9/24/2015

BusinessWriting:SalutationsinLettersandEmail

BusinessWriting
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January15,2006

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SalutationsinLettersandEmail
DearReader:DearReader,DearMs.Reader:DearMr.andMrs.Reader:DearSirorMadam:Hi,Reader,
Reader,
Thispostisallabouttheetiquetteofsalutations(greetings)forbusinesslettersandemail.It'sdedicatedtothe
manywhohavevisitedthisbloginsearchoftipsonhowtobeginaletter.
RulesforBusinessLetters
1. ThestandardwaytoopenabusinessletteriswithDear,theperson'sname(withorwithoutatitle),anda
colon,likethis:
DearLouise:DearMs.Chu:DearMr.andDr.Paige:DearProfessorAmato:DearPatrick:
(FormorediscussionofDear,seemypost"DoIHavetoCallYouDear?")
2. ThestandardwaytoopenasocialbusinessletteriswithDear,theperson'sname(withorwithoutatitle),
andacomma,likethis:
DearNigel,DearDr.Tarabi,DearReverendJans,
Asocialbusinessletterissocialorpersonalratherthanbusinessfocusedforexample,lettersofcondolence,
personalcongratulations(forweddings,births,promotions,andothercelebrations),andthankyous.
3. Ifyoudon'tknowthereaderwelloriftheletterortherelationshipisformal,useatitleandalastname(Dear
Ms.Browne).Otherwise,usethefirstname(DearGila).
4. UnlessyouarecertainthatawomanprefersMissorMrs.,usethetitleMs.
5. Ifyouarewritingtotwopeople,usebothnamesinyoursalutation,likethis:
DearMr.TrujilloandMs.Donne:DearAlexandDrenda:
6. NeverspelloutthetitlesMr.,Ms.,Mrs.,andDr.Dospelloutthesetitlesandsimilarones:
Professor,Dean,Sister,Rabbi,Imam,Senator,Governor,Captain,Admiral,Judge
7. Ifyoudon'tknowaperson'sgender,usethefullnameratherthanatitle:
DearDanaSimms:DearT.K.Spinazola:
8. Ifyoudon'tknowaperson'snameorgender,avoid"Towhomitmayconcern."Instead,usethejobtitleora
genericgreeting:
DearRecruiter:DearClaimsAdjustor:DearSirorMadam:
9. Ifyouarewritingtoacompanyratherthananyspecificindividual,usethecompanyname:
DearSyntaxTraining:(Thisisconsideredslightlyinformal.)
10. Forasimplifiedbusinessletter,donotuseasalutation.Insteaduseasubjectinallcapitalletters,followedby
thebodyoftheletter,likethis:
WAYSTOBEGINABUSINESSLETTER
Iamwritingtoshareinformationaboutstandardletteropeningsto....
Simplifiedbusinesslettersareperfectlyacceptablebutnotcommon.
RulesforEmail
Forformalemail(thatis,emailusedasabusinessletter),followrules17above.Otherwise,uselessformality
withgreetingslikethese:
DearHan,Hi,Eva,HiKwasi,Sue,Brooke:Goodmorning,Wanda,Hello,David,
Orjustusetheperson'snameintheopeningsentence,likethis:Yiota,youwererightabouttheprices.
Ifyouarelookingforadeskreferencethatcoversmuchmoreaboutbusinessletters,email,reports,etc.,I
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recommendTheGreggReferenceManual,alsoknownasGregg.IusedGreggtodoublecheckalltherulesand
recommendationsabove.
DearReader,goodluckwithallyoursalutations!
_________________________________________________________
Othersearchspellings:slautations,salmutations,slamutations,gretings,greetngs,simplied,emial
January15,2006inEmail,Etiquette,FrequentlyAskedQuestions,WritingTips|Permalink
Comments

