Dear Sir or Madam, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Sir, Dear colleague… These are all polite expressions by which it is possible to start a professional email. But as you know, the recipient is the factor that will determine which formula to use. Do you want to know the courtesy codes so as not to pay the price for a failed communication? Certainly. This article is for you in that case.

Appeal formula: What is it?

The call or the appeal is a greeting that begins a letter or an email. It depends on the identity and status of the recipient. It is found against the left margin. Just before the roll call, there is also a part called the star.

Form of appeal: Some general rules

A poorly mastered call formula can compromise all the content of the email and discredit the sender.

To begin with, be aware that the appeal form does not contain any abbreviations. This means that abbreviations such as “Mr.” for Mr. or “Ms.” for Ms., are to be avoided. The biggest mistake is to write "Mr" as an abbreviation of the polite phrase "Monsieur".

It is indeed an English abbreviation of the word Monsieur. “M.” is rather the correct abbreviation in French.

In addition, it should be remembered that a polite phrase always begins with a capital letter. A comma immediately follows. This is what practice and courtesy codes recommend.

What forms of appeal to use?

There are several forms of appeal. We can cite among these:

  • Sir,
  • Madame,
  • Madame, Monsieur,
  • Ladies and Gentlemen,

The call formula "Madam, Sir" is used when you do not know whether the recipient is a man or a woman. As for the formula Ladies and Gentlemen, it is also used when the public is quite diverse.

The particularity of this formula is that it can be written on the same line or on two different lines while superimposing the words, that is to say by placing the words one below the other.

Different call formulas that can be used:

  • Dear Sir,
  • Dear Colleague,
  • Madam President and dear friend,
  • Doctor and dear friend,

Moreover, when the addressee exercises a well-known function, courtesy requires that it be mentioned in the appeal form. This is how we obtain certain call formulas, such as:

  • Madam Director,
  • Minister,
  • Mister President
  • Mr. Commissioner

What forms of appeal for a couple?

For the case of a couple, we can use the call form Madam, Sir. You also have the possibility to indicate the first and last names of both the man and the woman.

We thus obtain the following call formulas:

  • Mr Paul BEDOU and Mrs Pascaline BEDOU
  • Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Suzanne BEDOU

Note that it is possible to place the name of the wife before or after that of the husband.