You’re about to send an email. Maybe it’s to a client, a hiring manager, or a colleague you haven’t spoken to in a while. Reflexively, you start typing, “Hope you’re well.”
While you may genuinely mean it, it doesn’t give the recipient a reason to keep reading — and in some cases, it might even prompt them to skip your message entirely.
As a keynote speaker, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and bestselling author of “Unforgettable Presence,” I help professionals improve how they communicate in high-stakes moments. If your opener doesn’t stand out, the rest of your message might never get read.
Your opening isn’t filler, it’s the first impression, so you should give it as much thought as the rest of your email.
The problem isn’t that this phrase is rude — it’s just forgettable.
