It’s important to achieve the right tone when you write. If you sound angry, impatient, or even over-formal, you risk alienating your reader.
This is especially important if you are writing to your boss. (See How to Write a Letter or Email to Your Boss for more help.)
Here are some phrases which make you sound impatient when you write. Make sure that you avoid them.
1. Could you please…
Putting “please” after “could you” makes it sound as if you have already asked the person to do something, and that you are reminding them again. It makes you sound exasperated with the other person. Instead, you could write “Please” at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
“Please could you send me the details of the insurance policy?”
“Could you send me the details of the insurance policy, please?”
Alternatively, omit “please”, as using “could you” is already polite enough.
2. Would you be so kind as to…
This phrase makes you sound almost sarcastic, as if you think the other person is likely to refuse your request. In business, a person doesn’t need to be “kind” to do something: it’s generally their job!
Instead, use a phrase such as “Could you…” or “I’d be grateful if you could….” to make a request.
3. Kindly…
This word makes you sound angry, or that you think the other person is incompetent and can’t do their job properly. It’s much better to use a phrase such as “Could you..” to give instructions to someone.
4. Immediately / without further delay
Avoid using these. If something is urgent, use the following expressions:
“As this matter is urgent, I would appreciate a reply as soon as possible.”
“I would be grateful for your prompt reply.”
“I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.”
“I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.” (Slightly old-fashioned.)
great tips! thank you!!
“I’d be grateful if you could…” ??
I thought no could in if-clauses!?
You can have both could and would in requests:
“I’d be grateful if you could send me a catalogue”
(As a reply to “Can I give you a hand?” you could say “If you wouldn’t mind.”
Very useful tips!
Thank you
thank you for this article, I found it very helpful :)
very helpful
Wow! I was looking for these nuances for such a long time! Very helpful! Thnak You!
This is very helpful. Thanks very much
Thank you . Great tips.
as non-native speaker… this helped me a lot…
right approach for learning english
Thank you,, very helpful
Excellent tips!! Thank you very much!!
Thank you, very helpful
Thanks, it’s very helpful
Thought it to be nic
If i wouldn’t come..please tell me is it correct sentence or not?
No. It should be either “If I didn’t come” or “If I don’t come” – depending on what conditional form you want to use. Check out our page on conditional sentences for more information: https://www.english-at-home.com/grammar/if-sentences/
Thanks for that! Very useful =)
thanks! very helpful..
thanks for the great tips. Really useful to me
Thanks for the wonderful tips. Keep it up.
Useful tips!
Thanks
I want Know the CORRECT FORM to use?!?
Hi Kelli – I’ve made suggestions for correct (or more polite) forms to use for each of the four examples. For instance, instead of using “Kindly”, you could write “Could you”:
“Could you return this form to me?” instead of “Kindly return this form to me.”
Hope that’s clearer!
How to rewrite’ the favour of your early reply will be obliged
Looking forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Thanks a lot for sharing this kind of useful information.