0: Oh, there's free cake in the staff room?

4: Thanks for letting me know.

8: See you there.

10: Yeah, free cake.

12: All right.

14: Hey, everyone.

15: I'm Alex.

16: Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on writing a business or professional email

23: in English.

24: Now, this is useful for those of you who are just starting a corporate job, or if you are

30: looking to work in an English environment where emails are constant.

36: So, I use my email every day.

39: I can tell you 100% that I have used all of these at one point or another in my emailing

47: career, we'll say.

48: So, I've sent thousands of emails, and I've used all of these.

51: So, these are phrases that you can use in internal emails between yourself and your

58: colleagues, or between yourself and someone who works with your company.

63: So, maybe you know someone who is selling, you know, technology to your company, like

69: printers or computers; maybe there's someone who supplies paper for your company and you

76: have to interact with them, so you can use these phrases and expressions with them.

81: All right?

82: So, first we'll start with the greeting.

85: We have: "Hello", "Hi", "Hey, Steve".

91: Steve - these are all for Steve.

93: So, you notice.

94: If you're wondering: "Why didn't you put 'Dear'?

97: Why didn't you put 'To whom it may concern'?"

101: You could still use those.

102: I guess it depends on your own personal comfort with formality.

109: Having worked, like, you know, in Canada and exchanging emails with people in the United

113: States, most people are comfortable with a "Hello" or a "Hi".

120: Only use a "Hey" for someone you know.

122: So, these are in level of formality.

125: Of these three, "Hello" would be the most formal; "Hi" would be very neutral; and "Hey"

132: is a very familiar, very informal, so only use this with people you know well or that

140: you have a good professional relationship with.

143: Next.

144: All right, so one thing you might do in an email is to introduce a new topic or to inform

151: someone of something; maybe not just one person, maybe a group of people, maybe a whole department.

158: So, for example: "This is to inform you that."

164: Very general.

165: So, maybe someone has received a promotion in your company.

170: This is something you might see from your boss; or if you are a boss or a manager,

175: you might send this to your team.

177: "This is to inform you that", you know.

180: Let's say Rosa; you have an employee named Rosa.

183: "This is to inform you that Rosa has been promoted to the position of."

189: Okay?

191: So you're giving information to your team.

194: This one: "Just to let you know".

197: Now, this is very informal.

199: So, only send this to people you know well, people within your company, maybe a friend

206: in the company.

207: So: "Just to let you know" is a much more informal, casual way that you can use in an email,

214: instead of: "This is to inform you that."

217: Okay?

218: So, for example: "Hey.

221: Just to let you know, I'm not here on Friday.

224: Please see me if you need anything from me before Friday."

229: Okay?

230: Also, you're introducing a topic, or informing your company, or someone of something, so:

237: "Hey, Steve.

238: Good news!", "Hey, Steve.

240: Bad news.", "Hey, Steve.

243: I've got good news.", "I've got bad news."

246: Now, you notice, here, I used an exclamation after "Good news", you know, it's a good idea

252: to make it seem exciting, so: "Good news!

256: You know, I just got promoted."

258: Okay?

259: Or: "Good news!

260: I'm getting a raise."

261: Okay?

262: Something like this.

263: "Bad news.

265: We're not getting pizza for free today.", "Bad news.

269: I can't make lunch, sorry."

272: Okay?

273: "I can't make lunch."

274: It doesn't mean you're creating lunch, you're making lunch; it means: "I can't go to lunch

280: with you."

281: Okay?

282: So, you have: "This is to inform you that.", "Just to let you know.", "Good news!", "Bad news.",

286: "I've got good news.", "I've got bad news."

289: Okay?

290: Next, if you are following up on a previous discussion, a previous email.

296: Now, "following up" means you had a conversation about a topic before, maybe in person, maybe

305: in email, maybe by carrier pigeon-I don't know-and you want to follow up on that email.

313: A carrier pigeon is a bird who brings a letter.

317: So, you can say: "Hey, Steve.

321: As we discussed,." or "As discussed,."

325: You can obviously add to this: "As discussed yesterday,.", "As discussed at the meeting,.",

332: "As discussed this morning, please remove your shoes when you enter"-I don't know-

341: "my office"?

342: It's a strange thing, maybe.

344: I don't know, it depends where you are in the world, perhaps.

348: So, next, instead of saying: "As discussed,." you can also say: "To follow up on our meeting,.",

355: "To follow up on our discussion,."

359: This is the same thing.

360: You know, "As we discussed,." or "To follow up,.", "To give an update on the information

366: we discussed,."

369: You can say, you know: "please come to work on time".

372: Okay?

373: Or: "don't leave your lunch in the fridge for five days."

377: Other people use the fridge, Steve.

380: So, next: "Regarding", or "In regards to."

385: Now, you can use either one of these.

