Throughout your workday, you will no doubt have to ask your boss, colleagues, or clients to provide heaps of information so that you can do your job to the best of your abilities.
But is it correct to say please provide in a professional email?
In this article, we’ll look at 10 alternative phrases that you can use when please provide starts to feel worn out.
Thereafter, we’ll discuss the appropriateness of this phrase at work.
10 Alternative Ways to Say “Please Provide”
Check out these 10 examples of how to say please provide professionally:
- Please supply
- Could you please provide me with
- Please give
- Kindly provide
- Please forward
- Would you mind giving me
- Could you give me
- Kindly furnish
- Please deliver
- Please produce
1. Please Supply
Please supply is a direct synonym for please provide. Therefore, this is just as suitable an option when you are asking for specific information from a customer.
Like the original phrase, the addition of “please” keeps this alternative polite and prevents it from sounding too demanding or impatient.
For example:
Dear Beverly,
In order to complete your online refund, please supply the date and reference code on the product’s receipt.
Regards,
Linda Bolt
2. Could You Please Provide Me With
Could you please provide me with comes across as polite and tentative.
This makes it a great option when you are requesting information from your boss or any other superior.
The addition of “could you” essentially means “if you are able to” or “if you have time to.” This makes it far less instructive than simply saying please provide.
This is ideal, as it’s best to avoid a demanding tone when you are speaking to someone higher up in your work hierarchy.
Have a look at how we’ve used this phrase in an email sample:
Dear Nadine,
If possible, could you please provide me with the contact details of Mr. Jones’ representatives?
Kind regards,
Angus
3. Please Give
If you’re speaking to a colleague with whom you have a friendly dynamic, you can be far more straightforward in your emails. Moreover, can generally do away with all the careful etiquette.
Therefore, when you are requesting help or information, you can simply say please give.
The “please” adds a dash of politeness, but the rest of the phrase is very to the point, which is ideal in a fast-paced office environment.
After all, there isn’t always time to beat around the bush!
See the email example below:
Hi Fatima,
Would you please give me the name of the client you were in contact with this morning?
All the best,
Sherman
4. Kindly Provide
Kindly provide is a good formal alternative to please provide.
After all, the use of “kindly” rather than “please” is usually saved for particularly formal exchanges. In fact, you would usually see it in a letter rather than an email.
Nevertheless, this phrase is a good choice if you work in a particularly formal profession, such as a public office or in the courts.
In these circumstances, it is generally essential to maintain a very formal register in your correspondence with the public.
To see what we mean, have a look at the example below:
Dear Mr. Tadmole,
We have received your application.
However, before we may respond, we would ask that you kindly provide the address of your registered office should an inspection be necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Councilor Clay Ackerman
5. Please Forward
In an email exchange, it’s normal to request that information from another email be “forwarded” to you. This is simply another way to provide information quickly and efficiently.
Therefore, when you are asking a colleague to provide information from another email to you, it makes sense to ask them to please forward it.
This phrase is suitably polite to use regardless of your relationship with the receiving coworker. In addition, if you work in an office setting, they are more than likely to understand what this phrase means.
Let’s see it in a sample email:
Dear Lerato,
Please forward the memorandum you received from Elliot yesterday.
I have been asked to make some comments on the content therein.
Regards,
Paula
6. Would You Mind Giving Me
Another way to say please provide is would you mind giving me. This phrase has a more friendly and casual tone than the original.
Therefore, this alternative is best suited for an email to a colleague or anyone equal to you in your workplace’s hierarchy.
Despite its more casual tone, this phrase is still rather polite and tentative.
Therefore, it’s a safe choice if you are speaking to a colleague that you aren’t particularly close to, perhaps because they work in a different department.
Check out the following example:
Dear Keagan,
Would you mind giving me Emily’s contact details so I can reach out regarding the Wellington assignment?
Thanks in advance!
Best,
Shane
7. Could You Give Me
If you have a friendly dynamic with your coworkers, you can generally do away with all the undue politeness and get to the point in your inter-office emails.
Therefore, when you want a colleague you are close with to provide some information or assistance, you can simply ask could you give me rather than a more formal phrase like please provide.
This phrase may feel a tad too abrupt for an email to a client or superior.
However, it’s a good option to use if you know your colleague will appreciate a more clear and direct communication style. After all, you’re probably both very busy!
Have a look at the email sample below:
Dear Afua,
Could you give me the address of Mr. Marx’s registered office?
Thank you!
Corey
8. Kindly Furnish
Kindly furnish is another way of saying please provide when you want to maintain a highly formal tone in your email.
For example, if you are a senior member of your company, you may want to keep the phrasing of your emails as formal as possible when you are engaging with clients.
This is especially the case if you are dealing with a concern or complaint that has been elevated to your desk due to its seriousness.
For instance:
Dear Mr. Horowitz,
If you would kindly furnish my secretary with your details, I will be sure to contact you after I have investigated this matter further.
Kind regards,
Ralph Finch
9. Please Deliver
Another synonym for “provide” is “deliver.” Therefore, in certain circumstances, you can use the more precise phrase, please deliver to request a delivery to your office or desk.
You can use this phrase when speaking to a trainee or any person responsible for providing administrative assistance in your office.
To see what we mean, consider the email example below:
Dear Shelly,
I have attached a series of documents for you to print below.
Please deliver these to Monroe’s desk before the day’s end.
Regards,
Tilda
10. Please Produce
Please produce has slightly different connotations to please provide.
Namely, this phrase implies that you would like the recipient to create something rather than simply handing over existing information.
Nevertheless, there are a number of circumstances in which you could use this phrase at work.
For example, it’s a good phrase to use when you are assigning a task to a trainee or junior member of your team.
The best way to illustrate how to use this phrase is with an example, so have a look at what we’ve drafted below:
Dear Tumi,
I have attached some helpful links for you to look at below.
Please produce an eight-page report on the data you find therein and report some conclusions that you have drawn from the data collection method used.
Regards,
Rasheeda
Is It Correct to Say “Please Provide”?
The phrase please provide is perfectly correct, and you can use it to ask your boss, a colleague, or a client to supply certain information in a work email.
This phrase is suitably professional to include in your work correspondence and the addition of “please” makes it appropriately polite as well.
Therefore, it’s a safe option regardless of whether you work at a small business or a large, corporate organization.
Have a look at these two email examples to see how you can use this phrase in practice:
Dear Mr. Foyer,
In order to finalize your account, please provide your full name and date of birth.
Regards,
Jane Wilkins
Dear Deborah,
Could you please provide the contact details for the freelancer we outsourced last month?
All the best,
Tonya
Although the phrase please provide is polite and grammatically correct, it is a tad standardized.
Therefore, you can use one of the alternatives from our list to mix up your phrasing and keep your work correspondence diverse.
