Page 50 - MiNDSPACE Issue 1 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

closing last thought
From namaste to noted
As editor-in-chief of a publishing house, Ingrid Jones gets her fair share of emails. We asked her for the best email greetings and what really gets her goat.
I’m 59 years old and come from an era where the dos and don’ts of letter writing
‘Hello’ me, or greet with the ever-patronising ‘Hi dear’, I know that you want free space for whatever it is you are peddling, and you will be on thin ice.
NOTED. NOT
were drilled into us. Salutations were
an important part of the beginning and ending of every letter, be it formal or informal. Never address people you don’t know by their first names, they are not your friends. They are Mr or Mrs/Miss/Ms so-and-so.
I detest long email conversations, especially with someone who has cc’d the boss or entire staff to prove that they have indeed contacted me and are a diligent worker. Even worse are the ones who then ‘Reply all’ with a ‘Thank you for your mail’. The boss won’t give you a raise or a high five.
Women had it bad in that married women were Mrs, unmarried women were Miss and, when wokeness entered the conversation, all of us became Ms – no indication of marital status necessary. Hallelujah.
‘Noted’ is the best response to an email that is both annoying and repetitive. It’s the best swear word without using a swear word. It’s passive- aggressive gold.
It seems to me that the more familiar we become with the overfamiliarity caused by social media, familiarity indeed breeds contempt. The assumption is that we are all equal and in this together and ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ has been relegated to the
When you are done, just say ‘Thank you’. Leave the ‘Onwards and upwards’ or ‘Namaste’ or ‘See ya’. I don’t need to know your religious persuasion nor your generally upbeat persona. It will have no impact on my response. In fact, it will get you a ‘Noted’.
dustbin of archaism. As for myself, if I don’t know you, whether you are the queen or Joe Soap, I will address you as ‘Dear Mr’ or ‘Ms X’. I end off with my name and surname and await your response.
If you address me by my name only sans surname or Ms, I will respond in kind. Thereafter I will start a conversation by using your name and dropping the ‘Dear’, since we are now on equal footing.
Thank you. M
‘Hi’ and ‘Hello’ are words I reserve for WhatsApp conversations. I prefer to greet by the time of day. ‘Good morning’. ‘Good afternoon’. There will be no ‘Good evening’, as we should respect boundaries and sign off work at five. The minute you ‘Hi’ or
Ingrid Jones is a business founder, presenter on Tussen Ons on VIA, fierce champion of her community, in real life and on social media, and no stranger to an overflowing inbox.
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46 | ISSUE 1 2022