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Pter Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

"Dear All," in business email

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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen - seems too formal and outdated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?

  

Top answer

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

— Mister Micawber

  • I agree that 'Dear all' sounds a bit informal-- but informality seems to be more and more common in business communications.
  • -- Dear colleagues, clients and other members .
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46 Answers
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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.
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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
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Well, Petr, then I don't see any real alternative to Dear All. It doesn't sound that bad.
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Dear Partners:

Hello, Everyone:
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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?
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Mister MicawberWell, Petr, then I don't see any real alternative to Dear All. It doesn't sound that bad.
Thank you Mister Micawber!
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"Dear Sirs/Madams" would be my suggestion. Not sexist, and not too European-English-as-a-second-language-sounding.
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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.

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Just a small point.

When using 'Dear all,' please use lower case for the 'all' and not 'All'.

The word all is not a name and doesn't warrant the use of a capital letter.
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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.
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