When sending an email to invite people to a meeting, I greeted the recipients as “Dear Sirs and Madam” because most of them are men and only one woman. They are my BOD and guests of my company so I thought that it would be more polite and formal to use “Dear Sirs and Madam” instead of “Dear all”.
But then later I receive a call from another superior. She said CEO wasn’t satisfied with my email and I shouldn’t greet them like that but use “Dear all”.
Please let me know your opinions.
I agree with your CEO and superior. I would never use ‘Dear Sirs and Madam’ in a letter or email. It sounds clumsy and awkward.
If I were writing to an individual whose name and gender I was unsure of, I would use ‘Dear Sir’ (even though it may be a woman).
If I were writing to an individual whose name I was unsure of, but I knew it to be a woman, I would use ‘Dear Madam’
If I were writing to a group of people, I would use something collective: Dear Members, Dear Committee Members, Dear Colleagues, Dear fellow campaigers, etc.
If I could not think of an alternative suitable collective term, I would use ‘Dear all’.
I agree. It’s inflated as well.
Have fun.