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Ask Judy Question #21
Dear Judy: Should more than one "title" ("Mr." and "President") be used in an address, such as:
Mr. James Reed
President, Acme Products Company
I've searched the web, and can't find the answer to my question. Thank you!
Signed...Sharyl in Schnectady
Response from Judy Vorfeld
Dear Sharyl: Yes. When writing a letter to a person in an organization, you certainly can use the courtesy title of "Mr." followed by the name, then the person's job title (and department, if known).
I have no proof, but suspect that many people drop "Mr" and "Ms" because we've gone through a kind of cultural revolution in the U.S. in the last 30 years. Most women in business prefer to be addressed as "Ms," and there's another problem: first names that don't reveal if the person is male or female. Think of ambiguous names like Shannon, Michel, Michal, Hilary, Dana, Jody, Leslie, Lee, Kerry, etc. And then there are those who use initials only in front of their last names.
It's often just safer to leave out the courtesy title altogether. The problem comes when it's time to use the salutation. The Gregg Reference Manual, Ninth Edition, addresses this: "People who use initials in place of their first and middl names or who have ambiguous names...should use a courtesy title when they sign their letters." It goes on to say that when such people don't sign using a courtesy title, they must accept the likelihood that they won't be addressed appropriately.
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