![]() ![]() When your recipient is someone you know well, but the context is still a professional one, it’s appropriate to choose ways to end a letter that are friendly and warm, but not overly casual. If the context is professional but you feel a touch of warmth is in order, you can opt for something restrained but positive like, “Best regards”, “With kind regards”, “ With thanks”, or “ With great appreciation”. “Respectfully yours”, “Sincerely”, and “With respect” are all excellent choices to end a letter. If you’ve determined that your recipient requires a formal signoffthere are a number of ways you can approach your chosen letter closings.įor professional contacts that you don't know at all, and don't want to influence with any sort of emotional baggage you should choose something respectful and neutral. Formal Closings for Professional Settings But of course, you need to consider your answers to the first two questions before making a final determination. Personal letters qualify, while a business letter wouldn't make the cut. ![]() ![]() Personal cards are more likely to be sent to people you know well, which means casual endings can be appropriate. In this case, your closing should match your desired emotional exit. You may in fact want to leave your reader with a hopeful feeling, or the knowledge that they’re cared for. The emotional context is fairly mournful, but that isn’t necessarily the emotion you want to close with. Something more formal and emotionally neutral is better when the context of the communication is serious or somber.īut consider a condolence card. Something bright and shiny is appropriate for messages that are happy throughout. In general, your closing should match the overall emotional tenor of your message. What’s the Card’s Emotional Context?Īre you writing because of a happy occasion or a sad one? Was your message joyful and fun, or serious and weighty? Are you thanking them for their hospitality or for a client referral? What’s the emotion you’re looking to leave your reader with? If it's a team thank you, consider the recipient's relationship with the group. A closing that’s inappropriately casual can offend or shut down the recipient. Sending a farewell message to a coworker might be different than sending one to a friend.įormal is always acceptable, even if it can come off as a bit stuffy in the wrong context. Particularly if there could be consequences for choosing the wrong sentiment. One the other hand, if you’ve only recently met the person, or don’t really know them at all, it can be prudent to choose something more formal. If the person is a close friend, a family member, or someone that you’ve known a long time and share a strong rapport with you can go with a casual to highly casual close. This can be a good meter stick to rate the level of formality you’re dealing with. Before you consider any other factors, judge how formal your message is, and how formal your closing should be to match. You wouldn’t sign off to your prospective employer with, “Keep it real, bro!” and it would be odd to close your birthday greeting with, “Respectfully yours”. In this article, we’ll share some of our insights to help out the next time you have to find the perfect letter sign offs for a birthday card, the proper emotional level for a thank you card, or the right words for a written consolation.Īre you filling out a birthday card for a long-time friend or writing to thank a prospective employer for your interview? Completing a cover letter or warm regards to a friend? The level of formalityrequired changes the tenor of your closing. We’ve seen every sort of communication and every way to close them (or check here for great letter openings!) If we get it wrong, it can feel like we’ve short-circuited the rest of the communication.Īt Simply Noted, we’re card-writing specialists. The end of the card is the last thing they’ll read. With cards as with live conversations, there’s a lot of pressure to finalize your thoughts properly and leave your recipient with the right message. Thank you letters to customers are often friendly as well, and it can be useful to know how to sign off.įinalizing a social interaction is often more difficult than initiating one. ![]() You may spend the whole evening chatting easily with friends and newly-met strangers only to suddenly feel social pressure when you need to leave. Consider what it’s like to leave a party. So why is it that so many of us struggle to find the perfect ending? The letter closing is often the hardest hurdle to surmount. Either we know the person well, or we’re aware of the situation and know what it is we want to say. Most of us don’t have a problem expressing ourselves when filling out a card. ![]()
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