Thankyou!Youhaveansweredaburningquestionformeaboutinformalemailsalutations.
Iknowthattherulewhenaddressingapersonwithinconversationistouseacomma.Forexample:"Lynn,doyouknowthe
answer?"Giventhisrule,Iusuallyaddressfriendsinemaillikethis:"Hi,Lynn,..."TheproblemwasthatIcouldnotfinda
resourcethatspecificallyconfirmedthatthisiscorrectuntilnow.
Ofcourse,Microsoft'sgrammarandspellcheckertellsmethisiswrongandratherthanbattlethelittle,green,pleasecorrect
meline,Iusuallyrelentandremovethe"Hi"andit'scomma,leavingmewith"Lynn,...Hi."
Finally,Icraftedtherightsearchphrase"grammarsalutationsemail"andfoundtheanswerinyourpost.Ihaveneverseen
anyoneelseapplythisruleinemail.
Postedby:Heather|May18,2006at07:43PM

Heather,thankyouforthismessage.Iamsogladyoufoundwhatyouwerelookingfor.BesuretoalsocheckmyFebruary5
post.Itisaboutcommaswithnames,anditgoesintomoredetailaboutthequestionthathasbeenpuzzlingyou.
Don'tletyoursoftwareintimidateyouwhenitcomestopunctuation.Sometimesyouareright!
Postedby:Lynn|May19,2006at03:44PM

canweaddressasmadamxyzinformalletters??
Postedby:sriakr|September04,2006at04:46AM

"Madam"isusedonlywhenwedonotknowthereader'sname,likethis:
Madam:
DearMadam:
Ifweknowthereader'sname,weuseoneofthese:
DearMs.Chan:
DearMrs.Chan:
DearMissChan:
WhatIhavedescribedisstandardintheUnitedStates.Iamnotcertainwhether"Madam"isuseddifferentlyinother
Englishspeakingcountries.
Postedby:Lynn|September05,2006at05:51PM

Hello.
Iwouldbegratefulifyoucouldanswerthesetwoquestions:
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1)Ifthemailrecipienthastwolastnames(eg.ProfessorSmithJones)howdoIsalutethem?Isitcorrecttouse"Dear
ProfessorSmithJones"?
2)IfthemailrecipienthasatitleDr,meaningaPhDratherthanbeingadoctor,howdoIsalutethem?
Thankyouinadvanceforyourtime
Marina
Postedby:Marina|September28,2006at05:27AM

Marina,youarerightabouthowtogreetapersonwithahyphenatedname.Youusebothnames:
DearProfessorSmithJones:
ThePhDquestionisalittletricky.Itisbestifyoucanfindouttheperson'spreferenceorthestyleusedintheperson's
environment.IntheUS,manyPhD'sinacademicsettingsuse"Dr."However,intheUK,Ihaveheardonly"Mr."and"Ms."
Outsideauniversitysetting,"Mr."and"Ms."aremorecommonthan"Dr."evenintheUS.
Postedby:Lynn|September29,2006at12:14AM

Thankyouverymuchforyouranswer.Itwasextremelyhelpful.
Postedby:Marina|September29,2006at05:01AM

CanyoupleasetellmehowtoaddressandstartalettertoanExecutiveMayor?IsitHisExcellencytheMayorandthenDear
CllrSoandso?
Thankyouforyourhelp!
Postedby:MarianneJansevanVuuren|October23,2006at03:48AM

Marianne,Idon'tknowtheanswertoyourquestion.Iwouldphonethemayor'sofficeandaskforadvice.Ifthatapproach
wouldnotworkforyou,Iwouldtryalibraryoranembassyinyourcountry(SouthAfrica?).
Iwishyouluck.
Postedby:Lynn|October23,2006at08:27AM

Thanks.
Postedby:Swaroop|November30,2006at02:21PM

Hi,Ihaveaquestionaboutsalutationsinbusinessletters.Iftheperson'sfullnameendsin"Jr."or"Sr."shouldIformatitas,
DearBobSmith,Sr.:orDearBobSmith,Sr:???
I'minclinedtogowiththesecondoptionbecauseitlookslessawkward,buthaven'tbeenabletofindanyreferencesorstyle
manualsthataddressthisparticularissue.Ingeneral,doesacoloneverfollowaperiod,ordoesthebottomhalfofthecolondo
doubledutyandfillinforanynecessaryperiod?Thankyousomuch!
Postedby:Chris|December14,2006at11:11PM

