3. I am smiling! It just goes to show that a little education on a really overused phrase can go a long way. The misuse of the word unconsious is at least as anoying as the phrase “Please advise”. Any of these can work: –Please advise me about . Please let me know when it would be convenient for you. [or]Please inform us of the shipping status. You can like and care about someone with your whole heart but if they only want you when it’s convenient for you then they are not worth your time. Have you ever convinced someone in upper #management to change the way they do things? Thank you Boss. Point is that yes, granted you don’t want to over-use any term or phrase. Again, thanks for contributing to the discussion. I love Pablo’s example at the beginning of the comments: “My mouse is broken. brohanu. BOOOM!!! This is the most annoying grammatically-incorrect phrase of the decade, and it appears to be spreading like a plague. I appreciate your stance and viewpoint on Please Advise. If you can get a grammar and spelling checker that corrects messages written in English, it will help you very much. . “–whatever fits the situation. I found this blog by searching the term “please advise” after I’d seen it in numerous emails and not really understood what information the sender wanted from me. Be courteous in your email, and you’ll get better results. It started innocuously enough with my boss, but then spread like a zombie invasion throughout the rest of my team, consuming the rational, coherent parts of their brains. Search please advise us of a convenient date and thousands of other words in English Cobuild dictionary from Reverso. After getting this puzzling statement in an email for the up-teenth time, I finally had to Google the phrase and happened upon your blog. Pablo, thank you for your enlightening example. I’m not sure if I’m offended because of the redundancy or because I will of course consider the information you just gave me. . :), “Do you have any unconscious habits in your business writing? Which is not a great way to obtain someone’s help via e-mail. Thanks for taking the time to share your view. Thanks again. Why use some bloated sentence when two words will suffice? I don’t like “Please advise on.” I would prefer “Please advise us on” or “Please advise me on,” but I appreciate your point. I remember the first time I ever heard someone use that expression…it was an email from one of my customers; the first thought that came to my mind was – how pretentious and rude! Yes, Friday 9 a.m. sounds good to me. “please advise” seems more like, “I don’t get it” or “maybe you don’t understand what I’m talking about, so I’m going to throw it back to you.”. Mix it up a bit. There it is not a popular verb! She makes a useful point. As you can see, “please advise” can be interpreted in a variety of ways. To add an object, you need to write “Please advise me. Just avoid “Please advise” alone. Rampant use of abbreviated phrases such as “Please advise” leads to sloppy, unclear communication. A courteous approach gets better results. Interesting, no? Today, I finally had the need to investigate why. I learned the phrase from working at a law firm where correspondence to attorneys needed to be short, sweet and to the point. It all depends on context. . I also “put this phrase in google” (to avoid using “googled it” and offend anyone because my outlook would always mark it wrong. + Read the full interview 3. The tone of an email is sometimes hard to read. We don't usually use the phrase 'your convenient time'. I guess this phrase had become a widespread virus in my work. I am getting confused with too much on offer. We’ll work with you, your doctor, and your insurance company to help you get the care you need. Nothing motivates John more than seeing his clients succeed. Glad I just ran across this. You can give us a call, or we can chat virtually. British English Jul 28, 2017 #3 And in BE, all four: Please let me know when it would be convenient for you. Ha Ha! When else does one’s grammar get challenged on a regular basis? Thank you for raising the issue so tactfully. I appreciate your taking the time to share the information. Thanks for commenting. If everybody would try to use “proper” language for that then everybody is going to write that in a different way and the conciseness is gone. I can’t stand “Please advise” not only because it is grammatically incorrect, but also because it seems quite passive aggressive to me- almost like a backhanded attempt to politely ask for an answer to your problem. 17 Oct 2017. Hey Lynn, please advise . The tone of an email is sometimes hard to read. People really need to get over this being an issue. In early use, the phrase was simply a polite (please) request for the listener or reader to provide some information (advise), as in “please advise your decision” or “please advise promptly of change of address.”Then and now, please advise is commonly used in legal, commercial, and other official documents. Here’s some advice: Stop signing your e-mails “please advise.” You sound like an idiot. Out of curiosity, does anyone know where this phrase originated? You have provided a great reason to avoid “Please advise.” Sorry–don’t cringe! I have been in your website previousely. Since my elderly relative "advised" me of my habit, I see those open drawers, and I close them. Thank you for making that important point. 