Avoid Inappropriate Email Signoffs

Whether work-related or on personal time, most of us send multiple emails daily, which is why learning how to properly close the correspondence is essential because, as the Washington Post notes, you can pay the price for a “careless closing”.

Peter Post, author of Essential Manners for Men says that “Sincerely” is an all-purpose and safe way to close an e-mail message. “Yours truly” and “Regards” are also safe bets, but according to Peter, using “Best” is less than ideal.

I think it’s more important with ‘Best’ that you know the person,” Post says. “I think it would be very awkward to do that to a person that you only knew very slightly or hadn’t yet met.”

Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better authors Will Schwalbe and David Shipley, offer a different perspective, claiming that you can warm up an otherwise “frigid and humourless” closing such as the above-mentioned “Best” by adding an exclamation point. Humour is another option. Georgetown University Professor Rev. James Schall says that he closes all his informal correspondence with “Pray for me”.

As for other potential sign-offs and their related meanings? Apparently, “Sincerely” could signal that “There’s a problem here,” while “Cheers” might be too “mock-Brit” (not so much in Australia, methinks – Oz ed). And according to the article, “Cordially” could signal to the recipient that your “hostility is only thinly veiled”/

Browse the full post for more advice on how to close an email well, then let us know what you use to sign off in the comments.

Saying ‘GoodBye’ Is the Hardest Part of an Email [Washington Post]