Your Formality Guide

Use this quick map to set the dial:

• Stay formal when: meeting someone new, writing to a senior, or handling a complaint
• Go professional-casual when: they use your first name, joke, or reply with contractions
• Go fully casual when: they say "no need to be formal" or you already have an easy rapport
• Hold the line in: cover letters, formal reports, and messages to strangers

When unsure, start one notch more formal than feels needed and ease down from there.