387: Okay?

388: So, it just depends how you feel in the moment.

392: So, you know, let's see.

395: What else has Steve done lately?

398: Regarding.

399: Hmm.

401: Sure.

403: "Regarding the quality of your deodorant, please change it soon; everyone can notice.

413: Everyone notices."

414: Okay?

415: So: "in regards to", maybe Steve wears strong cologne or strong deodorant and it smells

420: very strong, so, you know, you're just having fun with Steve in an email.

424: Okay.

425: "As far as _______ goes,."

428: So, this is similar to saying: "Regarding/In regards to", but you put the topic here.

436: So, if you are sending an email about your company budget: "As far as the budget goes,

443: please be careful with your spending."

445: Okay?

446: "As far as, you know, this weekend's tour goes, it's going to begin at 11 o'clock."

455: Okay?

457: Same here: "On the topic of _______", and you follow up.

462: Okay?

463: Next, if you want to ask for something, if you want to request something - many, many,

469: many, many options.

471: All right?

472: So: "I'd like to know if/when/how/who", okay?

477: Any question you can think of.

479: "I'd like to know when the meeting ends.", "I'd like to know if I should bring anything."

486: Okay?

487: Next, instead of saying: "I'd like to know", you can also just say: "Hey.

492: Could you let me know if/when/how", etc.

498: Maybe you're collecting money because it's Rosa's birthday, you know, in the department,

505: and you could say: "Hey.

507: Could you let me know how much money I should contribute?"

510: You know, for Rosa's present or for Rosa's gift card, or whatever.

515: All right?

516: Next, a little more serious: "Could you confirm", right?

520: "Could you, like, 100% let me know (confirm) if/when/how", etc.

527: So, this is probably a more serious topic; although you could use it to be funny, because

534: it's a more formal expression.

537: You know: "Could you confirm how much money I should give or how much money I should contribute?",

542: "Could you confirm if we're getting paid today?"

546: You know, just I want to make sure we're getting paid.

549: Next: "Do you know if/when/how", etc.

552: Okay?

553: So: "Do you know.?"

555: Okay?

556: So: "Do you know when.?

560: When the money will be in my account?"

563: Okay?

564: "Do you know if the printer needs more ink?"

567: Okay?

568: "Do you have any details/any update on a topic?"

574: Okay?

575: So, if you're ordering promotional material for your company from another company, and

582: you've been waiting for a long time, maybe one week, two weeks, which is a long time

587: in most businesses, so: "Hey.

590: Do you have any update on the promotional material?

593: Do you have any details or any new details on the promotional material?"

599: And another way to say this.

601: Right?

602: "Hey.

603: Could you give me an update?

604: Could you give me a quote or an estimate?"

607: So, a "quote" is if you are in charge of, you know, dealing with some of the upper-end

615: parts in your company where you're dealing with other companies, and you want to know:

621: "Hey.

622: How much money does it cost for you to print this promotional material for us?"

626: Or: "How much money does it cost for five new computers?

631: Could you give me a quote?"

633: Basically.

634: Usually a PDF or, you know, maybe some companies send a physical paper with the breakdown of

641: everything.

642: "Could you let me know how much it costs?"

644: "Could you give me an estimate?"

647: Okay?

648: This means an idea of how much money things are going to cost.

652: All right, so, so far we've said: "Hey, Steve", we've introduced a topic, maybe we have followed

658: up on a previous discussion, we've asked some things, requested some things.

664: And, well, let's see what's next.

667: Stay tuned.

668: Come on.

669: Okay, so next we have saying: "Thanks".

672: So, you can write: "Hey.

675: Thanks for getting back to me."

677: So, you sent an email, they sent an email back and they answered a question for you,

684: and you want to send another email.

686: This is, like, the third email in the chain, so you would say: "Hey.

691: Thanks for getting back to me."

692: This means: "Thanks for writing back.

695: Thanks for answering my question."

697: Okay?

698: And then you can use one of the other phrases: "Regarding this question,."

703: Right?

704: Okay.

705: "Thanks for the info".

706: "Thanks for the information", if you want to be more formal.

711: Again, if you are in a company where you know the people well: "Thanks for the info" is

718: pretty casual, pretty informal; only really use it with people you know well.

723: ".the information", if it's, like, the owner of the company - probably ".the information"

728: is better.

729: "Thanks for the heads up."

731: So, this is a little more informal as well.

735: So, "Thanks for the heads up" is usually: Thanks for the warning, thanks for the update.

742: So, for example, if someone sends you an email and they say: "Hey.

749: There's going to be a new position opening next week.

753: Why don't you, you know, update your resume and get ready?

756: Because I think you would be good for this job."

758: So, you could say: "Oh, there's going to be a new position opening in the company.

764: Thanks for the heads up."

