Formality is hinted at throughout our documents.
Mirroring provides a good amount of depth on how to respond, but if you've never communicated with the person before (aka The Perfect Cold Email), this will provide a good overview.
So, how formal/informal should you be?
It's a balance.
Not just in the figurative sense. The data tells us if you're sending an email, it's best not to be too formal or too casual. You want to straddle the middle.
Being overly formal will make the other person feel as though you are either unsure and uncomfortable... or faking confidence. Meanwhile, being overly casual will come across as disrespectful, curt, or crass.
How do you strike the balance?
Write like you're speaking. There are certain words that you'd write but you'd never say. Find the more common version of them.
Comb your writing religiously for errors. Nothing says I couldn't be bothered, like firing off an email with a typo or a missing coma.
Use personal pronouns.
Active > Passive Voice.
Avoid garbage acronyms and buzzword fillers.
Take a friendly, warm tone.
Emojis: I'm personally pro-emoji, but please use them sparingly. It's like a nice spice to a dish. In the right situation, it adds a perfect dash to a reply or a note. Miss the mark, and it comes off as awkward. 🙃
Do your research before you reach out.
Do they look a bit more old-school? What industries have they worked in? How do they talk online? These can all give clues on how formal vs. informal you can be.
A fun catch we've found with this: The person works at a services company (ex. an ad agency). You'd think an ad agency is fairly informal, but you have to think about their personal backgrounds, company culture, and who they sell to.
If your client is in finance, your culture will reflect that. Your tone should be more polished and formal.
Again, Lavender can help. We track formality and point out which sentences have you off balance. We included a quick guide below that covers the most common triggers.
Need to be more or less formal? A few notes:
Contractions | Informal | Can't vs. Cannot |
Personal Pronouns | Informal | You, I, We, Our |
Active Language | Formal |
|
Passive Language | Informal |
|
Complex Sentence Structures | Formal |
|
Simple Sentence Structures | Informal |
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Hey, Howdy | Informal |
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Hi | Neutral |
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Hello, "First Name," Dear, "First Name:" Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening | Formal |
|
Buzzwords | Formal |
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Acronyms | Informal |
|
Emojis + GIFs | Informal |
|
Adverb/ Adjective Misuse | Informal | Good vs. Well. Less vs. Fewer |