Chris,pleaseseemyDecember18,2006post.Iwroteittoanswerandexpandonyourquestion.
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Lynn
Postedby:Lynn|December18,2006at08:50AM

IamaddressedintheUKasMrE.F.Green,FCAbutintheUSAonlyasE.F.GreenFCA.AsachildIwastaughtintheUKnotto
writeMr.AJones,Esq.ItwaseitherMrarEsq.HastherulechangedHopeyoucanclarify
Postedby:EricGreen|December25,2006at09:06AM

Eric,goodquestion!Ihadtodoresearchtofindoutwhat"FCA"means.BasedonwhatIfound,Iamguessingthatitis
"FellowshipofCharteredAccountants."Isthatcorrect?
IfFCAislikeEsq.,itisusedintheU.S.withoutanothercourtesytitle.Thatis,FCAwouldbeusedwithoutMr.orMs.The
standardU.S.styleagreeswithwhatyougrewupwithintheUK.
Thankyouforintroducingmetoanewabbreviation.
Postedby:Lynn|January03,2007at12:36PM

HowdoyouaddressalettertoaCaptainandhiswife?IsitCaptainandMrs.JohnSmith?
Thankyou.
Postedby:lori|January05,2007at08:56AM

Lori,youwouldaddresstheenvelopeasyouindicated:
CaptainandMrs.JohnSmith
Forthegreeting(salutation),youwouldwritethis:
DearCaptainandMrs.Smith:
Inabusinessletter,thegreetingisfollowedbyacolon.Forapersonalletter,useacomma.
Postedby:Lynn|January06,2007at10:29AM

HowwouldanenvelopebeaddressedtoJerry&DianeShieldswhenheisaMr.andsheisaRev.Woulditbe
Mr.Jerry&TheRev.DianeShields?
Theotherministerinourchurchiseasysinceitis
TheRev.&Mrs.JefferyDeardorff
Postedby:DavidR.Thiessen|January20,2007at06:47AM

David,hernamecomesfirstasareverend(oranypersonwithaspecialtitle).Therecommendedwayistoaddressthe
envelopelikethis:
TheReverendDianeShields
Mr.JerryShields
Analternativeistoputtheirnamesonthesameline:
TheReverendDianeandMr.JerryShields
Althoughtraditionallytheman'snamecomesfirstinalettertoamarriedcouple,whenthewomanhasaspecialtitle(Dr.,
Rabbi,Senator,etc.),hernamecomesfirst.
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Postedby:Lynn|January20,2007at09:11AM

DearLynn,
WhenaddressingalettertoarecipientwithwhomIhaveaidealogicaldifferenceofopinionoradisputeoflegalorbusiness
nature,itfrustratesmetoopentheletterwith"Dear".e.g."DearSenatorHyperbole".
Whatotheroptionsareavailableforapropersalutation?
Postedby:JamesWempe|February03,2007at05:36PM

James,youhaveacoupleofchoiceswhenyouwritetoSenatorHyperbole.Oneistousethesimplifiedletterformat,which
skipsthegreetingaltogether.Iillustrateitinthepostyouhavecommentedon(above).Seealso"DoIHavetoCallYouDear?"
(intheetiquettecategoryonAugust16,2005).
Theotheroptionissimplytouse"Dear"asawayoftakingthehighroadwithyourmessage.
Ibelievefollowingtheconventionsofwriting(using"Dear")showsthatyouareanintelligenthumanbeingwhoknowsthe
rulesofeffectivecommunication.
Pleaseletmeknowwhatyouhavedecidedtodo.
Lynn
Postedby:Lynn|February07,2007at08:08AM

Whatisthepropersalutationtoalocalpracticingattorney?
Postedby:BettyWilson|February26,2007at12:04PM

