Instead of churning out what is – let’s face it – a meaningless bit of placeholder text, Evans recommends either cutting out the niceties entirely and launching straight into what you’re there to say. Or if that seems altogether too brusque, consider replacing the dreaded phrase with something else.

“Find something – literally anything – to prove that you are not a robot built for the mundane task of churning out rote correspondence,” says Evans.

Her suggested alternatives include commenting on the weather, or throwing in a reference to current cultural events. (The key here is choosing your topic carefully: keep things light, but still professional. Unless you already know that they’re as gripped as you, asking how they feel about the latest chapter in the Hiddleswift saga might not fly.)

And if you really can’t think of anything else to say, simply find a more interesting way of phrasing “I hope you’re well”. Ask how their summer’s going, or say, “I hope life’s treating you well at XYZ Company!” Basically, make it plain that you’ve personalised the email for them and them alone.

“The most important thing to do when writing an email to anyone – be it work correspondence or a love letter or a threat to your enemies – is to ask yourself, do you actually hope this person is well?” Evans concludes. “If you do, then find some sincere way to say that instead of a bottled expression that has come to mean anything but.”

The one compulsive phrase you should never use to start a work email