765: Right?

766: "Thanks for the warning", so I know before other people.

769: So, think of "heads up", oh, you can.

771: You can see the information that's in the future.

774: Okay?

775: All right.

776: "Thanks for the update.", "Thanks for the email."

779: Very general.

780: "Hey.

781: Thanks for following up on." or "Thanks for following up with."

787: Thanks for, basically, you know, keeping up to date or getting new information from this

793: person or on this topic.

795: So: "Hey.

797: Thanks for following up with the accounting department.", "Thanks for following up on

802: our contract."

803: Okay?

804: ".our contract discussion", something like that.

806: "Thanks for your help.", "Thanks for your help with" something.

811: "Hey.

812: Thanks for looking into this, into that."

815: If you look into something, it means you, you know.

819: You research it, you take a deeper look.

822: So, if a colleague asks you to look into something, they're asking you to get the details of a

830: situation or get the details of something.

833: And if they look into something and they send you the information, say: "Hey.

837: I got the information.

839: The cost of this is $224."

842: It's like: "Oh, $224.

845: Thanks for looking into this.

847: This cost changes everything."

848: Okay?

849: So, many ways to say thanks; many things to be thankful for.

855: And finally, closing your email; the ending, you can say: "All right.

860: I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

864: So, this is if someone has asked you for something, has made a request, and, you know, you send

870: them some information, you respond, and you can just end with: "Okay.

875: I'll get back to you."

876: Or, if you want to, you know, be extra polite and say: "Hey.

881: I'm going to do this": "I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

885: This is very similar to: "I'll let you know as soon as I can."

890: Okay?

891: So, this one, very, very common.

893: Okay?

894: "I will let you know.

895: When I know"-okay?-"I'll let you know".

897: "I'll keep you posted."

899: This means: If I have new information, I will send the information to you.

904: Okay?

905: "I will give you an update when I know something."

909: Okay?

910: And then next, here, you're asking for, you know.

914: You've asked a question and you want a response, so you end it with: "Please let me know" or

922: just: "Let me know".

924: Add a "please" if you want to be extra polite.

927: "Please keep me posted".

929: "I'll keep you posted.", "Keep me posted."

932: Keep me updated.

934: If there's any new information, tell me.

937: Okay?

938: Send me an email if there's any new information on the topic we have discussed.

942: And, you know, there's a lot of talk about: How should you end your email?

947: What's too formal?

949: What's not formal enough?

951: Do people still use "Sincerely"?

953: I really only use "Sincerely" on, like, government documents, things that are official from the

959: bank.

960: If you, you know, have a complaint letter to a landlord where you're renting, you know,

966: your apartment: "Sincerely" works for those official situations.

971: In most internal company emails, I usually end mine with: "Thanks".

978: You could say: "Regards", you could say: "All the best".

983: So: "Thanks" works for internal, "Thanks" works for somebody you're working with outside

989: the company.

990: "Sincerely" I would just keep it to more official, official, official situations where you're

996: dealing with government, or banks, or bigger companies.

1000: Okay?

1001: All right.

1002: Whew, that's it, guys.

1004: So, to test your understanding of this material, as always, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com.

1010: And what I want to see from you guys is in the comments write me an email.

1015: Use, like, as many of these phrases as you can, and just send a sample email to me in

1021: the comments that I can read, and, you know, I can.

1024: I can see how you guys are doing.

1027: All this stuff that I gave you today, except for the ending, it doesn't have to go in this

1034: order.

1035: Okay?

1036: Like, you might just start an email, saying: "Hey, Steve.

1039: Hey, Rosa.

1040: Thanks for getting back to me."

1042: This could be the first thing; it doesn't have to be the introductory part that I did

1047: in the previous board.

1048: It depends what the email is about, of course, and what you want to stress.

1053: All right?

1054: So, write me in the comments, and do the quiz, which I already said.

1058: And then after you do the quiz, after you, you know, check the comments and all that

1062: stuff, go to YouTube, tell your friends.

1064: Say: "Hey.

1065: I like this video by Alex.

1067: Subscribe to his channel.

1068: Hey.

1069: Who's this person?

1070: Huh?

1071: Adam?

1072: Yeah?

1073: Ronnie?

1074: Okay?

1075: Emma, yeah, I like these people.

1076: I like these people.

1077: Yeah, they have lots of good information over here."

1079: So, subscribe to them, check us all out on engVid, and check me out on Facebook, check

1083: me out on Twitter.

1084: I'm talking way too much and promoting too much, so one more thing: If you want to support

1088: what we do, check out the "Support" link on engVid, and you can donate and help us do

1096: this for a long, long, long, long time.

1097: All right?

1099: So, thank you very much.

1100: Til next time, thanks for clicking.

1103: And I'm going to go have that cake.

1104: Cake.