A site visitor was curious and pondered:
…after I enter the individual’s name what is the best punctuation? Sometimes I see Dear “Eric:.” other times I see “Eric;” and still others just use “Eric:”
There is no hard and fast rule in how you address folks. What is the e-mail about and how well do these people know each other? Levels of formality come into play depending on these issues on an e-mail by e-mail basis.
After your greeting, use a colon — Dear Eric: — not a semi-colon or a colon and a period as shown in your examples. If this is a person you do not know very well, use the Dear. But for friends and family — that is probably too formal. This is where you need to use your discretion to know what is best based on the situation at hand.
I have a couple of articles you might find helpful:
Approaching Employers by E-mail
Here is a list of more articles on E-mail Addressing.
If you think about it, e-mail just extends the proper writing structure that you learned in grade school.
The standards and guidelines of communicating with the written word that you learned as part of your basic education shouldn’t change because you are typing in an e-mail. E-mail, albeit a different format, is still about communicating with the written word. That’s why proper sentence structure, grammar and format will always apply.
Yes, personal e-mails can certainly be less formal and it really wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things if you used a colon or semi-color after your opening greeting. But the notion that good writing and communication skills do not apply at all to e-mail is simply not true.
Keep in mind that educated folks type in an educated way. Doing so makes sure you offer a positive impression while adding to the clarity in your communications as well!not be thought of as educated and to avoid disregard the basic staples of proper writing skills and structure can not only have a negative impact on perceptions but on clarity in your communications as well.
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Hello,
In my opinion you should always have some type of greeting in every email. Whether it be: Hello (Name), or Good Afternoon (Name), or simply Dear (Name), it is always nice to start your email off with a greeting.
Hey, Kiana:
You always greet folks first in every other form of communication, right? E-mail is no different — it’s called common courtesy to greet someone in any form of communication — face to face or otherwise.
Thanks for stopping by!
I think there should always be a greeting because it is polite and make the email more personal thus making the reader want to read it. Also, like it said, email is just an extension of regular letter writing so all the same rules apply.
p.s. Should a post like this need a greeting?
Hey, Mike:
Thanks for stopping by! No, a post like this doesn’t not require a greeting. I do so in order that you all know whose comments I am responding to! Including greetings in any forum help to make you more personable and approachable while providing a positive impression that you will be a pleasure to communicate with.
using dear makes things more formal and has a higher level of respect. Not using dear is very informal and has no respect level. it also makes you feel better to see dear because you know people care about your feelings on the subject.