How to use ”give a heads up” in emails

What does “give someone a heads up” mean?

“Give a heads up” means to inform or notify someone about something in advance, mainly as a courtesy or to allow them to prepare. It is often used to let someone know about a change or upcoming event that may affect them in some way.

Informal

“Give a heads up” is an informal expression. It’s fine to use it with colleagues in internal emails but should be avoided when emailing clients and business partners if you do not have a very close relationship with them.

Example of usage

If you are a manager and you want to let your team know about a change in the schedule for an upcoming meeting, you might say “I wanted to give you a heads up that the meeting on Thursday has been moved to Friday at 3pm.” This lets the team members know about the change in advance, so they can adjust their schedules accordingly.

In short, “give a heads up” is a soft and friendly warning about something.

Example sentences from emails

• Just wanted to give you a heads up that the deadline for the proposal has been moved up to next Wednesday.
• I wanted to give you a heads up that I will be out of the office for the next two days for a family emergency.
• Heads up – there was a mistake in the budget report that was sent out earlier. The correct version is attached.
• I wanted to give you a heads up that there has been a change in the meeting schedule. The meeting on Thursday has been moved to Friday at 3pm.
• I wanted to give you a heads up that the client has requested to change the scope of the project. I will send over the revised proposal as soon as it is ready.