Email Etiquette: Opening Lines
Is it just me, or have the rest of you been noticing the proliferation of commas newly being added between the “Hi” and “[recipient's name here]” in email salutations?
One of the most intriguing and confusing things about email etiquette is its flexibility. The old conventions of letter writing don’t apply, and informality has become the norm. As a writer and professional geek, I worry about details like this. And I realize that the following is technically correct if you consider the salutation a complete sentence:
Hi, Peggy.
It’s time we did something about this. Call me.
But to me, it comes across as, “Uh-oh. I’m in trouble. What follows must be bad news.” Something about that period at the end is so sobering. I’ll admit, the first time I saw it was the beginning of an email in which a potential client was responding to my enthusiastic pitch to say, never mind. So I interpreted it as, “Hmm. Don’t get too excited, here.”
I also realize that one accepted, professional, and concise way to address an email recipient is this:
Peggy,
It’s time we did something about this. Call me.
This comes across — to me — as totally neutral. No blame, no promises, but all business. It works. But for my own communications, I’d rather be more friendly than that, especially since I work with the same clients so often and we feel comfortable and familiar with each other. This can, of course, lead to the other end of the spectrum, even going so far as emoticons. Hate to admit it, but I kinda like them. I realize that the following is not necessarily considered professional, but I always smile myself when I get one like it:
Hi Peggy!
It’s time we did something about this. Call me.
In my immediate reaction, I take this as 1) the sender is really glad to “see” me and 2) what follows must be good news, as in an invitation to something fun. Whether or not the sender puts a comma after the “Hi” doesn’t mitigate the enthusiasm.
My conundrum is: As a professional writer and grammar geek, do I go with the friendly version that’s not technically correct? The grammatically correct version that’s not really me? The business-as-usual version? I believe it’s important to pick one and stick with it. I’m seriously considering going back to:
Dear Peggy,
It’s time we did something about this. Just make up your mind, already.
Hi, Peggy! : - )
What a treat to see your treatise on this subject, though I must confess that I do still feel compelled to use that comma after the Hi. (I always want to correct it if I see someone going without it.) That said, I am a big advocate of using that exclamation point after the recipient’s name so it’s clear all is well and the recipient need not fear that some diss will follow. You’re right, though… you can almost feel that you need to steel yourself for what may follow! I, too, worry about stuff like this (okay, let’s call it muse and contemplate and perhaps even percolate a bit). Great job! Nancy
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