Per Our Conversation: 5 New Ways to Say This Traditional Phrase

No one wants to be known as the king or queen of boring conversations. One way to prevent tedium is to avoid predictable speech patterns. Are you guilty of overusing “per our conversation?” Grab your listener’s attention with five fresh variations!

If You Want to Give Credit for an Idea

1 As Mentioned When you say “per our conversation,” your listeners understand that a conversation took place. But who said what? If you insert the name of the speakers, you minimize the possibility of confusion. “As mentioned” allows you to specify the speaker.Here are a couple of examples:

As I mentioned, the meeting on Sunday will cover the five principles of effective communication.

As the contractors mentioned, the tile in the bathroom is in dire need of repair.

Of course, you can use “as mentioned” without pointing out the speaker if keeping track of conversants isn’t your goal.

As mentioned at the board meeting, Gary Schlepper will be responsible for providing the snacks for our annual company picnic.

If You Want to Give a Reminder

2 As Agreed Often, the motive behind a “per our conversation” email is to remind others of something they said they would do. The best phrase for the job is “as agreed.” If you made a contract, this expression is especially useful for reminding different parties of their obligations.

As agreed, your company is expected to deliver the tables and chairs to the venue before 8 am.

As agreed, the contract revision period will end on July 5, 2018. We will not consider requests after this date.

To Explain The Results of a Conversation

3 Following Our Conversation

“That changes everything!” Have you ever made that exclamation after a conversation reveals surprising information? “Following our conversation” is a handy phrase to show the effect of new details. Take a look at these examples published online:

Thank you again for the interview on Wednesday. I am very excited about this position and your company. Following our conversation, I realized there were two more things I wanted to tell you that time didn’t permit us to cover.

Following our conversation, the superintendent recommended to the Board of Education that I be appointed principal of that school and the Board approved his recommendation.

Dorwin LlewelldynHoward, Sr.,

If the above examples seem too formal, you can easily replace “conversation” with a more casual term such as “chat,” “talk,” or even “convo.” However, in a legal context, you may encounter an even more formal way to say “following our conversation.”

4 Pursuant to our conversation/In pursuance of Do pursuant and pursuance remind you of a verb? If you said pursue, you have found a clue to understanding these terms. Pursuant means “in accordance with” and pursuance refers to the execution or carrying out of something. “Pursuant to” and “in pursuance of” our conversation are used when an action follows as a result of a discussion. Notice the following example:

Pursuant to our conversation, I have enclosed for your review a rough sketch of the dress design. If the design meets your approval, please return the sketch and down payment for your garment in the envelope provided.

Note: According to the Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals, these two phrases are too formal for non-legal correspondence. In a section on clichés, K. Dennis Chambers challenges “pursuant to our conversation”: “Would you ever say that in real life? Would you sit down with a colleague over coffee and say, ‘Hey, Joshua, pursuant to our last conversation. . .?’” Most people wouldn’t. If you are an exception, you might want to risk trying these two controversial options for the sake of variety.

To Summarize

Summarizing a conversation is an essential practice if you want to create a record for reference or to make sure that both parties understand each other. In this case, the simple “according to” is the most appropriate phrase to recap a conversation.

5 According to

According to our conversation, the following updates will go live on Thursday, April 11:

(1) The new webpage will go live. (2) Employee discounts will increase from 10% to 15% of the sales price. (3) We will implement casual Friday.

Did I miss anything?

According to our conversation, articles will be due at midnight until further notice.

Here’s another reason to avoid using “per our conversation.” The Handbook of Technical Writing classifies the word “per” as jargon when it’s used to mean “according to.” What do you say? Will you freshen up your vocabulary with one of these five fresh phrases today?

Punctuation Standards in British English

There are certain punctuation standards in British English that are important for a writer to understand. Even the most insightful article might be dismissed by readers because of punctuation errors, even if they have nothing to do with the merit of the content. Some mistakes crop up time and time again, making them understandable, but all the harder to excuse. Consider these punctuation pitfalls in British English that often trap the unwary.

The misaligned quotation mark.

This problem arises from a difference between American and British English. Writers mistakenly put full stops and commas inside quotation marks (the American way) when they should be outside (the British way). Further confusion arises from the fact that British English does follow the American format in fiction, when characters are speaking. For example:

Correct in British non-fiction: The gentleman said “good morning”, which was pleasant. Correct in American non-fiction: The gentleman said “good morning,” which was pleasant. Correct in British fiction: “Good morning,” said the gentleman.

Note that question marks and exclamation marks are placed inside the quotation marks if they are part of the text being quoted. They go outside if they are part of the entire sentence.

The errant apostrophe.

This tiny symbol can make or break a piece of writing, simply by being one space to the left or right. To academics and many employers, a misplaced apostrophe sticks out like a sore thumb. The confusion arises with the difference between the plural and possessive. For example:

A word can be made plural by adding an s, as in Davids, meaning more than one David. A word is made possessive by adding an apostrophe before an s, as in David’s, meaning belonging to David. A plural noun is made possessive by adding an apostrophe after the s, as in Davids’.

