This Is the Worst Way to Start an Email

By Emmie Martin

There are hundreds of perfectly acceptable ways to start an email: "Dear," "Hello," "Hi," and so on. And then there's one you should avoid at all costs.

According to Diane Gottsman, etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas, "To whom it may concern," is one of the worst ways to start an email today.

Though the greeting may seem innocuous, it comes off as impersonal and old fashioned - and reeks of a mass-produced spam letter. "Ultimately, it sends the wrong message," Gottsman says.