外国教授的书信礼仪
1、发送邮箱账号
尽量选择学校或者公司企业提供的邮箱账号,一方面可以清晰地告诉对方自己所属机构,提高"翻牌"概率,另一方面避免被当作垃圾邮件过滤掉。
2、邮件主题
不必写自己的个人信息,名字学校企业之类的,但是一定不能空着。没有主题的邮件很大概率是不会被"翻牌"的。邮件主题好比论文的标题,简短扼要,表明来意。做个比喻,路上跳出来的彪形大汉,开口必说"此路是我开,此树是我载,要想从此过,留下买路钱。",换作邮件主题的表达应该是:打劫。简单暴力。要是有推荐人,可以顺便提到推荐人。格式大概如下:"{推荐人} 邮件目的"。具体来说,有下面三种参考格式。a、如果你对教授的某个研究项目感兴趣,就可以用这个研究方向作标题,例如"Deformation and fracture of hexagonal close-packed metals"或者"Fabrication of semiconductor through chemical vapor deposition"等。b、如果你对教授的某一篇文章很感兴趣,并且你的邮件正文里要谈到这篇文章,那么用这篇文章的标题作为邮件的标题也是个不错的主意。如果文章的标题过长,可以把它压缩一下。c、开门见山式的标题,比如"Inquiry into graduate admission of fall 2011"。Emmm...."翻牌"概率未知。
总而言之,标题就是希望对方能简洁明了的说明发送邮件的原因,并没有固定的格式。不必拘泥于上面提到的这几种,要勇于创新。
3、称呼
称呼很重要,一定不能打错别人的名字,尤其是有求于人。无论初次还是多次沟通之后,最安全的方式是直接用"Dear Professor{Dr.} xxx",此处注意,xxx代指last name。 添加头衔时必须确保对方拥有该头衔,不然就是很尴尬了。如果对方时副教授(assistant professor),也应当为Professor,而不是Dear Assistant Professor。 当联系女教授时,可以用"Ms",但是不建议"Mrs."。多次沟通之后,可以尝试用"hello{hi}"等问候次,hello开头常用于比较熟悉或者平级的非正式场合。初次沟通使用有点唐突。
当对方与你有邮件往来的时候,可以根据对方的落款来决定下一次的称呼。如果对方的落款只有FirstName,那你在回复其邮件的时候就可以直接称呼对方的FirstName了,这样有拉近距离之感,而不是过分的生疏,应用场景比较适合平级的情况;如果对方落款是全名或者名字缩写,这时候你一定还是正式地称呼对方。当然,任何时候正式称呼对方都是没有问题的,也是最为稳妥的。当对方与自己平级时,适时直接称呼对方的FirstName以拉近彼此距离也是值得尝试的,比如可以写:Jianzhu。
4、正文
开头先说清楚自己的目的,"I am writing to enquire about..."或者"I am writing in reference to..."。之后可以简单的介绍自己。"My name is xxx(全名), pursuing master degree in electrical engineering in xxx University, China.".然后解释一下自己怎么知道对方的以及联系对方的背景情况。一般可以分为三种情况。第一种,无人推荐。一定要说清楚原因,例如刚看了人家的一篇paper,或者会议听了一个他的报告。夸一夸对方的独到之处和对你的启发。第二种,有人推荐。某个教授推荐,解释清楚原因就差不多了。第三种,原本认识,但很久没联系。这种情况可以说一两句客套话,然后解释原因。
除了清楚简洁外,还要遵循另一个原则——"消极礼貌"(negative politeness)。常用的策略有:主动提及对方非常忙,可能没时间满足自己的请求;主动提对方出于商业保密或者其他原因可能不能满足自己的请求;(上面两种都相当于给对方一个台阶);多用if语句;多用过去时态。例子,
a、"I was wondering{wondered} if..."(注意必须用was,而不是"I wonder..." 或者"I am wondering...")。这常用于初次沟通。当来回交流几次之后,可以不必拘泥于此。时态可以灵活一些,采用"shall we...."或者"what about..."等。
b、"Would it be possible{convenient}..."{Could you....} 从语法上规避直接涉及到人,减轻对方的压力。eg,"Would it be possilbe to arrange an appoitment some time?"
c、避免使用I want,I would like,I would love,please。其中please 尽量避免使用,因为please暗含自己的期望,给了对方一定的压力。脑补一下用嘤嘤嘤的语气说please 的场景。
说清楚目的,就要论证自己的请求是合理的。套路一般是:我已经做了很多工作,实在是迫不得已,走头无路,发现你的文章或者你的报告很好,很牛逼,或者有疑问,想进一步了解。balabala。
d、结束语
可以再用一句话提一下自己的请求。然后感谢对方。例如,"thank you for your patience and cooperation",
"thank you for your consideration",
"thank you for your attention to this matter",
"I am looking forward to hearing from you"
" We're honored and grateful for your support ..... and eagerly look forward to your thoughts .....",
"Thank you for the very kind XXXX. I was touched by your thoughtfulness, and assure you that it was wholly my pleasure to xxxx. I'm delighted to know that...",
"Thanks for all of your effort and service to xxxx. It's been a pleasure to work with you and I'm looking forward to the results of your xxxx"
e、礼貌语与签名
这也重要。每封邮件应该以祝福和签名结尾。正式礼节问候是:Sincerely; Best wishes; Best regards。其他的都不甚正式。"Best regards," "Sincerely,"及"Thank you,"都很规范化。
熟了之后就可以多姿多彩了,例如可以写:Best, Cheers, Regards, See you soon, Nice weekend, 云云。或者学我们一个心理测量学家,写:Make sense. 不过,最常用也最百搭的一个或许是:Thanks.
