One day last fall, my colleague Miguel Morales received an email with a sign-off that was so strange, it has stuck in his mind for the last year. It came from Melissa Geisler, who works in digital sports programming and production at Yahoo. Below Geisler’s title and above her cell phone number was this mystifying quote: “The Bird is equal to or greater than the Word,” attributed to someone named, simply, “scientist。”

去年秋天某一天，我的同时Miguel Morales收到了一封结尾很奇怪的邮件，这个结尾去年一直让他反感。这封邮件是Melissa Geisler发的，她在雅虎从事数字体育节目制作的工作。在Geisler的职位下面，电话号码上面有这样一句奇怪的引言：“鸟可能大于或等于那个词”引自一个简单的名字自称为“科学家”的人。

With this and other strange sign-offs in mind, Miguel suggested I tackle the subject of how best to conclude an email. I polled colleagues, friends and four people I’d consider experts, including Cynthia Lett, 55, a business etiquette consultant in Silver Spring, MD. Below is their combined wisdom and some commentary of my own. I offer four rules and a long list of potential sign-offs。

对于这样子的和其它的一些结尾很奇怪的邮件，Miguel 建议我着手处理一篇主题为如何最好的结束一封邮件的文章。我对同事，朋友和我认为是专家的四个人进行调查，包括Cynthia Lett，他55岁，在马里兰州银泉做商业礼仪顾问，然后总结出如下凝聚他们智慧和我自己补充的结尾语。

But first, Geisler’s quote. She says it came from an episode of the animated cable TV show Family Guy, about a song from the 1960s. “That was me trying to have a little fun,” she says, adding that she has since changed her signature to add Yahoo’s new logo, and abandoning the quote, which she hoped recipients enjoyed while it lasted. Much as I respect Geisler’s attempt at levity, I think it’s a mistake to leave people guessing about what you want to say。

但是首先着手的是Geisler的引言。她说那句引言出自于动画片恶搞之家，是关于二十世纪六十年代的一首歌曲。她说“我只是想找些乐子，”，她还说她已经删掉了那个引言，将结尾改成了雅虎的新标识，她希望收件人能够喜欢。我认为Geisler的这种尝试是有点轻率的，让别人去猜测你在邮件中真正想要表达什么是不妥当的。

Here are my four rules for signing off on emails:

下面是我总结出来的邮件结尾的四个规则：

1.Don’t include quotes。

1.不要包含引言。

2. Avoid oversized corporate logos.

2.避免过大的公司标识。

ometimes we have no choice about this, because our companies insist we include these things, but if they are too big, they draw the eye away from the message。

有时候我们别无选择，因为公司坚持让我们使用这些东西，但是如果标识太大了，它会分散看信息的注意力。

3. Include your title and contact info, but keep it short.

3.包含你的职位和联系信息，但是保持简洁。

In most business emails, you’re doing the person a favor by sharing your vital information. But make it minimal. Mine just says, “Susan Adams, Senior Editor, Forbes 212-206-5571.” A short link to your website is fine but avoid a laundry list of links promoting your projects and publications。

对于大多数商业邮件，分享重要信息是在帮助别人。但是保持简短。像我的就写，“Susan Adams，福布斯杂志高级编辑，212-206-5571。”包含你公司网站的短链接是可以接受的，但是避免出现一系列推广你的项目和出版物的链接。

4. Do include some kind of sign-off。

4.务必包含结尾。

Mark Hurst, 40, author of Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload, says the function of a sign-off is to signal the end of a message, so the recipient knows it didn’t get short-circuited. “To me the sign-off is not so much style as function in the service of clearly communicating your message,” he says。

Mark Hurst，40岁，比特素养的作者说：在信息和邮件超载的时代，结尾的功能是标志邮件的结束，因此收件人知道没有短路。他说，“对于我来说，结尾作为清晰地传达信息的工具没有太多的格式。”

Etiquette consultant Lett advocates a more formal approach. “I don’t believe emails are conversations,” she says. “They’re letters。” I disagree. Emails are their own form of communication and they’re evolving fast. Farhad Manjoo, 35, Wall Street Journal technology columnist and until recently, the voice behind a Slate podcast, “Manners for the Digital Age,” puts it well: “An email is both a letter and an instant message,” he observes。

礼仪顾问Lett提倡一个更加正式的方法。他说“我不认为邮件是对话，他们是信件。” 我不同意。邮件是他们彼此交流的形式，并且他们迅速发展。Farhad Manjoo，35岁，华尔街日报技术专栏作家，最近在Slate播客“数字时代的礼仪”中说的好，“邮件既是信件也是即时消息。”

All of that said, here is a list of common and not-so-common email sign-offs, with commentary and notes from the experts。

尽管如此，下面是一些带有专家评论和注释的常见的和不那么常见的邮件结尾。

Best – This is the most ubiquitous; it’s totally safe. I recommend it highly and so do the experts。

Best –是最普遍的;绝对安全的。我和专家都极力推荐这个。

My Best – A little stilted. Etiquette consultant Lett likes it.