The treacherous its vs. it’s.

This problem catches many writers, because it doesn’t quite follow the usual rules of apostrophes. The confusion comes from the fact that it’s is not possessive but rather a contraction. The apostrophe and s replace is or has. Meanwhile, its is not plural; it is the possessive form of it. For example:

Make it possessive with an extra s, as in ‘This building had its opening last year’. Use it’s to indicate a contraction of it is or it has, as in ‘It’s not your fault’ or ‘It’s been cold this winter’. When in doubt, try inserting is or has into your sentence after it and seeing whether the sentence still makes sense.

The confusing comma.

Many writers misplace commas, largely because they think of comma placement asa stylistic choice, not subject to any hard rules. This is not quite true, because misused commas can make text very difficult to read. For example:

Too few commas result in an unwieldy block of text: To place your commas consider the points in a sentence where you would naturally stop for breath or pause for effect when the sentence is read aloud that way the sentence will read much better.

The example above is missing a crucial comma. It also runs two sentences into one.

To place your commas, consider the points in a sentence where you would naturally stop for breath or pause for effect when the sentence is read aloud. That way, the sentence will read much better.

The suspect semicolon.

The problem with the semicolon is that it often gets used where a colon or dash would be better. People can generally spot a place where one of these punctuation marks is needed, but they may not know which one to select. A semicolon does not perform the same function as a colon, and the two are not interchangeable. For example:

To merge two clauses or sentences into one sentence, use a semicolon: Brian chose to buy a blue sweater; it matched his new trainers. To begin a list, use a colon: Brian bought several items: a blue sweater, blue trainers, and a top hat. The dash and colon are broadly interchangeable, but the colon is more formal and the dash is more like a dramatic pause, used more aptly in fiction.

The frustrating full stop.

Known in American punctuation as the ‘period’, the full stop is fairly straightforward. Nevertheless, there is one circumstance when it’s very easily misplaced, which again refers to a distinction between the rules of American English and British English.

The circumstance in question is the placement of a full stop after an abbreviated title, such as ‘Mr’, as an abbreviation of ‘Mister’. British English punctuation does not require a full stop after an abbreviated title, so long as the last letter of the abbreviation matches that of the full word. When this is not the case, a full stop is added. For example, ‘Dr’ ends in an ‘r’, which is the same as the last letter of ‘Doctor’, so no full stop is needed. American English requires a full stop, or period, after all abbreviated titles. For example:

Correct in British English: ‘Mister’ is abbreviated to ‘Mr’ without the addition of a full stop. Correct in American English: ‘Mister’ is abbreviated to ‘Mr.’ with the addition of a full stop. Correct in British English: ‘Professor’ is abbreviated to ‘Prof.’ with the addition of a full stop.

In Between or In-between–What’s the Difference?

In between should always appear as two words. Although inbetween is common, it is a misspelling and does not appear in any English dictionary. Unnecessarily adding in to between is also a common grammatical mistake. As a compound adjective, in-between should be hyphenated.

Between, On Its Own, Is Often the Correct Choice

When we speak, we often add in before between when it isn’t needed. It’s not the worst thing in the world to do, but be careful not to let it creep into your writing. Between can be used several ways as a preposition or an adverb, but the confusion of between vs. in between tends to arise when we use between as a preposition that means “in the time, space, or interval that separates.”

Please have the movers place the bed in between the two nightstands.

Because between already means “in the space that separates” in this sentence, an extra in is redundant. There is no other kind of between than the “in that space” sort; there is no on between, no at between, no through between, and so on. There is no need for a preposition in addition to between.

Please have the movers place the bed between the two nightstands.

Here the preposition between has an object, the two nightstands, and together they form the prepositional phrase between the two nightstands. In cases when between is used a preposition but does not have an object, it will feel more natural to use in between.

I go to the gym on Mondays, on Saturdays, and sometimes in between.

The dog ran off with his prize, while the boy was left with two hot dog buns and nothing in between.

The most important thing to remember is that when used together, in between is never spelled as one word.

A Phrasal Verb Makes Neighbors of In and Between As a Part of a Phrasal Verb

When in is part of a phrasal verb—that is, idiomatically connected to a verb in an indispensable way—it might fall naturally before between even if between has an object. Two examples of phrasal verbs containing in are pull in and drop in.

The Hummer’s owner inconsiderately pulled in between two “No Parking” signs.

Feel free to drop in between the hours of nine and ten o’clock.

In both of these sentences, in functions as part of a phrasal verb and not with the preposition between.

In-Between Should Be Hyphenated as an Adjective

Occasionally,in and between join forces as a compound adjective before a noun in the sense of “intermediate,” and when they do, spell them with a hyphen for readability.

I would grow my hair longer, but I dread that awful in-between stage.

8 Email Tips for Introverts

According to the Myers-Briggs Foundation, you are an introvert if you feel most comfortable focusing on “your own inner world.” External world activities, such as talking with people directly or on the phone, prove challenging. While emailing may seem less intense, it has its challenges too. These eight tips are specially designed to make emailing as painless as possible for introverts.

1Minimize follow-ups by being thorough.

