我举的例子都是美国人写的邮件原文，比那些书上写的要清新脱俗得多。 先来一封我们CEO最近发的邮件，全篇没有装逼词，但是就是显得很有水平。

 

Happy New Year—I hope you and your family had a great holiday and enjoyed some well-deserved time off. Thank you again for a terrific effort and a strong result last year!

再来一封老美写的开发客户的邮件，我以前兼职做过外贸，有一次打电话给美国客户，因为英语不好所以别人以为我是采购商，反而发一封邮件给我和我做生意o(╯□╰)o。这邮件也是写得清新自然，没有书上写的套话。

 

 Hello Steven, It was my pleasure to talk with you earlier today – thank you for contacting XXXX. I am writing to share more information with you about XXXX and our digital signage systems. The attached corporate brochure will provide you with an overview of our most popular system features – you can also learn more by visiting our website at XXXX.com. As you will see, XXX has been providing industry-leading digital signage systems for the past 25 years and we are honored to have our systems in place with over 2,500 hotels, resorts and casinos around the world. We would be very interested in exploring a relationship with XXXX in order to explore digital signage opportunities in China. As I’ve mentioned, our primary customer focus is with hotels, resorts and casinos. Our digital display systems are designed to meet the needs of the hospitality market. We are fortunate to have earned preferred-vendor status with many of the leading hotel brands including: Hyatt, Hilton, Sheraton, Westin, Marriott, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Renaissance and many more. Please let me know if you have relationships with any hotels and we can develop a plan to pursue the opportunity together. Please review our information at your earliest convenience and let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to our next communication. Regards, xxxx

 

一、基本邮件礼仪(Email etiquette)

 

英文邮件的礼仪成千上万条，大多其实都已经超出了“英文”的范畴，而是不管什么语言都要注意的，那我就不说了，我只说和印象最深刻的，而且和中文邮件有明显区别的，那就是感谢和道歉。

 

 1）感谢

中文邮件不喜欢太多客套话，废话少说，直入正题，但是美国人写邮件，哪怕是和熟悉的人，回邮件第一句话，都要感谢，所以他们的邮件都是 thank来thank去的，中文邮件没这种习惯。 开头，感谢别人回复自己的邮件（也可以用thank you，用在稍微正式场合，比如和陌生人发邮件） Thanks for the quick reply. Thanks for getting back to me. Thanks for the update on the situation. Thanks for the updated information. Thanks for gathering the information this week on this issue. 别人发邮件提供信息给你，中文邮件是懒得回的，英文邮件也习惯感谢，简单回复一个。 Thank you. Well noted. Noted/Received with thanks. Good information.

 

 2）道歉

 

如果是回邮件回得晚了，先道歉，貌似中文很少有这个习惯(以下sorry也可以替换成apologize，更正式一点，发给重要的人或者群发） Sorry for the late reply.（中国人普遍这这一种，也有老外用，不过下面两种更多）

 Sorry I haven’t got back to you sooner . Sorry for the delay getting back to you. 如果是临时通知别人是什么事情

 Apologies for the late/short notice. 如果是上一封邮件没写清楚导致收件人误解了

 I apologize if this was not made clear 提前给别人预警如果自己的措辞过于强硬。

 I apologize if this may make you feel uncomfortable/bad. I apologize if this may sound a little harsh.

 

3）收尾套路

最后收尾的套路，一般都是问别人意下如何。(不要用please tell me ...这种句式，从来没见过老外用的）

 Please let me know what you think. Please let me know your thoughts. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. (最常见）

 

Please let me know if there are questions. Looking forward to your input/insight(用insight/input代替opinion) That’s my idea, what's your idea?(也有直接这样说的）

 

Please review the lengthy e-mail and provide feedback on how we can proceed.(如果邮件太长了） 或者，干脆下面的话结尾，

 

I'll let you know more tomorrow(表示今天没说完，明天再说更多)

 

Please call me if you like.(有什么事打我电话）

 

4）称呼

 普通工作邮件，直接称呼名字字就好了，比如Hi Steven，不需要用Mr.， 甚至写给总裁的邮件，也是直接说Hi Bill，不需要Hi President Johnson。否则真的真的太令人不自在了。 只有德国人是个例外，喜欢加Mr./Ms. 我以前在德资企业工作，发给女性的邮件居然要称呼Ms. Zhang。 学术场合才需要加抬头，比如Prof. Johnson. 政客的Congressman Johnson. 记住，一般不加Dear，只有公司HR群发邮件才说Dear all, 发给个人的，一般就Hi Steven或者直接说Steven, 抓住这几点就够了，其他礼仪说多了都是正确的废话。 另外再看看我这公众号篇文章，弄清楚什么时候该用正式用语，什么时候可以用非正式。 英语 | 到底什么是正式场合和非正式场合

 

5）告别邮件主题

离职时发邮件感谢同事，我见过老外用以下两种 Thank you Farewell 两种都可以。注意farewell并非永别，也可以表示以后很难见面。