One of the neat things of having several E-mail Etiquette sites is I get emails from all types of users. From the everyday concerns to those more concerned about Business E-mail best practices, I am always here to discuss their concerns.
Recently quite a few onliners have emailed me on the topic of whether incorporating a greeting in your emails is necessary — or is it a waste of time? To these inquiries I use the telephone call analogy. When you call someone, you always say “Hi”, “Hello” or offer some sort of greeting before you start rambling away about the reason for you call.
The same applies to email. If you were to call someone and just start jabbering, that’s a bit ostentatious and rude. How would you react if someone called you and were so concerned about what they wanted to say that they went right into why they were calling without this little nicety?
Now, there are times where in a personal back and forth email conversation, you wouldn’t use a greeting because it is not necessary. For example when I am emailing my sister, after a series of emails, one side or the other may just type back a humorous comment. No greeting necessary — we are in a conversation.
However usually, the little courtesy of a greeting in an email can serve to you being perceived as a person who is pleasant to communicate with. As a refresher, here are my top 3 articles on the importance and use of email greetings:
- What’s Up with No Greetings?
- Don’t Kid Yourself — Greetings Matter!
- No Opening Greeting or Courtesy Closing?
Well worth the few extra keystrokes required, don’t you agree?