On Correspondence

The private letter has nearly disappeared, while email and the text message have inherited its business without always inheriting the care once given to composition.

A man of my time wrote letters frequently and with care, understanding that they represented him as well as conveying information. Ink sent into the world might be kept and reread; because the words could not be softened afterwards by tone or gesture, their structure received attention before the envelope was sealed.

Email can serve the same purpose, though its speed encourages men to send before they have finished thinking. The recipient then receives a first draft with a vague subject, little structure, and the breathless informality of speech deprived of its tone.

Begin with a salutation. Avoid ‘Hey’ in any message where you want to be taken seriously. ‘Dear’ is correct, and if it feels too formal for the relationship, then ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’ will do. The exclamation mark is seldom required.

State the purpose early, provide the context required to understand it, and make the request plainly. A correspondent who takes three paragraphs to arrive at his point spends the reader’s time for him.

One is informed that there now exist machines, artificial intelligences as you call them, which will compose your emails for you. My feelings are more complicated than I should like. The idea that a man must outsource his correspondence is dispiriting. Still, I have read enough unaided modern correspondence to admit that the machine may, in many cases, produce something better.

If such a tool is used, let it demonstrate a sound structure and then write the next message unaided. Permanent reliance upon a machine to conduct one’s correspondence delegates some part of one’s personality, a loss which perceptive recipients will eventually notice.

Close your emails. ‘Best regards’ is serviceable. ‘Kind regards’ is warmer. ‘Yours’ is sufficient amongst friends. ‘Best’ alone is the laziest acceptable option, and one uses the word ‘acceptable’ with considerable reluctance. Avoid ‘Sent from my iPhone’. It explains the mistake after making it.

The principles have survived the century better than the willingness to observe them. Three additional minutes spent revising for clarity and courtesy are seldom wasted.