What a few letters can say

For years, the only thing I would close my email with was a little dash and my name. No Goodbye, no kind regards just – Titia. Very bare bone.

I think I copied this from my boss back then, and it soon was the way many people in my company signed off on their email. Herd behavior – to a certain degree we are all copy cats.

About six months back a new colleague joined our team. For me, he was a fresh breath of air. You know that feeling when an extremely capable new colleague arrives, and you feel you are going to be a great match? I get my motivation from working as a team and these moments are like gold.

He signed his emails with “Cheers” and guess what, it cheered me up. Soon I found myself using these six letters quite regularly as well. It felt my organization could use some cheering up. It also felt so much more personal than just a dash.

Yet Cheers is clearly not always appropriate. Yesterday I wrote an email to the COO of the company that is about to acquire us. I just wanted to say hello. But I sure wasn’t going to end my email with just a dash, nor a Cheers. In English class in school (yeeeears back) I learned to sign business letters with “Best regards”. That seemed kinda save so I did.

When he wrote me back he signed with “Best Bob” and I thought wow I like that. But I didn’t want to copy him. That just did not feel right. So what to do? Anytime I do not know what to do, there is a simple answer. I ask Google :-) There is not a single question that no one had before I did. My oh so knowledgeable partner did not disappoint me this time either.

I found two Forbes article:

57 Ways To Sign Off On An Email

89 Ways To Sign Off On An Email

That was more than I had expected. Clearly I was not the only one looking for advice :-) And guess what “Best” was number one on the list. It was called ubiquitous. A word I needed to look up: existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent.

That surprised me as I must have sent and received thousands upon thousands of emails, and I never got across it. That shows how limited my world really is. I paused a moment to think about that. Time to expand it? If you are reading this, yes “Time to expand it”! Say hello to me, please. I would like to get to know you :-)

To get back on track. I decided to go for “My best”. Not just because it was the second thing on the list. Those were two very appropriate words. That is what I want to do. I want to give “My best”. Not just at work. It’s a wonderful standard to have. Giving it your best. Nothing less than that.

Those words are even some sort of motivating. Setting yourself standards and writing them down time and time again. It’s like a reminder to myself to indeed give my best. There are times where I need a little reminder. Like everyone, I can procrastinate. There are days where it is less easy to get into a flow. Or days where it just isn’t clear what giving my best actually entails. My best to whom, for what.

But I am diverting again. For sure I internalized how important those few letters at the end of an email are. And I plan to use them a lot more purposely.

Here are my top 20 sign-offs:

1. Best: I very much like this one. I am not at all surprised it is ubiquitous
2. My best: sure will not be the last time I used this one. As a reminder to myself who I want to give my very best.
3. Warm regards: this one I’ve started to use lately and makes me feel cozy. Like a hug but more professional
4. Best regards: I like warm regards better, but this one will work well for people I don’t know well (or those that I never really warmed up to :-))
5. Warmest regards: Yeah for some people for certain days when you just want to top it a little up
6. Take care: Can certainly be appropriate at times. Might be a little distant but still gentle.
7. Thanks: This is one I have overused in the past. It often came before that dash. It is ok to use as often you are asking for a favor in an email. Even if it is just the favor of getting back to you. But a thanks should not become a standard goodbye as that would make it less meaningful.
8. Thanks a ton: Another I do tend to use once in a while for people that often go out of their way to help me
9. Many thanks: never used that so far but I like it. Nice variation of the ones above
10. Hope this helps: new to me as well but can see this being appropriate when you are not sure if you have found the right words to get something across
11. Running off now: when in a hurry to signalize you will not be able to reply instantly to the next email that might come promptly
12. Cheers: without the exclamation mark though. That is a little too much for me. Cheers to me is like saying let’s toast together. Life is beautiful. The author of the Forbes article says, “it grates ” Well to everyone their own I guess. I like that word. But I might want to check in with a few more people and get their opinion.
13. Ciao: Apparently pretentious for an English-speaker but I am not a native speaker so I am comfortable with this one. It adds the international touch.
14. Ciao bella: I use this for women I work with that I admire. Bella is lovely or beautiful. Bello is the male version, but that sounds too much like a dog :-)
15. Ciao guapa: This means handsome, good-looking lady. For the women, I want to make a compliment
16. -Your name: It shows up on the list as well and having used it for so many years I bet I will use it again. But a lot more selectively than before. Making it the exception rather than the standard.
17. Wish you a wonderful day: I use that once in a while. Think it is nice way of saying that I hope the recipient is doing well
18. Much appreciated: can see this work well when the person did something I appreciate.
19. Big hug: for truly special colleagues, family, and friends
20. {e}fy: My new way of signing off – only for those people who know about my blog. An embracement for you. Please feel embraced.

To add a little spice to this article; When I started off this blog I send around big hugs like this ({}) According to Pcnet, this is: a “big hug” that can be used to add some extra enthusiasm to the standard {} emoticon. It is also the emoticon shortcut used to display the hug icon on BlackBerry smartphones.

Common seemed a bit of an overstatement, but I liked the idea of a big hug symbol. My sister is a very visual person, and when I met her she told me – over a glass of wine – what association she has when she sees that symbol. Ha, I nearly spit out my wine. I thought I had a lot of imagination, but she sure tops me. Ever since she told me, I must admit I see it too. I will leave you with the riddle that may not be one for you [:-)

I would love you to leave comments on what you think are appropriate ways to sign off an email!