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Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

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Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#111

Post by 3dbrows »

suchow wrote: post #5

This is an excellent example of why inferring causation from an observed correlation requires great care. Note that the study did not randomly assign valedictions to emails and observe the causal impact on response rate. Rather, they observed a correlation between the sign-off chosen and the response rate. "Thanks" garners many responses because people use it in emails that make reasonable requests with a good chance…

In the Royal Navy, written letters to the captain [1] have to be signed off with "I am honoured to be, Sir, your obedient servant". I remember (in 2010) people thought this was stupid and instead used something like "Yours sincerely". But this ran contrary to regulations, and it was announced that letters would be rejected if not signed properly. Time moves very slowly in the RN.

[1] There are codified degrees of formality for written communications. Formal, demi-formal, and others used more operationally. I am talking about first-tier formal letters to senior officers in this case.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#112

Post by npteljes »

civilized wrote: post #7

I hate it when people use thanks for everything . What, you're thanking me for reading the email announcing the re-org? It reads as mindless and weird. I'm a "best" guy. It's never inappropriate. Whether I'm promoting you, firing you, reporting up on progress or problems, "best" always works. (I'm not saying it's the best closer in all situations, but if you hate thinking about closers, it's the best generic choice.…

"Best", to me, sounds like if someone said "Have a day!". It feels like something's missing.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#114

Post by npteljes »

lai-yin wrote: post #48

Any good synonyms for 'thanks in advance' to mix it up? "Look forward to your thoughts" etc.

I found this[0] a while back, because I always felt "thanks in advance" is just off somehow. They list the following alternatives as examples:

"I really appreciate any help you can provide."

"I will be grateful if you can send me this information."

"Many thanks for considering my request."

"I hope what I have requested is possible."

"In the meantime, thank you so much for your attention and participation."

Often I don't use these word-for-word. The point is, I think, to formulate a closer that's at least a bit customized for the occasion. Then the whole thing will just seem more natural, friendly and human.

I wish you the best email closers, npteljes

[0] https://macademic.org/2011/06/08/never-end-your-email-with-t...

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#115

Post by npteljes »

seanhunter wrote: post #77
suchow wrote: post #5

This is an excellent example of why inferring causation from an observed correlation requires great care. Note that the study did not randomly assign valedictions to emails and observe the causal impact on response rate. Rather, they observed a correlation between the sign-off chosen and the response rate. "Thanks" garners many responses because people use it in emails that make reasonable requests with a good chance…

I am from the UK and work with a lot of Americans. I often sign off emails with "Cheers," which gets a lot of positive comment. As well as being what you might say when clinking glasses, in the UK "cheers" is a jovial way of saying "thanks" as well as something you might say for "goodbye" so works in all these contexts simultaneously.

I have a similarly positive experience with "Cheers". I always like it when someone uses it, and I often use it myself. Works really well with people you already established a connection with.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#116

Post by kayxspre »

Fissionary wrote: post #83
bavell wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree but instead I use "Regards". Always works and I never have to think about it. Regards, Another guy on the internet

My English teacher thought that "Regards" sounds rude (like starting your emails with "John," instead of "Dear John,") and that one should always use "Best regards" instead. Seems like there's a lot of nuance here.

The previous workplace of mine sets the signatures of my email to start with "Kind regards", and I continue to use it after I left that workplace. I now take a freelance job, and if the contact person isn't really nice to me, I would simply sign "Regards" (not "Kind", as my mood isn't really kind). Glad to hear that it can be viewed as a less polite form.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#117

Post by scrollaway »

rntksi wrote: post #93
jobigoud wrote: post #91

Yesterday I was writing an email in Spanish and I put it into DeepL machine learning translation to translate it back to French for me to check if what I wrote made enough sense to be parsed. I ended the mail with a "Cordialmente" ( ~ Cordially) as it was informal, and it translated this single word to "Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments les plus distingués", which is about the most for…

Does anyone end email that way (in French)? Most I've seen are "Bien à vous" or "Bonne journée". Actually... what are the most common endings in French emails? Thinking that a website that had all of those sorted out, categorised by language and degree of formality, would be really useful. Sometimes people just want the equivalent of "Cheers" in e.g. Spanish?

"veuillez agréer..." etc is still in use but extremely formal. I can't think of a similarly formal expression in English, other than "I am your most humble and obedient servant".

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#118

Post by thidr0 »

mjfl wrote: post #3

Doesn't "thanks" imply a request was made, and "best" imply the end of a conversation? Did they just analyze a bunch of emails blind?

Oddly, the worst response rate came from “no response needed.” Better not use that one the next time you want a response!

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#119

Post by i_am_proteus »

tsm wrote: post #102
LeoPanthera wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"&c" is the archaic form of "etc", the ampersand being a ligature of "et" - Latin for "and". As far as I can tell the "&c." version was popularized by the 1944 novel "Anna and the King of Siam". So it literally means "I am, etc.", which I assume only expands to "I am your humble and obedient servant" in a humorous way. Might be taken the wrong way.

&c was widely (exclusively?) used in the 18th century. I happen to have been looking at this newspaper ad most recently: https://i.imgur.com/ALe5XeT.jpg The inference is that the second book (Airs &c &c) will also be of Airs, Minuets, Gavotts, and Reels (or something similar). Also, 18th-century letters routinely end with some snowclone of "your most humble and obedient servant", with many writers eliding some or all…

Plus, during the lead type era, using the '&' instead of 'et' saved the printer wear on often-heavily-worn 'e's and 't's in the font.

Re: Closing email with “thanks” gets the most replies

#120

Post by noduerme »

Accujack wrote: post #32
LeoPanthera wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"&c" is the archaic form of "etc", the ampersand being a ligature of "et" - Latin for "and". As far as I can tell the "&c." version was popularized by the 1944 novel "Anna and the King of Siam". So it literally means "I am, etc.", which I assume only expands to "I am your humble and obedient servant" in a humorous way. Might be taken the wrong way.

>"&c" is the archaic form of "etc", the ampersand being a ligature of "et" - Latin for "and". "etc" is an abbreviation for and contraction of "et cetera", Latin for "and so on". "&c" is, I think, an artifact of a particular time in history when writing skills were spreading rapidly but the process of writing itself was cumbersome and time consuming, necessitating macro-type abbreviations like that. It's not particula…

>> a particular time in history when writing skills were spreading rapidly but the process of writing itself was cumbersome

I feel like I'm previewing the 22nd Century's review of "LOL", "WTF" and "THOT".

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