If you send an email, the last thing you want is to leave questions unanswered. People will reply to get clarification, or worse yet, they will want to talk in person. The best way to avoid this awkward situation is to cover all the details in one communiqué. Let’s look at a good and bad example.

I am updating the employee records. Please send a recent copy of your CV and a photo.

As a part of standard protocol, I am updating everyone’s employee records. Please email me a copy of your most recent CV. I also need a 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) headshot photograph taken within the last year. It doesn’t have to be professional, but it must have a solid color background. It will be used to print new identification cards, so pick one that you like!

The second example answers (and avoids) possible follow-up conversations. It encourages people to respond by email instead of dropping the materials at your office. Here are a few of the questions it answers: Why do you need the photograph? What size? Does it have to be professional? You can even go the extra mile by attaching examples of what you want your colleagues to send.

2Keep it short and sweet.

Being thorough is necessary; being wordy is not. The longer your email is, the harder it is for readers to get the point. Busy coworkers might miss the most important points if your email is a five-paragraph essay. Instead, use bullet points or include a summary at the beginning of the message. You can also add links to relevant information without spelling them out in the body of the text.

3Let your personality shine.

Email is the perfect medium to showcase your hidden talents and personality traits. For example, you probably wouldn’t be caught dead chatting at the water cooler. However, you might be quite funny with your close friends. Go ahead and be comical in your emails and group chats. If even a virtual joke seems too scary, put emojis to work! These cute little characters can roll on the floor laughing or give a cheeky wink for you. (Take into consideration the culture of your workplace. If it’s very formal, emoticons may be inappropriate.) You can also use emails to commend others, share messages with a big group, or take the lead. You don’t have to be limited by shyness if you have a computer and a keyboard.

4Practice crowd control.

Virtual groups are almost as bad as their real-life counterparts. To avoid them, limit your use of CC and BCC. (CC means “carbon copy.” BCC is blind carbon copy. You use these features to send emails to multiple recipients.) In most instances, it’s better to send each a personalized email. If you need to start a thread, include only the people essential to the task at hand. Otherwise, you might start a “reply all” nightmare. Learn more about how to CC wisely in this article about email habits.

5Answer right away.

Are you guilty of procrastination? Many introverts dread interaction, so they put off situations that bring them into contact with others. Don’t let this tendency creep into your emailing habits. Handle the majority of your emails with the 2-2-2 rule. Check your emails at least twice a day, at the beginning and toward the end of the workday. Answer immediately all emails that will take less than two minutes to handle. Star the remaining messages or mark them as unread. Set aside two hours every week to deal with these more lengthy follow-ups.

6Some emails are rhetorical.

Like questions, not every email needs an answer. Rather than stress out about replying to every email, ask yourself if the sender expects a response. For example, you can safely ignore forwards, newsletters, and voluntary surveys. Consider setting up a rule in your inbox that will automatically forward messages like these to a separate folder. On the other hand, make sure to answer invitations and direct emails promptly. If you are the sender, there’s nothing wrong with saying that no reply is required unless they have questions.

7Skip the email.

Some situations, such as asking for a promotion or expressing sympathy, are better handled in person. Email is often an inadequate means to convey a complex emotion or to deal with serious issues. Though talking face to face may seem difficult, it is preferable to inadvertently causing confusion or offense with a poorly worded email. Furthermore, never discuss private matters in an email. If you are uncomfortable with the information being forwarded or shared, it doesn’t belong in a message. If email is unavoidable, take your time. Before you send it, read it over in the perspective of the recipient. Do you sound like a human? Did you convey the right tone?

8Clinch the closing.

In real life, you may find yourself slinking slowly away from the person in an attempt to bring a discussion to a close. Why is it so difficult to end a conversation? First of all, you might want to omit an email signature. After all, don’t you want them to reply by email? If you include your phone number or your address, your are sending the signal that you welcome phone calls and visits. You know you don’t want to do that! Instead, just wrap up the message with a simple email closing. They shouldn’t be extravagant. If in doubt, “thanks” is almost always appropriate.

Which of these eight pointers will you try first? If you can master the art of effective emails, you can cultivate better relationships with others while simultaneously reducing the amount of physical interaction you have with them. What introvert could ask for anything more?

Should I Use Will or Would in an If-Clause?

Many writers wonder if it’s equally correct to use “will” or “would” in an if-clause. The short answer is no, but there are exceptions to the rule. An if- or when-clause (often used to form conditional sentences) generally does not contain “will,” which is the simple future tense of the verb “to be.” One exception is when the action in the if- or when-clause takes place after that in the main clause. For example, consider the following sentence:

If aspirin will ease my headache, I will take a couple tonight instead of this horrible medicine.

The action in this sentence is the aspirin easing the headache, which will take place only after the speaker takes them later that night.

Another exception is when “will” is not being used as an auxiliary verb, but as a modal verb. In other words, “will” is permitted when it is being used to politely express willingness, persistence or a wish. For example, consider the following sentence:

I think I will warm some water for tea if you will excuse me.

The speaker will only warm up the water if he is excused by the listener.