No matter what industry you work in, no matter what job title you hold, it’s safe to say that emails are part of your daily life. They’re by far the most common business communication channel since the very beginning of the internet, and it looks like it will stay that way for quite some time.
Like with anything repetitive, emails have the tendency to be quite monotonous.
In professional communication, however, it’s always a good idea to be original and stand out from the crowd to better connect with your recipients.
A good chunk of emails include various attachments, be it a business proposal for a potential partner or a CV for a job opening. You’ve probably seen the infamous “please find attached” phrase in this context countless times, but it has become so outdated and overused that you’re better off using some other alternatives in your emails with attachments.
Now that it’s become increasingly easy to find anyone’s email for free and write effective emails with special tools, why not make the most of them by including some of the less annoying alternatives to “please find attached”?
“Please find attached” meaning
We’ve all both received and written emails with this phrase when referring to a certain attachment included in the message. The simple meaning behind “please find attached” is to kindly mention the attached document to the recipient and encourage them to take a look at it.
Sometimes people wonder, which is correct “please find attached” or “please see attached”, and the answer is—both are outdated and should be avoided at all costs!
Why “attached, please find” just doesn’t cut it
Whether it’s “please find attached”, “please find the attached file”, “attached, please find”, or any other spin-off of the phrase, there are numerous reasons why it’s not a good idea to include them in your emails:
- It sounds too formal → chances are, you’re trying to connect with your recipient to discuss business, and even though such communication should always be professional, at the end of the day, you also want to keep it light and friendly.
- It sounds robotic → linking to the previous point, people like connecting with other…people, so it’s always a good rule of thumb to write as you would speak in person to avoid your email sounding robotic or like another mass-sent message.
- It’s become overused → if you don’t want your recipient thinking “just another email” about your message, avoid using overused and cliche jargon in your emails, period.
- It’s quite redundant → once your recipient opens your email, they will undoubtedly see the attachment, so including a CTA for them to “find” it doesn’t make much sense — they will take a look at it regardless (if they’re interested).
Top 30 less annoying “please find attached” alternatives
All that talk about how “please find attached” should be avoided, but what’s the solution?
Well, below we’ve collected our top 30 less annoying alternatives to this phrase for you to include in your emails with attachments. Some of them may be quite similar in nature, but just the sheer fact that they are original and not the traditional cliche phrase is already a big plus!
Let’s take a look at them.
