What's best?

How much thought have you given to how you sign off your e-mail messages? If you're like me, those thoughts include pet peeves and nuanced preferences.

When you wrap up e-mails, are you, like me, a "best" practitioner? Or do you think something else is better than best?

I don't recall how the topic even came up, but a friend recently amused and perplexed me by jumping all over my declaration that I use "best" as an e-mail closer. He has less of an issue with "best regards"—a phrase I also use frequently—but his heart rate got elevated when he thought about best in isolation.

"Best what?" he fumed.

You might say he was "beset" by the issue--a word that occasionally creeps in when I write "best" hastily. My first instinct was to judge or even mock him for his vociferous opposition to what I have to believe is widely regarded as a helpful, handy four-letter word.

But as I've given this subject some thought, I see that I too have entrenched feelings about what I will, what I might and what I will never, ever in a thousand years employ as an e-mail sign-off. Let's break those categories down:

What I will sign off with (in addition to the aforementioned "Best" and "Best regards"):

"Thanks" and "Thank you"

My use of these expressions of gratitude has soared over the last 11 months since I began my marketing and communications job at Northern Illinois University. Just about everyone at NIU uses it a lot, and it’s rubbed off.

It also happens to be polite and proves useful when whatever's preceded it is a bit contentious. Such as:

"Following up on that thing I've already asked about three times in the past two weeks, can you, for the love of God, get me the answer this century, please? Thanks."

Note that these types of e-mails are rarely needed. Also, I was intentional in not including an exclamation mark on "Thanks" in that tongue-in-cheek example—those volume-raisers should be used sparingly, lest you come across as sarcastic.

"mb" or "Matt"

By this, I mean that I don't have any closing word or words—I just get right to my initials (always in lowercase) or my name. This is when it just feels weird or "too much" to drop in a formal closer.

Some of the variations that I employ, depending on the context: “see you later” and “talk soon” and “take care.”

What I might sign off with:

Sincerely/Yours Sincerely

This feels too old-fashioned and letter-ish. But sometimes, in a pinch, I'll go for it.

Regards

I've used this in the past, and I may well use it in the future, but it’s pretty much dropped out of my rotation. It seems sort of naked without a "Best" alongside, offering a little semantic cover.

I'm also not a "Warm regards" guy, but I can see myself growing into one and leaving "Best regards" in the dust. I don't think "Warm" will ever work as a closer, however.

What I will never, ever in a thousand years sign off with:

Cheers!

I've got no issue with others using this term. It feels jovial and more than a little British. Good for you if this is your style. It’s just that, flowing from my fingertips, it would seem inauthentic. To me, “Cheers!” makes the most sense when we’re saying it out loud and clinking our beverage glasses.

Kind regards

Whenever this shows up in my in-box, I can’t help but regard it as self-edifying. As in: “I'm a kind person and I want you to be fully aware of that fact." (Memo to all “kind regards” practitioners: I know you don’t mean that.)

I haven’t covered ’em all. But it’s time to wrap this up with a few poll questions.

Best,
mb