英國佬講究多 英文郵件結尾多達57種花樣

One day last fall, my colleague Miguel Morales received an email with a sign-off that was so strange, it has stuck in his mind for the last year. It came from Melissa Geisler, who works in digital sports programming and production at Yahoo. Below Geisler’s title and above her cell phone number was this mystifying quote: “The Bird is equal to or greater than the Word,” attributed to someone named, simply, “scientist。”

去年秋天某一天，我的同時Miguel Morales收到了一封結尾很奇怪的郵件，這個結尾去年一直讓他反感。這封郵件是Melissa Geisler發的，她在雅虎從事數字體育節目製作的工作。在Geisler的職位下面，電話號碼上面有這樣一句奇怪的引言：“鳥可能大於或等於那個詞”引自一個簡單的名字自稱爲“科學家”的人。

With this and other strange sign-offs in mind, Miguel suggested I tackle the subject of how best to conclude an email. I polled colleagues, friends and four people I’d consider experts, including Cynthia Lett, 55, a business etiquette consultant in Silver Spring, MD. Below is their combined wisdom and some commentary of my own. I offer four rules and a long list of potential sign-offs。

對於這樣子的和其它的一些結尾很奇怪的郵件，Miguel 建議我着手處理一篇主題爲如何最好的結束一封郵件的文章。我對同事，朋友和我認爲是專家的四個人進行調查，包括Cynthia Lett，他55歲，在馬裏蘭州銀泉做商業禮儀顧問，然後總結出如下凝聚他們智慧和我自己補充的結尾語。

But first, Geisler’s quote. She says it came from an episode of the animated cable TV show Family Guy, about a song from the 1960s. “That was me trying to have a little fun,” she says, adding that she has since changed her signature to add Yahoo’s new logo, and abandoning the quote, which she hoped recipients enjoyed while it lasted. Much as I respect Geisler’s attempt at levity, I think it’s a mistake to leave people guessing about what you want to say。

但是首先着手的是Geisler的引言。她說那句引言出自於動畫片惡搞之家，是關於二十世紀六十年代的一首歌曲。她說“我只是想找些樂子，”，她還說她已經刪掉了那個引言，將結尾改成了雅虎的新標識，她希望收件人能夠喜歡。我認爲Geisler的這種嘗試是有點輕率的，讓別人去猜測你在郵件中真正想要表達什麼是不妥當的。

Here are my four rules for signing off on emails:

下面是我總結出來的郵件結尾的四個規則：

’t include quotes。

1.不要包含引言。

2. Avoid oversized corporate logos.

2.避免過大的公司標識。

ometimes we have no choice about this, because our companies insist we include these things, but if they are too big, they draw the eye away from the message。

有時候我們別無選擇，因爲公司堅持讓我們使用這些東西，但是如果標識太大了，它會分散看信息的注意力。

3. Include your title and contact info, but keep it short.

3.包含你的職位和聯繫信息，但是保持簡潔。

In most business emails, you’re doing the person a favor by sharing your vital information. But make it minimal. Mine just says, “Susan Adams, Senior Editor, Forbes 212-206-5571.” A short link to your website is fine but avoid a laundry list of links promoting your projects and publications。

對於大多數商業郵件，分享重要信息是在幫助別人。但是保持簡短。像我的就寫，“Susan Adams，福布斯雜誌高級編輯，212-206-5571。”包含你公司網站的短鏈接是可以接受的，但是避免出現一系列推廣你的項目和出版物的鏈接。

4. Do include some kind of sign-off。

4.務必包含結尾。

Mark Hurst, 40, author of Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload, says the function of a sign-off is to signal the end of a message, so the recipient knows it didn’t get short-circuited. “To me the sign-off is not so much style as function in the service of clearly communicating your message,” he says。

Mark Hurst，40歲，比特素養的作者說：在信息和郵件超載的時代，結尾的功能是標誌郵件的結束，因此收件人知道沒有短路。他說，“對於我來說，結尾作爲清晰地傳達信息的工具沒有太多的格式。”

Etiquette consultant Lett advocates a more formal approach. “I don’t believe emails are conversations,” she says. “They’re letters。” I disagree. Emails are their own form of communication and they’re evolving fast. Farhad Manjoo, 35, Wall Street Journal technology columnist and until recently, the voice behind a Slate podcast, “Manners for the Digital Age,” puts it well: “An email is both a letter and an instant message,” he observes。

禮儀顧問Lett提倡一個更加正式的方法。他說“我不認爲郵件是對話，他們是信件。” 我不同意。郵件是他們彼此交流的形式，並且他們迅速發展。Farhad Manjoo，35歲，華爾街日報技術專欄作家，最近在Slate播客“數字時代的禮儀”中說的好，“郵件既是信件也是即時消息。”

All of that said, here is a list of common and not-so-common email sign-offs, with commentary and notes from the experts。

儘管如此，下面是一些帶有專家評論和註釋的常見的和不那麼常見的郵件結尾。

Best – This is the most ubiquitous; it’s totally safe. I recommend it highly and so do the experts。

Best –是最普遍的；絕對安全的。我和專家都極力推薦這個。

My Best – A little stilted. Etiquette consultant Lett likes it.

