Which Email Style Should I Use?
One of the hardest things about writing emails is getting the style and tone right.
If you have been taught to write standard formal business letters and emails you may feel very confused when other people don’t use the same style.
Being too formal when you need to be informal makes you seem officious and unapproachable. Conversely being too informal when you need to be formal will undermine your authority and make you seem too casual.
English-speaking countries tend to vary a bit in the level of formality which is usual in general business emails. In general these days, a neutral standard style is usual. On the style spectrum, the UK tends to still be quite a bit stiffer and more at the formal end of the neutral spectrum, whereas the US is quite neutral/ friendly in tone; Australia and New Zealand also tend to be quite casual.
So how do you know when to use which style?
A fairly formal style should definitely be used in the context of legal or contractual obligations, financial arrangements or formal complaints where an impersonal tone helps to maintain your distance and authority.
Usually a formal style tends to be used when writing to a stranger or an unfamiliar superior where it would be inappropriate to sound too friendly or casual.
Job applications should definitely not be overfamiliar.
For prospective clients you should go at their pace and wait for them to signal when it is acceptable to become less formal.
However, peers and colleagues, no matter whether you have met them or not, are not treated as strangers but part of your work “inner circle” of acquaintances so a formal style would be seen as too impersonal and unfriendly.
If you are involved in a long string of emails continuing a discussion, these are likely to follow a much more conversational pattern and be less concerned with format and grammar. They don’t even bother with greetings or sign-offs and often don’t use punctuation either!
There is a spectrum of fairly standard fixed phrases and expressions for emails ranging from very formal through to standard/neutral to informal that don’t really change and if you want to come across as polite and appropriate it’s best to stick to these.
“Style switching” means that you have to be fairly flexible with your use of language, so first let’s see if you can recognize the difference by trying these examples….
Look at these sample emails: can you distinguish the formal, neutral or informal language? Often they are mixed.
To whom it may concern
May we remind you that you entered into a contract agreement with this company and, due to your failure to maintain regular payments, you are now in breach of your terms and conditions. Despite our previous reminders no payments have been forthcoming and we are left with no choice but to terminate our agreement forthwith.
Yours faithfully GK Chester
Contracts Manager
Dear Sarah
Account number: 501006508
In accordance with the direct debit authority, your bank account will be debited with $160.69 on 31 Jan 18 unless we are notified otherwise before 29 Jan 18. This amount includes a prompt payment discount of $18.14. We’ve attached a detailed invoice to this email, which includes a handy graph of your usage (you’ll need Adobe reader). To see even more detail about your energy use, why not register for an online services account? You can register here.
Yours sincerely
Bryan Middleton
Head of Customer Services
are left with no choice but to terminate our agreement forthwith.
Dear Harry
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet you yesterday and discuss your requirements. I feel that I have come away with a thorough understanding of your company’s requirements and am certain that we will be able to develop a productive relationship that will lead to a good outcome should you decide to engage our services. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Yours sincerely
Roberta Farrell
Chief Sales Engineer Product Development
Answer key Very Formal Email 1 To whom it may concern/may we remind you that/ due to your failure to/forthcoming/terminate our agreement/ forthwith/ Yours faithfully Mixed Formal & Neutral Email 2 Formal language: In accordance with/notified otherwise Paragraph 2 is neutral although the contracted verb use is informal Neutral Email 3 (should you decide to is a bit more formal)
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