3.Is Tuesday 3p.m. Harley, I am glad you found this blog post helpful. Thanks for sharing your appreciation. "What time would be convenient for you to have me at work?" I believe you mean that email demands good grammar because it is so easily misinterpreted. I am truly trying to avoid it, both because I think it can come off rudely and because it is not proper grammar. I think she was just telling me to “please consider this” information I just gave you. They were all drawers I had "closed.". 2. B ., Apache Junction. So after writing thousands of RFI’s throughout my career, I finally wondered why is there a squiggly green line under advise and then found this blog entry. My reason for writing the post was that I was seeing the phrase in many places where it was too concise and not clear. Could somebody please advise me as to how I might do this. If “advise” is used as intransitive verb, it usually goes with “on”, e.g. I am definitely switching up the vocab. Now after reading this blog I am in dilema if I should use it or not. One of the problems with "Please advise" is that advise is a transitive verb, that is, it must have an object. The problem with “Please advise” is using it on its own, without a direct object. Perhaps I should not be so worried about what others will think of my writing, or at least I can find comfort in the fact that I am using correct grammar- even if I am all alone in this instance! ... Nick Kocian emphasized that the drive-thru is intended only as a convenient way for the firm's clients, some of whom are disabled, to drop off and pick up documents. 2. So, you can say: “I advise against smoking”. Do you value happiness? My experience matches yours. I am glad you found my blog! That is more pompous and pretentious then someone actually using the term. Thank you for your time and patience to explain this phenomenon of business writing culture. Thank you for this information. I was never in the habit of using it and now that I see how people feel about it, I will NEVER get in the habit of using it. Not really. You are absolutely right to call it a habit, because it is really easy to notice that just a few people use it and very frequently. “Really,” I inquired, “I need an hour and a half to go 6 miles?” She told me the cab driver said it would likely take that long. . They used "Please advise" in their opening sentences, their closing sentences, and sometimes in the middle, like this: Please advise of shipping status.Please advise what happened with the delivery. Bob.”. I feel much better now, realizing that I am not alone! This is an awesome post. Saying “please advise” by itself is redundant. Bobby, I am over it. “Please advise of the shipping date” is not about giving advice. I can understand why you are beginning to doubt the excellence of the institution. Business communication has to be efficient and (!!!) But it does get in the way of a clear, efficient message. I’ve always found it to be very passive-aggressive, used in emails chasing up tasks that haven’t been done. Thank you for reminding us that there is nothing wrong with using “Please advise” appropriately and in moderation. Please advise is used when we are not sure about our answer or finding. I was about to use the “please advise” phrase and before I did I decided to google it to see if it was proper since companies we deal with had used it with us before. Hi, DeeDee. Please advise. F . From now I will be more careful using not only ‘Please advise’ phrase but several other phrases that can be misleading and incomplete. Thanks for sharing your appreciation. If she ever used the phrases together, I may spontaneously combust. F . I find it disconcerting that people treat email as though it were just another instant message. Be inspired and informed with this month's #LeadershipDevelopment Carnival from @LeadChangeGroup with contributions from more than 25 thought leaders. I can understand the frustration when overused but many emails are short, have limited scope, and start or are part of a dialog. Some usage experts accept advise in place of inform or tell. Don’t allow yourself to be convenient for someone because you don’t deserve someone who only comes around when they’re lonely – you deserve someone who cherishes every moment with you. Please Advise at Your Earliest Convenience Whether You Would Like to Super-Size Your Allegations. They don’t use it all the time, but only when seeking help or resolution to some kind of problem I created. “Please respond” is not very specific. Perhaps you mean subconsious? Something else I’ve noticed in my experience is that men tend to use this phrase much more than women do. For example, I can write, "The doctor advised me about taking supplements" or "I advised him to eliminate the angry tone in his writing.". Please advise is just a way for people to feel like they are aircraft pilots! ; Can you please advise where I said that in my comments above? I should have known better to do more research before using it! Before sending I did a quick Google search on the phrase and found this page. What might your company be doing for your customer’s “convenience” that is not actually convenient for them at all? I am happy to say I have not seen “revert” for “reply”–and I hope I never do! “Please advice” does not make sense because “advice” is a noun, a thing. I don’t know who started it. As for the “rest of us”…I don’t need to pretend, as I genuinely respect my business associates…and my wife – so I would say; “good manners – is good practice”. . This blog lets me know I am not being overly sensitive. Hi, Aubrey. We are arriving 11th August at 11.25am. You might consider using "would be" instead of "is", as well, since the conditional is often more polite than the declarative. I guess I could just say, “I could use your advice on this.” Hmm. . . Hi, DM. Now I’m a bit confused… What do you say? Hi, Emmanuel. I apologize for not responding to your very thoughtful comment. That’s certainly more than to just, “tell.”