We all need guidance from time to time, especially in the workplace. But is please advise the right phrase to use in a professional setting?
We’ll address that question below. Furthermore, we’ll provide 10 alternative phrases that you can use to seek advice at work.
10 Alternative Ways to Say “Please Advise”
Consider these 10 examples of how to politely ask for advice:
- Kindly advise me
- Could you let me know what you think?
- Can you give me some advice?
- Please let me know your thoughts
- Please provide some guidance
- Your input would be appreciated
- I would appreciate some feedback
- Do you have any suggestions?
- Any thoughts?
- Do you have any advice?
1. Kindly Advise Me
The phrase kindly advise me is simply a more formal synonym for please advise that you can use when speaking to your employer or a superior at work.
If you’re wondering how to say please advise politely, this phrase is a great option. Furthermore, you can use it when the original phrase starts to feel a tad overused.
Have a look at the email sample below:
Dear Ms. McGee,
I have reached out to the organization’s representative and have had no response.
Could you kindly advise me on the steps I should take next?
Regards,
Joshua Houghton
2. Could You Let Me Know What You Think?
Could you let me know what you think? is a slightly less formal alternative that you can use when speaking to a coworker.
Although this phrase is not particularly stuffy or formal, it is still suitably polite and professional. Therefore, you can use it with a colleague you aren’t especially close to in the office.
For example:
Dear Kendra,
I have attached a draft design below.
Could you let me know what you think of it so far?
Thanks,
Jordan
3. Can You Give Me Some Advice?
If you have a fairly close relationship with one of your colleagues or even your supervisor, you can use the straightforward phrase, can you give me some advice?
This phrase is very to-the-point, making it ideal for a fast-paced office environment. Moreover, if you have a fairly friendly dynamic in your office, you can generally do away with all the stuffy email etiquette when reaching out for help from your peers.
Therefore, let’s see an email example with this phrase in tow:
Hi Beck,
Can you give me some advice on how to follow up with the supplier?
The email doesn’t appear to be working.
All the best,
Oliver
4. Please Let Me Know Your Thoughts
You can use please let me know your thoughts when you are speaking to a client and want to hear their feedback on some work you’ve sent out.
This is a good phrase to use if you run a small business dealing with art or design in particular. After all, you and the client would have to collaborate to bring out what they want from their commission.
Moreover, please let me know your thoughts is a polite and professional alternative to please advise. Therefore, it’s a good option if you want to maintain a formal tone in your emails to clients.
Have a look at the following email sample:
Dear Miss Burke,
I have designed a general composition for the cover of your novel.
Please let me know your thoughts on it so far, and don’t hesitate to suggest any adjustments.
Warm regards,
Tobias Dunn
5. Please Provide Some Guidance
When you’re speaking to your boss or supervisor, you can use please provide some guidance to ask for advice on how you should proceed.
It never hurts to ask for guidance before you act, especially if you are fairly new to your role. After all, acting without checking first can lead to avoidable mistakes!
The inclusion of “please” makes this phrase polite. Moreover, it carries a suitably formal tone for an email to a superior.
Check out the sample email below:
Dear Grace,
Please provide some guidance on how a case summary should be structured for any further proceedings.
Kind regards,
Allison Walker
6. Your Input Would Be Appreciated
Your input would be appreciated is a nicer way to say please advise since it does more than ask for advice or suggestions.
This phrase lets the other person know that you value their opinion and would be grateful to hear their thoughts on a matter. Therefore, this is a warm and polite phrase to use with a colleague when you are seeking their help.
Furthermore, it maintains a fairly formal tone, so you can use it to ingratiate yourself to a colleague you aren’t very close to yet.
Have a look at how we’ve used this phrase in an example:
Dear Benjamin,
I have been struggling with this report, and I understand you may have some insight, as this topic is related to your field of study.
Therefore, your input would be highly appreciated if you have some time to offer it.
Yours sincerely,
Kaden Norris
7. I Would Appreciate Some Feedback
If you are a new member of the workplace, it never hurts to ask for feedback from your boss. This ensures that you avoid any errors in your first few weeks of work.
Therefore, you can use the phrase I would appreciate some feedback to politely request advice on your work.
See the email example below:
Dear Mr. Cunningham,
I would appreciate some feedback on this memorandum, as this is my first attempt at one.
Thank you for any suggestions you can provide.
Regards,
Ashton Kirk
8. Do You Have Any Suggestions?
You can use the phrase do you have any suggestions? when asking your employer or a colleague for input on your work.
Since this alternative is phrased as a question, it comes across as a tad less demanding. After all, it asks whether the recipient has any advice to give, rather than asking for them to provide advice.
Therefore, check out how we’ve used this phrase in a sample email:
Dear Morey,
We were unable to get a comment from the mayor regarding the new bylaw.
Do you have any suggestions regarding how we should proceed?
Regards,
Leonard
9. Any Thoughts?
Another way to say please advise more casually is any thoughts?
This is a very straightforward and to-the-point phrase that you can use when speaking to a colleague, especially if you tend to keep your communications brief and casual in the workplace.
This phrase is especially appropriate if you know your colleague is very busy and there’s no use waffling in your emails.
To see what we mean, have a look at the following example:
Hi Thandiwe,
Our strategy will work if the client has an existing payment plan, but we may have trouble if this is not the case.
Any thoughts?
Regards,
Jenna
10. Do You Have Any Advice?
Another way to ask for help professionally is to use the phrase do you have any advice?
Once again, this alternative is phrased as a question and, therefore, comes across as more tentative. You can use it to politely seek your boss’s or another superior’s guidance.
For instance:
Dear Kathy,
I’m afraid I was unable to access the database due to an error.
Do you have any advice on how to proceed further?
Regards,
Norman
Is It Correct to Say “Please Advise”?
It is perfectly correct to say please advise in an email when you are asking your employer or a colleague for advice on a matter at work.
This phrase’s level of formality makes it suitable to use in correspondence at an array of organizations, and it is especially common in a corporate setting.
Please advise is not inherently rude or passive-aggressive. However, it can come across as a tad impatient, so be sure to include some polite phrases in the rest of your email.
To illustrate what we mean, we’ve drafted some example emails making use of this phrase. Note how it can be used as both a statement and a question:
Dear Ms. Perry,
Unfortunately, our offer has been rejected by the client’s representatives.
Please advise on how we should proceed.
Regards,
Regina Santos
Dear Mr. Russel,
There has been no response from their team as of yet.
Could you please advise me on how to proceed?
Kind regards,
Timothy Foster
To avoid any future embarrassment, we’ll show you a common grammar mistake people make when using this phrase.
Mistake: Using advice instead of advise
- Incorrect: Please advice me.
- Correct: Please advise me.
In this context, it is only correct to use advise since advise is a verb that means to recommend something or provide information to someone. Advice is a noun that refers to information you impart.
Therefore, to use advice correctly, you would have to restructure your sentence as follows:
- Correct: Please give me some advice.
Although please advise is grammatically correct and common to use in professional settings, it may come across as a touch standardized.
Therefore, to zest up your language and reduce repetition in your work emails, you can use one of our alternative phrases.