My Best –有點生硬。禮儀顧問Lett喜歡這個。

My best to you – Lett also likes this one. I think it’s old-fashioned。

My best to you –Lett也喜歡這個。我認爲它過時了。

All Best – Harmless。

All Best –用起來無大礙。

All the best – This works too。

All the best – 這個也管用。

Best Wishes –Seems too much like a greeting card but it’s not bad。

Best Wishes –看起來特別像賀卡，但是還不賴。

Bests – I know people who like this but I find it fussy. Why do you need the extra “s”？

Bests – 我知道有人喜歡，但是我覺得它很繁瑣。爲什麼你需要多餘的“s?”

Best Regards – More formal than the ubiquitous “Best。” I use this when I want a note of formality。

Best Regards – 比最普遍的“Best”更正式。當我想要正式的寫結尾時我會用這個。

Regards – Fine, anodyne, helpfully brief. I use this。

Regards – 好，穩重，簡短。我用這個。

Rgds – I used to use this but stopped, because it’s trying too hard to be abbreviated. Why not type three more letters? OK if you’re sending it from your phone。

Rgds – 我過去常用這個但是現在沒用了，因爲這個很難被縮寫。爲什麼不多寫幾個字母？如果是用手機發郵件的話，這個OK 。

Warm Regards – I like this for a personal email to someone you don’t know very well, or a business email that is meant as a thank-you。

Warm Regards – 給不是很瞭解的人發私人郵件時我喜歡用這個，商業郵件中它的意思是謝謝你。

Warmest Regards – As good as Warm Regards, with a touch of added heat。

Warmest Regards – 增添了一絲溫暖，跟Warm Regards一樣好。

Warmest – I use this often for personal emails, especially if I’m close to someone but not in regular touch。

Warmest – 私人郵件中我常常用這個，尤其是當我離別人很近但是又不常聯繫的時候，我會用這個。

Warmly – This is a nice riff on the “warm” theme that can safely be used among colleagues。

Warmly –這個一個關於 “warm” 的主題的很好的結尾，在同事之間使用很安全。

Take care – In the right instances, especially for personal emails, this works。

Take care – 在適合的情況下，尤其是私人郵件，這個很有用。

Thanks - Lett says this is a no-no. “This is not a closing. It’s a thank-you,” she insists. I disagree. Forbes Leadership editor Fred Allen uses it regularly and I think it’s an appropriate, warm thing to say. I use it too。

Thanks - Lett說這個禁用。他認爲“這不是結尾而是感謝。”我不同意。福布斯編輯領導 Fred Allen經常用這個，我認爲它是一個合適的、暖心的詞。我也用。

Thanks so much – I also like this and use it, especially when someone—a colleague, a source, someone with whom I have a business relationship—has put time and effort into a task or email。

Thanks so much – 我也喜歡這個，並會用這個，尤其是當某人—同事，人脈資源，跟我有業務關係的人—花時間和精力完成任務和郵件時，我會用這個。

Thanks! – This rubs me the wrong way because I used to have a boss who ended every email this way. She was usually asking me to perform a task and it made her sign-off seem more like a stern order, with a forced note of appreciation, than a genuine expression of gratitude. But in the right context, it can be fine。

Thanks! – 這個很讓我惱火，因爲我曾經有個老闆每封郵件都用這個結尾。他經常讓我完成一個任務，帶着勉強感謝的符號，這讓他的結尾看起來像是一個嚴厲的命令，而不是真誠地表達致謝。但是在合適的語境中，它也適用。

Thank you – More formal than “Thanks。” I use this sometimes。

Thank you – 比“Thanks”更加正式。我有時用這個。

Thank you! – This doesn’t have the same grating quality as “Thanks!” The added “you” softens it。

Thank you! – 這個不會像“Thanks”那麼讓人不悅！多餘的“you” 使它變得緩和。

Many thanks – I use this a lot, when I genuinely appreciate the effort the recipient has undertaken。

Many thanks – 當我真誠的感謝收件人所付出的努力時，我常常用這個。

Thanks for your consideration. – A tad stilted with a note of servility, this can work in the business context, though it’s almost asking for a rejection. Steer clear of this when writing a note related to seeking employment。

Thanks for your consideration – 有點生硬帶點屈從，儘管它幾乎是尋求排斥，但是在商業郵件中它很有用。當你寫就業相關的郵件時，避免使用它。

Thx – I predict this will gain in popularity as our emails become more like texts. Lett would not approve。

Thx – 隨着我們的郵件變得更像文本，我猜想這個會獲得歡迎。Lett 可能不會贊同。