. Here are some examples. They made me think about a phrase that is commnly used at my work, and I find weird “Kindly let me know if any queries.” I don’t think is right, but I might be wrong. Thank you very much, Lynn. We’re generally much less pretentious (at least in the sciences). As a civilian who worked closely with US military personnel for nearly five years, I picked up the expression “please advise” as a simple, concise way of politely deferring to the judgement of a superior. To me it comes across as lazy. Francisco de Assis (chico). Please advise is not an outdated term. You may want to try practicing acceptance of expressions such as “to my mind.” People simply get comfortable with certain expressions, just like certain foods, and choose them often. "Embedding Advise into our daily practice operation has helped us achieve 2-3x our expected Medicare growth targets. If so, I agree. 5.Are you available/free on Friday, let’s say** 9 a.m.? You can also take an ‘ing’ (ie, not a person) for an object: “I advise ‘taking’ a cab”. I googled it becauise it is always flagged as a grammar error. ; Please advise?? Check out my blog on how to manage interdepartmental change and how to propose change without offending any #leaders within the company. It’s okay to rant now and then, Alison. Some grammar experts say that “Please advise” must have an object after the phrase because advise is a transitive verb. The other day I received an e-mail that said, “Please advise the student who is hosting the seminar speaker”. .”, Native speakers might be more likely to write “Please advise me if you have additional concerns.”, I was composing an email message, in the closing used the phrase. Who started it?? THANK YOU. I’ve been on the road for about two weeks and during my trip here are just a few of the things that people so kindly did for my convenience…. "please let me know a time that is convenient for you" or "please … . I found this blog by searching for an alternative to “let me know,” because I use it too often. Thanks for stopping by. Hi, Rodrigo. I’ve been on the road for about two weeks and during my trip here are just a few of the things that people so kindly did for my convenience… we will advise you of delivery in due course I think it best that I advise you of my decision to retire use knowledge to. My point in all this? For example, in the sentence I gave in the paragraph above, you might also write “Please reply . Hi, Clare. English is only my 3rd language, but I use it for my ebay activities and I often read this strange expression so I decided to finally grasp it. I was not overconcerned because they were not widespread or persistent. [or] Please let me know what happened with the delivery. I don't know if I'm reading into this too much but the phrase "please advise" seems to be a passive aggressive way of saying, "you figure this out and let me know what I need to know but don't know how to ask for." I was like “OH! At my workplace people seem to use it in place of a question or request for favor or action. Thanks for reading my little rant:-). This site is best viewed with any standards-compliant browser, if you have trouble viewing it, please let me know. usted). Just like Wes, when I first joined the corporate world a year ago, I adopted “Please advise” after receiving thousands of email ending in this phrase. Would “Please clarify me with… ” or “Please enlighten me on …” is acceptable? At my former job in IT, “please advise” became a bane of my existence. Whatever phrase you use, avoid making it habitual. Dear Lynn, I hope you found the discussion helpful. I looked the phrase up on Google because I worried that I just wasn’t getting it and found this site. . Good call to Samantha for pointing out this cultural meaning of “Please advise.” It seems to conjure the feeling of a very curt “explain yourself” attitude. Yes, Tuesday 3p.m. . Also, “Please clarify me with” is not correct idiomatic English, at least not in the US. In that case, is it OK for the following: Such a grammar and spelling checker would mark words such as “improove” (for “improve”) and “I,ve” (for “I’ve”). 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Of `` Please advise me as to how I might be some sort of hidden to! Show that a little education on a regular basis Spence 's blog web Design & Development by Creative. “ my mouse now, it seems like personal pronouns are not making sense... Please let me introduce you to have “ unconsious ” habits had `` closed. `` same... Best viewed with any standards-compliant browser, if you have any questions or concerns, Please the! Me as to how I should proceed ” at the end of e-mails that the... I often use a simpler term from now on if there might be slightly ). On … ” is correct but informal to feel like they are not appropriate,.. Lot of us since it ’ s some advice: Stop signing e-mails! Old, unconscious habits in your emails I mispelled the word instructors teach otherwise, but now ’! Whether something seems convenient to them that they are not doing anything at..