?

So here are few ways you can begin your emails. Some are mine while others have been taken from the internet, my business partner!

1. 1.       Hoping you to be in the best shape and health
2. 2.       Hope you are doing well
3. 3.       I trust this email finds you very well.
4. 4.       I hope you are doing great in your life
5. 5.       Having not heard from you for a few days, I thought I would write to ask you about the [whatever] we were discussing. I remain available [when] etc.
6. 6.       Thank you for your quick response.
7. 7.       Thank you for taking your time.

Why Can’t People Write?

Being a business writer, I need to communicate a lot with people on emails. Every time I get in touch with a prospective client, I run into an interesting phenomena – a lot of people sound GREAT until I email them and get a response in return to discover the quality of their writing is, shall we say, substandard. Even worse, such people manage to slip through the cracks and reach higher positions. Some mails are so badly written that I can’t even discern what the person actually wants?

Given the importance of documentation and communication, aren’t writing skills necessary for employees, especially when facing customers? Why are those getting neglected? It is the “cellular phone” culture to blame?

Yes, they do allow us to interact so quickly. Whatever it is, whether we require instant email, chat, internet, we can get it right where we are. I feel this has bred a new kind of laziness. No one wants to wait for anything. Most of the cell phone users don’t even wish to take the time to spell whole words (remember IDK, CU, TC…?). It isn't so much that some people feel short of communicating. They just wish to develop the old, appropriate ways of communicating. I am conscious of my rant which is a bit extreme, but I think about it sometime. As we are gradually moving to a more technology driven society, accurate communication is becoming obsolete, which is a shame.