"Dear All," In Business Email?

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"Dear All," In Business Email?

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What is your opinion on using "Dear All," in business emails when addressing to a group of people? Is this too informal? Or has it been an accepted usage?

The situation is that I know all the recipients but I can't find a simple term that can represent all of them. The recipients include my colleagues and external parties. There are a number of alternatives but I think none of them fits in the situation.

Dear Sirs - sexist
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen - seems too formal and outdated
Dear Colleagues - not all of them are colleagues, some are external parties
Dear (name of committee, etc.) Members - not all of them are members

Do you have any other suggestions?

Feb 01 2008 07:41:12

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Mister MicawberI agree that 'Dear all' sounds a bit informal-- but informality seems to be more and more common in business communications. Alternatively, can you itemize?-- Dear colleagues, clients and other members.

I find it easier to itemize if those external parties are our clients. However, I can't think of a suitable term when they are our service providers, i.e. when my organization is the client. For example, when one of the recipients is the senior manager of the service provider, I think it is inappropriate to say "Dear colleagues and service provider". On the other hand, I cannot address them by names because the list is too long.

Feb 01 2008 09:57:08

Well, Petr, then I don't see any real alternative to Dear All. It doesn't sound that bad.

Feb 01 2008 13:07:24

Dear Partners:

Hello, Everyone:

Feb 01 2008 13:12:48

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Marius HancuHello, Everyone:

This is interesting. I had the impression that "Hello" and also "Hi" is even more informal. However, my colleague told me that a tutor of business English said "Hello" and "Hi" is common and acceptable. Are they really that common and acceptable?

Feb 01 2008 13:52:30

Mister MicawberWell, Petr, then I don't see any real alternative to Dear All. It doesn't sound that bad.

Thank you Mister Micawber!

Feb 01 2008 13:55:07

"Dear Sirs/Madams" would be my suggestion. Not sexist, and not too European-English-as-a-second-language-sounding.

Dec 05 2008 14:18:41

Clive's reply was promoted to an answer.

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Mister MicawberI agree that 'Dear all' sounds a bit informal-- but informality seems to be more and more common in business communications. Alternatively, can you itemize?-- Dear colleagues, clients and other members.
I find it easier to itemize if those external parties are our clients. However, I can't think of a suitable term when they are our service providers, i.e. when my organization is the client. For example, when one of the recipients is the senior manager of the service provider, I think it is inappropriate to say "Dear colleagues and service provider". On the other hand, I cannot address them by names because the list is too long.
Well, Petr, then I don't see any real alternative to Dear All. It doesn't sound that bad.
Marius HancuHello, Everyone:
This is interesting. I had the impression that "Hello" and also "Hi" is even more informal. However, my colleague told me that a tutor of business English said "Hello" and "Hi" is common and acceptable. Are they really that common and acceptable?
Mister MicawberWell, Petr, then I don't see any real alternative to Dear All. It doesn't sound that bad.
Thank you Mister Micawber!
"Dear Sirs/Madams" would be my suggestion. Not sexist, and not too European-English-as-a-second-language-sounding.

anonymous · Accepted Answer · 2015-03-02T15:04

Maybe it should be neutral "Good morning" or "Good afternoon"

Clive · Accepted Answer · 2008-12-05T15:47

Hi,

Have you considered the alternative of simply not having any greeting at all? You could just start with the substance of what you want to communicate, such as:

Please note that the next meeting will be on . . .

Email today does not always follow the same standards as non-email. Email is seen as a no-nonsense, let's be quick and practical kind of medium.

If it is a matter where you want to adhere to a very high standard of formal politeness, some people would argue that you should forget about email and write a traditional letter, via the mail or by courier.

Clive

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer · 2009-01-02T13:42

I use "Hello everyone" routinely in addressing e-mail to a large group of people.

Do NOT use "To whom it may concern" because, as ecopsy has pointed out, you know exactly who you are writing to.

I also use "Ladies" when writing to addressees who are all women, and "Gentlemen" when writing to all men, and have done a "Ladies/Gentlemen" in situations when I thought "Hello everybody" might sound too informal.

anonymous · Accepted Answer · 2009-01-02T7:08

Is a salutation necessary? When one is addressing a large number of people can one not just start with the message. Dear All seems and sounds rather odd. If I cannot find a suitable salutation, I just dispense with it altogether.

LisaM · Accepted Answer · 2011-02-28T23:17

"Dear All" is OK but as a general rule I wouldn't use it. "Dear Sirs" should not be used as that sounds a little awkward. Normally, I would use Dear (department you are writing to), or Dear Colleagues is acceptable.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer · 2008-02-01T9:30

I agree that 'Dear all' sounds a bit informal-- but informality seems to be more and more common in business communications. Alternatively, can you itemize?-- Dear colleagues, clients and other members.

anonymous · Accepted Answer · 2009-05-05T15:11

I don't think "Dear All" is informal. In fact, I think that is formal usage. A more abrupt form of address is simply to start: "All". This appears to be common in emails. In fact, the one thing I would say is that it appears more acceptable to delete the word "dear" from emails, more so than from letters. People simply start: "John, thank you for your email...." perhaps because using "Dear" is increasingly being seen as a little archaic. The convention is observed in letters though. I guess if you're writing to your enemy you wouldn't use the word "dear" though !!!

"Dear All," In Business Email?

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