The perfect way to start an email and 29 greetings you should avoid

The perfect way to start an emaille and 29 greetings you should avoidThe perfect way to start an email - and 29 greetings you should avoidFiguring out how to start an email - especially when youre writing to someone you dont know very well - can be a challenge.Is Hey too casual? Is Dear overly formal? Is Morning too cheery?If youre thinking the email greeting isnt all that important and that its silly to overthink it, youre wrong.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreHow you begin an email sets the tone and may shape the recipients perception of you. It may also determine whether they keep reading. So, yes, itsveryimportant.Many people have strong feelings about what you do to their names and how you address them,Barbara Pachter, a business etiquette expert, tells Business Insider. If you offend someone in the salutation, that person may notlage read any further. It may also affec t that persons opinion of you.We had Pachter and Will Schwalbe, who co-authored Send Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better with David Shipley, weigh in on a handful of common email greetings.Of course, the perfect way to start an email will depend on who youre writing to, but in general, when youre writing a business email to someone you dont know well or at all, they say theres one safe choice - and a bunch you should usually avoid.WINNER Hi name, If you want to make it a little more formal, you can always use the persons last name Hi Ms. Gillett, The reason I like this one is that its perfectly friendly and innocuous, says Schwalbe.Its also Pachters favorite. She says its a safe and familiar way to address someone, whether you know them or not.ALSO ACCEPTABLE Hi everyone, If youre addressing a group of people, Pachter advises you write, Hi everyone.GREETINGS TO AVOID HeyThis is fine to use with your friends, but the very informal salutation should stay out of the w orkplace. Its not professional - especially if youre writing to someone youve never met, says Pachter.Schwalbe agrees I can never get out of my head my grandmothers admonition, Hey is for horses.Hey thereAlso, avoid Hey there. It tells the person, I dont know your name, but if I try to sound cool and casual, maybe you wont notice.Hi namePeople sometimes get carried away and put a number of exclamation points at the end of their sentences, Pachter writes in The Essentials of Business Etiquette. The result can appear too emotional or immature.Pachter writes that, if you must use an exclamation point, you should use only one.Greetings, This is a good backup to Hi name if you dont know the recipients name. But you should always do whatever you can to find out that information.To whom it may concern, The recipient might think, OK, this doesnt concern me I dont need to continue reading.Its also a cold and very impersonal way to start an email message.Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. last name, Th e Dear family is tricky because its not always terrible or wrong to use, but it can sometimes come off as a bit too formal.Dear first name, Again, its not the worst greeting in the world, but its a little old-fashioned.Dear friend, If you dont know my name, or cant be bothered to use it, we probably arent friends, says Schwalbe.Dear Job Title, Granted, addressing your email to the position your recipient is better than going with To whom it may concern, - it shows that you put in some effort.But it still reads as extremely generic. And if youre already putting in effort to figure out what the position of the person youre addressing is, youd be better off going the extra step and figuring out who that person is. All it takes is a little more research.Dear Maam, fremdlndisch from being generic and giving off an impersonal vibe, this one can be offensive to the recipient.Asone informal New York Times poll found, few women really appreciate being called maam - it tends to make th em feel old and disrespected.Dear Sir or Madam, Waytoo formalPlus, this salutation tells the recipient that you have no idea who they are, says Pachter. Why then should the reader be interested in what you have to say?Schwalbe adds This one is very stiff. It always feels like bad news or a complaint will follow.Hello, Not bad, but a bit informal if youre addressing someone you dont know very well.Good morning/afternoon/evening, It may not be morning, afternoon, or evening anymore by the time your email reaches the person - or if theyre in a different time zone - so its best just to skip these.Mr./Mrs./Ms. last name, Another stiff and abrupt one. The recipient may feel like youre about to reprimand them.Mr./Mrs./Ms. first name, Pachter says that this is how young children address their teachers Mrs. Susan, can you help me with this math problem?Its not appropriate in the professional world.To name, This wording is awkward and juvenile-sounding.Hi Mrs. Use Ms. unless you know the woman wants to be addressed as Mrs., Rubin writes.First nameFirst off, its a bit informal and abrupt. Then when you tack on the exclamation point, it just gets annoying.Its a bit jarring right off the bat - like someone is shouting at me, Schwalbe says. Even without the exclamation, its a bit abrupt. Better to precede the name with Hi than just blurt it out.YoDo we really need to explain why this one is a no-no?Misspelled name, Spell the recipients name correctly.Many people are insulted if their name is misspelled, says Pachter. Check for the correct spelling in the persons signature block. You can also check the To line. Often, peoples first or last names are in their addresses.Hi folks, Fans cheer as rock ensemble Deer Tick performs at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island July 26, 2014. The three-day festival was founded in 1959.Though the business world is more informal today than in the past, Pachter recommends avoiding laid-back, colloquial expressions like folks in business communications.Hey yall, This is another laid-back, colloquial expression thats best avoided in a professional email.Hi guys, To begin with, Hi guys is considered too laid-back for professional emails.But using gendered language to address mixed-gender groups presents other problems. First, its inaccurate. And secondly, it could cause offense.Failing to acknowledge women by using a male catchall stichwort evokes the sexism woven into every aspect of being, writes Diane Rubino, an adjunct instructor at NYU and Columbia University,for Wiley.Gentlemen, This ones also sexist, Pachter says.Hi nickname, Dont take it upon yourself to call William Will or Jennifer Jen. Unless the person has introduced themselves using a nickname or uses one in the signature of their own emails, stick to their full name.Hi, This greeting not only sounds abrupt, but it also lacks the customization necessary to grab your readers attention.Including the persons name in an email is a crucial way to get their attention, Danny Rubin writes in Wait, How Do I Write This Email?Dale Carnegie, a legendary author, and speaker on leadership believed a persons name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language, he writes. Same goes for email.All, This one also sounds abrupt.Again, if youre writing to a group, use Hi everyone.Happy FridayYou dont want to be overly enthusiastic. Its not professional and sets the wrong tone. Plus, it might get under the recipients skin.No greetingAlways use a salutation, Pachter writes Youll seem friendlier if you do.This article first appeared on Business Insider.