Inourfundraisingdatabase,wehaveanumberofwomendoctors.1.Doesthespecialtitleruleapplytowomendoctorsmarried
tomenwithouttitles?WouldDr.JaneSmithandMr.JohnSmith'senvelopebeaddressedtoDr.andMr.JohnSmith?Would
thesalutationbeDearDr.andMr.Smith:?
2.Iftheyarebothdoctors,wouldtheybeaddressedasDrs.JohnSmith?
Thankyou,
Natasha
Postedby:NatashaWalterFisk|March02,2007at03:53PM

Natasha,pleaseseemypost"WhenDoctorsMarry"fromAugust15,2006.
Lynn
Postedby:Lynn|March02,2007at03:59PM

DearLynn,
Iwentthroughyourarticleaboutsalutation.Ihavesomespecificquestions:
Iworkforaprojectwithagroupofpeoplesomeofthemarejuniortomewhilesomeofthemaresenior.Wedailyinteract
witheachotherthruemail,averycommonsituationanyemployedpersonfaces.
1.HowdoIopenaformalemailwhenwritingtomycolleague?AfterreadingyourarticleIunderstandthattherearemany
waystobeginaformalletter,butwhichonesuitsbestforthesituationImentionedabove?
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2.Thereisacultureinthegrouptostartformalemailwithpersonsnamewithacomma(eg.Tom,).Isntthatabitrudewayto
startaformalemail?WhatsalutationshouldIusewhilereplyingtosuchamail(fromjuniorandfromsuperior)?
Anyanswerstothesequestionswillreallybehelpful.
Thanks,
ASK.
Postedby:ask|March18,2007at09:41AM

Ask,Ithinkitisfinetousejusttheperson'snamewithacomma,asIhavedoneinthissentence.Idonotfinditatallrude.
Ifyoucommunicatedaily,Idonotseeareasontobeformal.
Ifyouwanttobemorefriendly,youcansimplyusepositive,friendlylanguage,suchas"happyto,""pleased,"and"Itwasgood
tohearyourview."Oryoucanuse"Greetings"or"Hi"withtheperson'snameifthosewordsfityourculture.
Whynotaskotherpeopleatworkhowtheyfeelaboutsalutations?Maybeyouandyourcolleaguescanagreeonthebestwaysto
beginamessage.
Lynn
Postedby:Lynn|March20,2007at02:30PM

Isitimpropertouse"&"betweennamesinasalutation?
Postedby:Rose|April05,2007at09:34AM

Rose,accordingto"TheGreggReferenceManual,"using&isimproperinsalutations.
Postedby:Lynn|April08,2007at09:17PM

Whichiscorrect,ScottandJulieMillerorJulieandScottMiller?
Postedby:susanthompson|April23,2007at12:55PM

Botharecorrect.
Postedby:Lynn|April23,2007at12:59PM

Whataboutthecaseofawomanwhohastakenhermaidennameashermiddlenameforexample,SharonSmithJones(not
hyphenated).WouldthesalutationbeMrs.JonesorMrs.SmithJones?
Postedby:Deanna|April25,2007at12:39PM

Whatistheproperwaytoaddressalettertoachild?Whatisthecorrectsalutationwhenwritingalettertoachild?
Postedby:Larysa|May14,2007at04:55AM

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Ihopeyoucanhelpme.Ineedtosendalettertothreepeopleamarriedcoupleandawomanwiththesamelastname.
Addressingtheletterissimple,butwhatisthepropersalutation?
Mr.andMrs.SmithandMs.Smith?oristhereapluralforwomenlikeMessrs.formen?
Thankyouforyourhelp.
Linda
Postedby:Linda|May23,2007at07:24AM

Linda,thereisapluralforMrs:Mesdames.ThepluralofMs.isMses.
Ifyoucannotusefirstnames,Iwouldusethis:
DearMr.andMrs.SmithandMs.Smith:
Alternatively,writetwoletters.Inthefirstsentencesaysomethinglike"IamwritingtoyouandtoMs.Smith...."
Postedby:Lynn|May28,2007at11:12PM