My Best –有点生硬。礼仪顾问Lett喜欢这个。

My best to you – Lett also likes this one. I think it’s old-fashioned。

My best to you –Lett也喜欢这个。我认为它过时了。

All Best – Harmless。

All Best –用起来无大碍。

All the best – This works too。

All the best – 这个也管用。

Best Wishes –Seems too much like a greeting card but it’s not bad。

Best Wishes –看起来特别像贺卡，但是还不赖。

Bests – I know people who like this but I find it fussy. Why do you need the extra “s”?

Bests – 我知道有人喜欢，但是我觉得它很繁琐。为什么你需要多余的“s?”

Best Regards – More formal than the ubiquitous “Best。” I use this when I want a note of formality。

Best Regards – 比最普遍的“Best”更正式。当我想要正式的写结尾时我会用这个。

Regards – Fine, anodyne, helpfully brief. I use this。

Regards – 好，稳重，简短。我用这个。

Rgds – I used to use this but stopped, because it’s trying too hard to be abbreviated. Why not type three more letters? OK if you’re sending it from your phone。

Rgds – 我过去常用这个但是现在没用了，因为这个很难被缩写。为什么不多写几个字母?如果是用手机发邮件的话，这个OK 。

Warm Regards – I like this for a personal email to someone you don’t know very well, or a business email that is meant as a thank-you。

Warm Regards – 给不是很了解的人发私人邮件时我喜欢用这个，商业邮件中它的意思是谢谢你。

Warmest Regards – As good as Warm Regards, with a touch of added heat。

Warmest Regards – 增添了一丝温暖，跟Warm Regards一样好。

Warmest – I use this often for personal emails, especially if I’m close to someone but not in regular touch。

Warmest – 私人邮件中我常常用这个，尤其是当我离别人很近但是又不常联系的时候，我会用这个。

Warmly – This is a nice riff on the “warm” theme that can safely be used among colleagues。

Warmly –这个一个关于 “warm” 的主题的很好的结尾，在同事之间使用很安全。

Take care – In the right instances, especially for personal emails, this works。

Take care – 在适合的情况下，尤其是私人邮件，这个很有用。

Thanks - Lett says this is a no-no. “This is not a closing. It’s a thank-you,” she insists. I disagree. Forbes Leadership editor Fred Allen uses it regularly and I think it’s an appropriate, warm thing to say. I use it too。

Thanks - Lett说这个禁用。他认为“这不是结尾而是感谢。”我不同意。福布斯编辑领导 Fred Allen经常用这个，我认为它是一个合适的、暖心的词。我也用。

Thanks so much – I also like this and use it, especially when someone—a colleague, a source, someone with whom I have a business relationship—has put time and effort into a task or email。

Thanks so much – 我也喜欢这个，并会用这个，尤其是当某人—同事，人脉资源，跟我有业务关系的人—花时间和精力完成任务和邮件时，我会用这个。

Thanks! – This rubs me the wrong way because I used to have a boss who ended every email this way. She was usually asking me to perform a task and it made her sign-off seem more like a stern order, with a forced note of appreciation, than a genuine expression of gratitude. But in the right context, it can be fine。

Thanks! – 这个很让我恼火，因为我曾经有个老板每封邮件都用这个结尾。他经常让我完成一个任务，带着勉强感谢的符号，这让他的结尾看起来像是一个严厉的命令，而不是真诚地表达致谢。但是在合适的语境中，它也适用。

Thank you – More formal than “Thanks。” I use this sometimes。

Thank you – 比“Thanks”更加正式。我有时用这个。

Thank you! – This doesn’t have the same grating quality as “Thanks!” The added “you” softens it。

Thank you! – 这个不会像“Thanks”那么让人不悦!多余的“you” 使它变得缓和。

Many thanks – I use this a lot, when I genuinely appreciate the effort the recipient has undertaken。

Many thanks – 当我真诚的感谢收件人所付出的努力时，我常常用这个。

Thanks for your consideration. – A tad stilted with a note of servility, this can work in the business context, though it’s almost asking for a rejection. Steer clear of this when writing a note related to seeking employment。

Thanks for your consideration – 有点生硬带点屈从，尽管它几乎是寻求排斥，但是在商业邮件中它很有用。当你写就业相关的邮件时，避免使用它。

Thx – I predict this will gain in popularity as our emails become more like texts. Lett would not approve。

Thx – 随着我们的邮件变得更像文本，我猜想这个会获得欢迎。Lett 可能不会赞同。