My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It’s always felt to me like the one, true American holiday. Almost everyone celebrates it and for these reasons, it is appropriate to discuss the critical communication skill of saying thank you.
Most people, including myself at times, are guilty of emailing thank yous. It’s understandable. Someone does something nice and the immediate reaction is to thank the person. The quickest way to do it is to fire off an email. Showing gratitude, however, is a key interpersonal skill. I see it as a leadership skill. At the very least, it demonstrates that the thanker has good manners. As such, it takes some thought.
The problems with saying thank you by email, txt or IM, are legion, but chief among them is that such messages get buried in the hundreds of communiqués we all receive every day. In addition, there is something terribly impersonal about emailed thank yous.
So I’m pleased to report there is a better way: A handwritten thank you note.
I have been preaching about handwritten thank you notes for years. A handwritten note rises above the clutter of email so effectively. Think about it: You may not respond to most of the hundreds of emails you get each day. But I’ll wager you immediately open a piece of mail with a handwritten address and that doesn’t come in a #10 envelope. I know I do.
I love getting these thoughtful notes.The act communicates so much: The writer took time, she or he cares, the receiver is important. When was the last time an email made you feel that way?
Marc Halpert of Your Best Interest LLC, has begun to send out handwritten thank you notes to all his clients at Thanksgiving instead of sending Christmas cards. The note is simple:
Dear ____
There is no better time to say thank you to our loyal customers than during this early holiday season.
We appreciate working with you and would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours good health and happiness in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Marc W. Halpert
Last year Mark sent about 110 cards and received 3 new pieces of business. Clients felt so good about him as a result of receiving his note, they referred him to others. This year, he tells me, he sent out 200 – that’s 200 handwritten and addressed notes. It’s time consuming so requires planning. But the results speak for themselves. Marc told me that he dropped in on a client this week and the client said, “Oh, it’s the thank you note man.”
Marc and I agree that sending handwritten notes is so rarely done, it always gets noticed and – this is key – the reaction is always positive.
I don’t do Thanksgiving notes the way Marc does, but I always write a note when someone does something nice for me. I sometimes write them at other times such as when I see someone I know mentioned in the news or, of course, to express sympathy or good wishes when someone is ill. Some people have personalized cards printed with their business logo or initials. My preferred method is to use art cards (I’m currently into the impressionists). I write 2 or 3 sentences, address the envelope including my return address and – this is worth the price of admission – use a nice stamp. They cost exactly the same as the boring stamps. (NEVER use the postage meter – way to ruin the moment.) In certain cases, I include my business card.
Anyway, I would love to hear your stories of sending and receiving thank yous, both handwritten and not.
Ruth Sherman • Ruth Sherman Associates, LLC • Greenwich, CT • www.ruthsherman.com
technorati tags: communication, leadership, Thanksgiving, giving thanks, handwritten notes
Related Stories: | Topics:Leadership, Marc Halpert, Greenwich (Connecticut), Ruth Sherman, Ruth Sherman Associates LLC, Best Interest LLC |
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Recent Comments | 15 Total
November 16, 2007 at 1:40pm by Katherine Santer
Dear Ruth,
I just read your post on how nice it is to send a handwritten thank you card, but of course people get caught up in their busy lives and resort to emails and IM's instead! It's such a shame! I thought I'd bring your attention to Jackcards.com - a new site where customers can buy paper greeting cards online and have them delivered to them complete with a stamped, addressed envelope. The site (I am a co-founder) was recently featured in Daily Candy, you can read the article here: http://www.dailycandy.com/boston/article/33305/A+Friendly+Reminder
Once cards arrive in your mailbox, all you need to do is handwrite your sentiment inside and pop it in the closest mailbox. Best of all, Jack Cards has brought together over 40 hand-picked independent designers from around the world, (incl. Black Pearl Press, Night Owl Designs, Bald Guy Greetings, KOCO, Uncooked…) all in one place, selected for their elegant, funny, witty, or exquisitely crafted collections. There are over 1000 greeting cards, with a range of price points to choose from.
The site is www.jackcards.com. We'd love to know what you think of it!
Have a great day!
Katherine
Co-Founder, Jack Cards, LLC
November 17, 2007 at 9:21pm by janeen
I like your post about sending cards to others instead of emails during Thanksgiving. Technology has made many things seem impersonal and sending cards and letters are much more sincere. My family thought it to be somewhat disgraceful not to send family, friends, and loved ones cards during holidays.
It is nice to see some people still care enough to keep some traditions alive.
November 27, 2007 at 3:45pm by Ruth Sherman
I checked out (briefly) Katherine's site and it looks good! What a great idea to make it easier for people to send a handwritten card. Thanks, Katherine!
November 27, 2007 at 3:47pm by Ruth Sherman
There is really just no substitute for a handwritten note and I can't see that there ever will be. Clearly, the personal touch works and others such as Janeen are getting the word out. Thanks for writing!
November 28, 2007 at 10:07am by eileen oliver
I love this article and support its value whole heartedly.
I am known as the queen of thank you notes - and usually always include a cartoon that has meaning for the recipient of the card.
Keith Pelley (president of the Toronto Argonauts) introduced me as "the lady who sends the great hand written thank you cards" at a fund raiser - and I was very touched. People remember and cherish cards like this, and remember the sender in a positive way.
