We’ve looked at inappropriate email sign offs, but there seems to be no real consensus or set of rules on how best to end an email. Additionally, your situation may dictate a differences. How do you sign off your emails?
Photo remixed from an original by Dominic Wilcox
Nearly every time I sign off on an email I wonder how it’s going to be interpreted. It’s hard to convey a feeling with only words, and if you succeed in doing so it might not be the feeling you intended. There’s been so much controversy over “cheers” that I’ve never used it. (Australian editor notes: this is an odd American neurosis. The conclusion of local readers when we discussed this last year was that “cheers” is entirely acceptable.)
I waver between “thanks” with an exclamation point and “thanks” with a comma, depending on the situation. Sometimes I opt for no sign off because I don’t know what would be appropriate, then worry that the email seems a bit cold. These are a few examples among many, and when evaluating all the emails I receive on a daily basis I’m finding there is absolutely no consistency. So, readers, how do you decide how to sign off your emails? Are you as neurotic as I am?
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