Addressing people with "Hi" and using exclamation marks in emails at work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always start an email with:

Yo yo yo my man !!! What up !!!???

only use: Wha sup? Or even: sup?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always start an email with:

Yo yo yo my man !!! What up !!!???

Cause Lord forbid you say hi or hello, they get irritated. And this is coming from a grouch who hates most people.

[Anonymous]

While we're on the topic can we discuss "Hi [Name]:" v. "Hi [Name],"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While we're on the topic can we discuss "Hi [Name]:" v. "Hi [Name],"

You seem confused.

[Anonymous]

I started using Hi [Name] and Thanks! in order to not come across as "aggressive." I'll also say that I am a female and I've been told my tone is "too aggressive" so I've intentionally tried to soften it. I work in a heavily male dominated industry so I think it's all thinly veiled sexism, but it's easy to do and if it makes people more likely to do what I ask them to do, then so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always start an email with:

Yo yo yo my man !!! What up !!!???

only use: Wha sup? Or even: sup?

So "sup?" is for the people you know well and are emailing with quite a bit with relatively casual subject matter. If you need to be more formal you really need to use the full "Yo yo yo my man !!! What up !!!???" -- because ... etiquette.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While we're on the topic can we discuss "Hi [Name]:" v. "Hi [Name],"

You seem confused.

What? No they don't. You seem confused. DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started using Hi [Name] and Thanks! in order to not come across as "aggressive." I'll also say that I am a female and I've been told my tone is "too aggressive" so I've intentionally tried to soften it. I work in a heavily male dominated industry so I think it's all thinly veiled sexism, but it's easy to do and if it makes people more likely to do what I ask them to do, then so be it.

I'm the PP who started using exclamation points after watching a very experienced woman in leadership use them in really smart ways. What you mention is definitely what she was doing with them, for the most part -- she was in a fancy, high-up position, and she used them to intentionally soften tone and make sure people were not intimidated by her or her role. Yes, sexism, though. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Check out nohello.net and be aware there is a movement towards reducing inefficiencies in digital comms, that some people subscribe to. A lot of my coworkers are part of the No hello camp. Make sure you’re not committing any faux pads outlined on that site. It’s less about saying hello and more about not wasting peoples time. IMO it’s perfectly fine (and human) to say hello, please, thanks! etc. But if someone doesn’t, it may be they are thinking they’re being efficient.

[Anonymous]

Depends on who I am writing to. A PhD or senior employee? It's Hi Dr. Larla, Thanks, Larla. If it's a younger person, it's Hi Larla, Thanks! Larla

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out nohello.net and be aware there is a movement towards reducing inefficiencies in digital comms, that some people subscribe to. A lot of my coworkers are part of the No hello camp. Make sure you’re not committing any faux pads outlined on that site. It’s less about saying hello and more about not wasting peoples time. IMO it’s perfectly fine (and human) to say hello, please, thanks! etc. But if someone doesn’t, it may be they are thinking they’re being efficient.

I checked out the webpage and it is addressing IM type communications (Slack, TEAMS, etc.). The point of the website is not to send someone a message with "Hi" and then wait for a response before asking the question that started the communication. E-mail is different since presumably you are not just saying "Hi [Name]" and then waiting for a response back before asking your questions/sharing information. Instant Messaging and E-mailing are two different methods of communication with very different rules. You wouldn't apply basketball rules to baseball even though they are both played with a ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out nohello.net and be aware there is a movement towards reducing inefficiencies in digital comms, that some people subscribe to. A lot of my coworkers are part of the No hello camp. Make sure you’re not committing any faux pads outlined on that site. It’s less about saying hello and more about not wasting peoples time. IMO it’s perfectly fine (and human) to say hello, please, thanks! etc. But if someone doesn’t, it may be they are thinking they’re being efficient.

I checked out the webpage and it is addressing IM type communications (Slack, TEAMS, etc.). The point of the website is not to send someone a message with "Hi" and then wait for a response before asking the question that started the communication. E-mail is different since presumably you are not just saying "Hi [Name]" and then waiting for a response back before asking your questions/sharing information. Instant Messaging and E-mailing are two different methods of communication with very different rules. You wouldn't apply basketball rules to baseball even though they are both played with a ball.

Yeah I hate when people IM me "Hi" or ask me "how are you" and then wait. I'll often wait a while before responding because I think they might ask me to something annoying (whereas if they just said what they wanted, it might be a super simple thing that I'd be happy to address immediately).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While we're on the topic can we discuss "Hi [Name]:" v. "Hi [Name],"

You seem confused.

What? No they don't. You seem confused. DP

A colon is formal. "Hi" is informal. You are informally formally addressing someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out nohello.net and be aware there is a movement towards reducing inefficiencies in digital comms, that some people subscribe to. A lot of my coworkers are part of the No hello camp. Make sure you’re not committing any faux pads outlined on that site. It’s less about saying hello and more about not wasting peoples time. IMO it’s perfectly fine (and human) to say hello, please, thanks! etc. But if someone doesn’t, it may be they are thinking they’re being efficient.

ok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out nohello.net and be aware there is a movement towards reducing inefficiencies in digital comms, that some people subscribe to. A lot of my coworkers are part of the No hello camp. Make sure you’re not committing any faux pads outlined on that site. It’s less about saying hello and more about not wasting peoples time. IMO it’s perfectly fine (and human) to say hello, please, thanks! etc. But if someone doesn’t, it may be they are thinking they’re being efficient.

I checked out the webpage and it is addressing IM type communications (Slack, TEAMS, etc.). The point of the website is not to send someone a message with "Hi" and then wait for a response before asking the question that started the communication. E-mail is different since presumably you are not just saying "Hi [Name]" and then waiting for a response back before asking your questions/sharing information. Instant Messaging and E-mailing are two different methods of communication with very different rules. You wouldn't apply basketball rules to baseball even though they are both played with a ball.

That’s all correct. Your op says you’re more comfortable with people who communicate the way you do, so I am just making you aware that there is a diversity of opinion on digital etiquette and what one person considers brusque, another may consider to be clear and concise.