最后签上自己的全名,而不是什么昵称,或者看不懂的缩写(两人熟络之后另当别论)。
问候方式总结
Best wishes
"With very best wishes"
"With all best wishes"
"With warm regards"
"With thanks and best regards"
"with very best wishes and much gratitude"
"Best regards for a great weekend"
"With warm regards for a sunny and relaxing break"
"I hope you're all enjoying an excellent break"
"I'm grateful for you all, and wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving."
f、回信
邮件主题可以加上"RE:XXXX"xxx表示原先的主题。一般客户端会自动加上。
这是必须的。
人家百忙之中抽空回你邮件,给你帮助,一定要告知对方收到邮件。一般直接感谢对方提供的帮助或者信息。例子:
"Thank you very much for your explanation. It was great help."
"Thank you for your prompt reply."
"Thank you for providing the requested information."
"Thank you for all your assistance"
"Thank you for contacting us."
还有另一种情况,请求被拒绝了。对方拒绝的套路一般是:感谢+赞美+but{unfortunately}+祝福,那么回信的套路也是这样:感谢+赞美+祝福。(比如很谢谢你,你的工作很出色。 祝你们在这个领域更好的发展。)
附录:十种场合的表达
十种场合的表达
- Greeting message 祝福
Hope you have a good trip back. 祝旅途愉快。
How are you? 你好吗?
How is the project going? 项目进行顺利吗? - Initiate a meeting 发起会议
I suggest we have a call tonight at 9:30pm (China Time) with you and Brown. Please let me know if the time is okay for you and Ben.
我建议我们今晚九点半和Brown小聚一下,你和Ben有没有空?
I would like to hold a meeting in the afternoon about our development planning for the project A.
今天下午我建议我们就A项目的发展计划开会讨论一下。
We’d like to have the meeting on Thu Oct 30. Same time.
十月三十号(周四),老时间,开会。
Let’s make a meeting next Monday at 5:30 PM SLC time.
下周一盐湖城时区下午五点半开会。
I want to talk to you over the phone regarding issues about report development and the XXX project.
我想跟你电话讨论下报告进展和XXX项目的情况。 - Seeking for more information/feedbacks/suggestions 咨询信息/反馈/建议
Should you have any problem accessing the folders, please let me know.
如果存取文件有任何问题请和我联系。
Thank you and look forward to having your opinion on the estimation and schedule.
谢谢你,希望能听到更多你对评估和日程计划的建议。
Look forward to your feedbacks and suggestions soon.
期待您的反馈建议!
What is your opinion on the schedule and next steps we proposed?
你对计划方面有什么想法?下一步我们应该怎么做?
What do you think about this?
这个你怎么想?
Feel free to give your comments.
请随意提出您的建议。
Any question, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
有任何问题,欢迎和我们联系。
Any question, please let me know.
有任何问题,欢迎和我们联系。
Please contact me if you have any questions.
有任何问题,欢迎和我们联系。
Please let me know if you have any question on this.
有任何问题,欢迎和我联系。
Your comments and suggestions are welcome!
欢迎您的评论和建议!
Please let me know what you think?
欢迎您的评论和建议!
Do you have any idea about this?
对于这个您有什么建议吗?
It would be nice if you could provide a bit more information on the user’s behavior.
您若是能够就用户行为方面提供更多的信息就太感激了!
At your convenience, I would really appreciate you looking into this matter/issue.
如果可以,我希望你能负责这件事情。 - Give feedback 意见反馈
Please see comments below.
请看下面的评论。
My answers are in blue below.
我的回答已标蓝。
I add some comments to the document for your reference. - Attachment 附件
I enclose the evaluation report for your reference.
我附加了评估报告供您阅读。
Attached please find today’s meeting notes.
今天的会议记录在附件里。
Attach is the design document, please review it.
设计文档在附件里,请评阅。
For other known issues related to individual features, please see attached release notes.
其他个人特征方面的信息请见附件。 - Point listing 列表
Today we would like to finish following tasks by the end of today:1…….2…….
今天我们要完成的任务:1…….2…….
Some known issues in this release:1…….2…….
声明中涉及的一些问题:1…….2…….
Our team here reviewed the newest SCM policy and has following concerns:1…….2…….
我们阅读了最新的供应链管理政策,做出如下考虑:1…….2…….
Here are some more questions/issues for your team:1…….2…….
以下是对你们团队的一些问题:1…….2…….
The current status is as following: 1……2……
目前数据如下: 1……2……
Some items need your attention:1…….2…….
以下方面需提请注意:1…….2……. - Raise question 提出问题
I have some questions about the report XX-XXX
我对XX-XXX报告有一些疑问。
For the assignment ABC, I have the following questions:…
就ABC协议,我有以下几个问题:…… - Proposal 提议
For the next step of platform implementation, I am proposing…
关于平台启动的下一步计划,我有一个提议……
I suggest we can have a weekly project meeting over the phone call in the near future.
我建议我们就一周项目开一个电话会议。
Achievo team suggest to adopt option A to solve outstanding issue……
Achievo团队建议应对突出问题采用A办法。 - Thanks note 感谢信
Thank you so much for the cooperation
感谢你的合作!
Thanks for the information
谢谢您提供的信息!
I really appreciate the effort you all made for this sudden and tight project.
对如此紧急的项目您做出的努力我表示十分感谢。
Thank you for your attention!
Thanks to your attention!
谢谢关心!
Your kind assistance on this are very much appreciated.
我们对您的协助表示感谢。
Really appreciate your help!
非常感谢您的帮助! - Apology 道歉
I sincerely apologize for this misunderstanding!
对造成的误解我真诚道歉!
I apologize for the late asking but we want to make sure the correctness of our implementation ASAP.
很抱歉现在才进行询问,但是我们需要尽快核实执行信息。