November 28, 2007 at 1:40pm by Catherine Tierney
Ruth, Thank you so much for this wonderful reminder! Just as some folks collect art or sports memorabilia, I have saved every handwritten card/note that I've received over the course of my 31 years at the company - starting with the first one I received from my boss for a job well done. After reading your article I reflected on the fact that now that I am the CEO, I've been seduced by the ease and quickness of email. Shame on me! I'm starting my New Year's Resolution today - only handwritten notes of thanks, celebration and congratulations from me from now on!! P.S. Thanks to Katherine and jackcards for making it easier!!
November 28, 2007 at 2:31pm by Sariya Jarasviroj
Dear Ruth,
Your post resonates with the way I enjoy conducting business: personally and meaningfully.
Many of us are surgically attached to our email and must routinely duck to stay out of communications way. I find that writing a "snail mail" thank you note allows me a few minutes to relax and reflect on the virtues of my client.
This always seems to lead to more and better business between our companies, as well as improving my own disposition.
Cheers!
Sariya Jarasviroj
Vin Divino Ltd.
November 28, 2007 at 2:39pm by Conrad Prusak
Dear Ruth,
You wrote one of the most helpful and intelligent pieces currently on the Web. Thank YOU for taking the time to make your point and share it.
I was intrigued by Katherine Santer's contribution to your comments section. I invite you to visit www.sendoutcards.com/conrad , where I will gladly give you, or anyone else interested, a free gift account to send a personalized greeting card (thank you or otherwise), that will be printed, stamped, and sent for you at the click of a button. Please let me know what you think with a reply to conrad@sendoutcards.com, if you wish.
Happy Holidays,
Conrad
November 28, 2007 at 5:32pm by Rob
It seems that everyone agrees with you on this and so do I! But the reality is, while everyone agrees and talks about how great and effective these are, few people actually go through the act of doing it!
But I feel that it is worth mentioning the benefits of extending this practice beyond just thank you notes. I learned the value of hand written notes from my dad who uses them in his business. He is a highly ranked executive with a major worldwide company and he takes this idea even further with great responses. He has developed the habit of paying attention to employee contributions on all levels, and sends out quick cards telling them good job on such-and-such project/task and "Keep up the HUSTLE!" These "Hustle" cards have gotten to be a badge of honor for those who receive them and have had a greater impact than he ever imagined!
People always appreciate when their work is noticed and taking the time to write them a note about their specific contributions goes a long way towards boosting their motivation and overall job satisfaction. For those of you that already send thank you notes, I would encourage you to consider implementing this practice in other areas as well and I think you will agree that the results are far beyond what you ever expected! Thanks Ruth, great topic!
November 28, 2007 at 6:37pm by Carlos R. Hernandez
I too advocate the hand-written "Thank You" notes, but admittedly resorted to personal phone calls to friends and left voice messages as needed during Thanksgiving week.
Thanks for the Jackcards.com tool idea!
November 29, 2007 at 1:42am by B. Gayathri
Dear Ruth,
Wonderful massage. I think I should start posting Thank you card.
Thanks & Regards,
B. Gayathri
December 3, 2007 at 8:03pm by Ruth Sherman
It's remarkable that Catherine has held onto notes for over 3 decades! I share her fondness for handwritten correspondence. It really is so meaningful. It also has a tactile sensory element. I'm so pleased that I've created a spark that has re-kindled Catherine's desire to get back to basics by handwriting notes and thank yous.
December 3, 2007 at 8:09pm by Ruth Sherman
Sariya points out yet another benefit -- the ability to relax and reflect, too often missing from our hectic lives. And the good feelings go round and round.
December 3, 2007 at 8:14pm by Ruth Sherman
Rob's story about his father is a terrific variation on the theme. People just want to be acknowledged for their hard work and a job well done. This type of gesture pays big dividends in loyalty and productivity.
September 29, 2008 at 11:10pm by Jennifer Taylor
Hi Ruth,
What a great article! You’re spot on!
Sending a handwritten note is a great way to let customers and colleagues know that you genuinely value them in a way that email rarely does.
Going one step further - I think that many businesses have realized the value of sending a personal card and use correspondence services to send thank you notes and holiday cards. However these services can often seem as impersonal as an email in that the products they use are lower in quality and mass produced.
We started GreetQ.com (online at www.greetq.com) with this problem in mind. I am the cofounder of GreetQ and we provide a service where our customers and personalize and schedule paper cards to be mailed online. Cards can be scheduled, or “queued” at once for an entire year of on an as-needed basis. Customers use our services for both business and personal correspondence and like our variety of options – as well as the neat “queuing” model. At greetq.com, customers can choose to have their personal messages either handwritten by a member of our staff or printed in one of our beautiful script-style typefaces. Some customers prefer to sign the cards themselves, so we offer the option to send preaddressed cards directly to the customer so they can sign and post themselves. We’ve also focused on having a large selection of high-quality cards such as letterpress and silk-print styles to avoid the mass-marketing feel.
It’s truly a complete correspondence service!
Anyhow, I wanted to bring greetq.com to you attention as our customers have found it to be indispensible for both business and personal correspondence. Also, we welcome feedback!
Thanks,
Jennifer, GreetQ.com