Larysa,girlsandboyswhoare13orolderareaddressedasadults.YounggirlsmaybeaddressedasMs.orMissorwithnotitle.
VeryyoungboysmaybeaddressedasMasterorwithnotitle.
Postedby:Lynn|May28,2007at11:22PM

Canweuse'DearAll'formanyreceivers?Should'All'startwithacapital'A'?
Postedby:Rohini|May30,2007at01:00AM

IamwritingalettertoseveralcompaniestorequestMSDS(materialsafetydata)sheetsabouttheproductswepurchasefrom
them.Isitokayjusttouse"Gentlemen"asasalutation?
Postedby:Louella|May31,2007at06:06AM

WhatisthepropersalutationwhenwritingaMayor?
Postedby:SheilaBrenton|June04,2007at08:29PM

What'stheproperwaytosignforsomebodyelse?
1."AllenBakerforCharlieDay"or
2."ForCharlieDay,thisisAllenBaker"or
3.justsignas"CharlieDay"evenifsendingfromAllenBaker'semailaccount
Postedby:AdminGuy|June12,2007at09:45AM

whenwritingaletterandtherearemorethanonesendingsame,soulditread,Sincerelyweare,
PatMike
Postedby:beaarena|July10,2007at05:16AM
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Whenwritingapersonalletterandthereismorethanonepersonsigning,theclosingshouldreadasfollows:
Sincerely,
PatandMike
Forabusinessletter,theclosing("Sincerely")staysthesame,buteachpersonhashisorherownsignatureblock,likethis:
PatrickWhite
Manager,CustomerService
MichaelaBest
RegionalManager
Thesignatureblocksaresidebysideoroneabovetheother.Eachpersonsignsabovehisorhername,usingfirstnameonlyor
fullnamedependingontheformalityoftheletterandtheirrelationships.
Lynn
Postedby:Lynn|July10,2007at06:28AM

Whenawoman'snameishyphenated,isitcorrecttowriteDearMrs.JonesCooper,orsincethelastnameisdifferentfrom
herhusband's,isitcorrecttowriteDearMs.JonesCooper?Ihavenotbeenabletofindanyrulethataddressesthissituation.
Postedby:Leslie|July10,2007at08:41AM

Howdoyouaddressacouplewhoarebothcaptains?WoulditbeCaptain&CaptainJohnSmith?Unusal,Iknow,butIam
facedwiththissituation.Thanks.
Postedby:Michael|July17,2007at02:03PM

Here'show:
CaptainsJohnandReneSmith
Postedby:Lynn|July17,2007at02:08PM

Ijustgotmarriedandhyphenatedmylastnameandmyhusbanddidnot.Howdoweaddressourselvesasacouple?Wouldit
behisfullnameandthenmyfullnameorcouldwehavefirstname&*firstname,butwhatlastnamedoweuse.Mineorhis?
Postedby:KristinaParkerWingler|July29,2007at11:12AM

Kristina,IwroteaboutwhattocallmarriedwomenonJuly13,2007,soreadthatpostforideasonyourname.
Asforbothofyou,IbelieveheremainsMr.FirstNameWingler,butyoucanprobablyintroduceyourselvesanywayyouwant.
Inmyfamily,sociallywearetheGaertnerJohnstons,butofficiallyweareMr.MichaelJohnstonandMs.LynnGaertner
Johnston.
Congratulations!Ihopeyouhavealong,lovelylifetogether.
Lynn
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Postedby:Lynn|July30,2007at07:41AM

IneedtowritealettertoagentlemanallIknowishisnameandbehindthathehasPh.D.DoIaddresshimasDr.SmithPh.
DorDr.Smith
Postedby:debbie|August28,2007at07:01PM

Typehisnameintheaddressblocklikethis:
JamesSmith,Ph.D.
Addresshimas:
DearMr.Smith:
OrifyouknowhelikestobecalledDr.,usethis:
DearDr.Smith:
Postedby:Lynn|August29,2007at09:18PM

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