Today in international organizations, we’re writing emails to so many different people in different locations that our email language is sounding less and less English and more and more mixed across languages.
How do you address someone politely with a name where you are unsure of the gender or even which name is the surname or family name?
How do you begin your emails?
Exercise
What is wrong with the following examples? How would you rectify them?
- Job application: Dear Sirs,
- Job application: Dear Madam, Sir,
- Email to colleagues: Dear,
- Email to a professional colleague who’s a medical doctor (Jane Smith): Dear Dr. Jane,
- Email to an applicant for a job (Rosa Garcia): Dear Miss Garcia,
- Email to an applicant for a job (name not gender specific: Alex de Ravin or Dominique Dubois): Dear Miss or Mr. Alex, or Dear Ms. Dominique or
Dear Mr. Dominique - Email to an applicant (James Henry or George Michael) where you’re unsure which name is the family name:
Dear Mr. James,
Dear George,
Answer key
- Dear Sir/Madam, (= standard UK beginning) or Dear Hiring Manager, (= suitable US beginning)
Ideally, you should try to find the actual name of the person you’re writing to.
And writing “Dear Sirs,” sounds like you’re addressing men only. - Dear Sir/Madam, = standard UK way when you don’t know who you’re writing to. If you do know their name, use it.
Dear Madam, Sir, = sounds feminist; or it may be a French translation? - Dear colleagues, (or increasingly Dear Colleagues with a capital letter), or Dear all (Dear All),
- Dear Dr. Smith, = Dr. + surname.
- Dear Ms. Garcia,
If a woman does wish to communicate her marital status (in English usage, Miss = unmarried, Mrs. = married), she should indicate it in her signature (e.g. Yours sincerely, Rosa Garcia (Miss)) and you should respect it. Otherwise, use Ms., as it is equivalent to Mr. and unrelated to marital status. Most organizations now have a rule about this and suggest using Ms. as a standard title for women. - Dear Alex de Ravin,
Dear Dominique Dubois,
Use full name and no title – don’t make assumptions
- Dear James Henry,
Dear George Michael,
________________________________________________
Author: Carol Waites
Presentation/editing by Christina O’Shaughnessy
https://worldwidewriting.org/
________________________________________________
Carol Waites (PhD)
Email: carolswritingtips@gmail.com
For more writing tips, consult my website:
https://carolswritingtips.com/writingtips/
To sign up for the newsletter, go here:
https://carolswritingtips.com/
Carol’s memoir of her times at the United Nations, Behind the Flags is available on Amazon and lulu.com