Usually it comes off as subtly accusatory, in my experience. I agree that in some circumstances “Please advise” can communicate concisely and clearly. I will definitely take your “advise”! Saying “please advise” by itself is redundant. During WWII “radio speak” was developed into an artform and it was important to have a quick version of saying “I need and am expecting you to give me further instructions (advice)”. . I hope you found the discussion helpful. My supervisor uses it in almost every email request. If “advise” is used as intransitive verb, it usually goes with “on”, e.g. It’s fine to say “Please advise me about the software.” You can also say “Please help me with the software” and “I would appreciate your advice on the software.”.
Please advise. Hi, Justin. I’ve always found it to be very passive-aggressive, used in emails chasing up tasks that haven’t been done.
What I dislike about the phrase is, not only how often it gets used, but how often it gets misused. Thanks, Lynn! Evelyn, you and Alex are correct. Depending on the matter we’ll use “Please clarify” or With that said, by not personalizing “Please advise”, the writer is required to provide enough information for the architect or engineer to deduce what is being requested. Re: Can someone please advise on how to proceed. I submit a phrase we can all turn up our noses at … “at my earliest convenience.” Oh how I love hearing that in someone’s voicemail … especially when I’M the CUSTOMER! As you can see from the comments above, many people do not like the phrase “Please advise.” I avoid it. Here’s some advice: Stop signing your e-mails “please advise.” You sound like an idiot. I know I could send the order to the address provided, but as they asked me not to without consulting them, I feel this would be bad customer service. Hi, Enzo. UGH! Great question! It is terrific! . Thank you for making that important point. Which is not a great way to obtain someone’s help via e-mail. I believe you mean that email demands good grammar because it is so easily misinterpreted. Thanks for sharing your appreciation. If you have already asked for something, why not close with this: I work in the construction industry and “Please advise” is a common term used when writing an RFI (Request for Information). She makes a useful point. Thank you! If you have any questions or concerns, please advise. “Advise” is used as an intransitive verb in certain situations. To add an object, you need to write “Please advise me. There is only one thing worse than ‘Please advise’ and that is: What an interesting article – I also stumbled across it after Googling ‘please advise’. Just subscribed to your email listing Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time. The english language can and has been subject to usage. Now I’m a bit confused… What do you say? BusinessWritingBlog has been helping you become a business writing expert since 2005. But if you can follow it, you will be more content when you interact with that person. If one is unconsious, they are not doing anything at all. I was like “OH! I must admit that I am one of those having been signing of emails with “Appreciate your advise (something, such as ‘on your time availability’. Both men and women have criticized “Please advise” in this discussion, and I can’t say that more men than women use it. If you say -- How would you like to proceed -- then that is a question you should say -- How you would like to proceed.
Hi, LisaMarie. I received an email from an institution of higher education saying, “Please be advice that the office does not open till Monday.” Thanks for the article. You didn’t attack anyone. Thanks again. I learned the phrase from working at a law firm where correspondence to attorneys needed to be short, sweet and to the point. I googled this post after looking through a series of emails from a client, all of which contained ‘please advise’. “Please respond” is not very specific.
Neither is “If you have any questions, please advise.” Using “please advise” in those examples is a bad, unconscious verbal habit. Dan Palmer, I am not a fan of “please advise” at all, but I do have to respectfully disagree with your comment. Many professional writing instructors teach otherwise, but I believe maintaining a rigid, professional writing style and structure goes a long way. I understand they would have received a notification regarding this extension.
It may take time, since people land here only when they search for “Please advise.”. Hello, Rab. Thanks for sharing your view, Jeff. 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. I appreciate your encouragement:-). I wouldn't "hold" the item for this customer; something is going on since she hasn't responded to your messages. My team constantly uses this phrase. . I found this blog by searching for an alternative to “let me know,” because I use it too often. As a stuffy pompous attorney, I’ll continue using “Please advise” in moderation and where appropriate. Use whatever sounds natural. That’s certainly more than to just, “tell.”. I'm not sure whether I should post on this board or the board referring to customer service, but I have a small dilemma and would appreciate some feedback before I decide how to proceed. Be courteous in your email, and you’ll get better results. Filter. The other day I received an e-mail that said, “Please advise the student who is hosting the seminar speaker”. I think it sounds better than than switching that out with. We are a retired couple, living in the town of Lakewood, central NJ. By simply using impersonal pronouns, we bypass the potential for drama. Thanks!! . When “Please advise” is used, it should be clear by the content of the email on what advice is needed. While I agree with most of the statements in your article, I find it odd that we should reject this commonly used phrase simply based on the fact that it is habitually used. Ludwig is the first sentence search engine that helps you write better English by giving you contextualized examples taken from reliable sources. The customer did not respond, so I waited a day or two and then messaged again to ask them to confirm where they were wanting the order to go. According to the dictionaries I looked up the word in (like Alex above did), it is both a transitive as well as an intransitive verb. My brain says this when reading it: You just asked me a question. And don’t get me started on the utterly bizarre use of “revert” for “reply”…. Thank you Lynn. If I were to follow with “Please advise us of the missing page”, it may be construed as criticism, thereby triggering an ego. Marco, I am all for googling, and I use google as a verb. Excellent! We all have unconscious habits. Cheers! . I’ll definitely be more conscious of it going forward! I will update this blog post to clarify and correct what I meant. The original deed of land is actually a true copy of an Exchange deed duly registered in the year 1968. Thank you for your interesting addition to this discussion that just won’t quit! Sorry for the rant. Let’s see if you get a response to your question. Thank you for this post which has given me the perspective to use my normal vocabulary, and avoid the dark path into obscurantism (and douchebagetry). Granted not every catchy phrase or term gets an addition to its definition but I’m sure it will at least fall into the “unofficial” usuage. I appreciate your comment. They were all drawers I had "closed.". Please advise, Remember to relax and choose your battles. 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. In that case, is it OK for the following:
I looked it up in the Webster’s Dictionary. All these days I was thinking that Please advise means please get back to me with your suggested answer which looked polite. But, what phrase should I replace ‘Please advise’ if I really wish to get advise from my Boss? I would not judge the entire school on one or two messages with mistakes. Can someone please advise on how to proceed? Then 6 months later, my boss told me the other way, saying that it should be “Please adviCe” not “advise”.
Luckily, I’m a freelance provider now and I have all the luxury to “Google” for incorrect usage of the English language. I was confused–until I looked around the room and saw several drawers open about two inches. . Could someone please advise how best to proceed? “Please get back to me with your suggestions.”. Unless the phrase inhibits communication, why not try to accept and even enjoy it? By clicking "I Accept" or "X" on this banner, or using our site, you accept our cookie and privacy policy. You just expressed a bit of frustration. Hi, JJH. I suppose it depends on how you set the message up. You can also take an ‘ing’ (ie, not a person) for an object: “I advise ‘taking’ a cab”. Sign up for free or try Premium free for 15 days, © 2014-2020 Ludwig S.R.L.S. — who advise him on how best to proceed. I use this phrase at the end of e-mails that express the need for assistance. .
Sorry! However, when we corresponded with other departments, I spotted mistakes. Hi Lynn, just found your blog when I google on when to use “advise” and “advice” and I must say this is a really interesting article. Hello, Peter. What an unfortunate sentence! However, I suspect my colleagues will think that *I* am the one who does not understand normal business communication if I write, “Please advise me of the status,” since no one ever adds the direct object to this phrase!