One of our followers, Amy Nelson-Koorstad, from Fullerton, CA sent us this tip about an article in this month’s Real Simple magazine. Thanks for info Amy! Who knew that there’d be a nice little write up by author and filmmaker, Amy Krous Rosenthal about writing thank-you notes.
I first have to thank Ms. Rosenthal because she so elegantly puts into words all the reasons I believe this is important, and she did it all in a handy-dandy THANKS acronym. I have to retype this since there’s no web link on Real Simple’s site (or at least I couldn’t find one). If you are an avid Real Simple reader, go to the April edition, page 220 (part of the “If you’re going to stop and smell a flower, make it a gardenia” article).
Amy succinctly gives these reasons to write thank-you notes:
Think so? Do so. Once the tiniest glimmer of “I should write a thank-you note” enters your mind, honor it. Sure, you can rationalize why you don’t need to, but then you’re just seizing an opportunity to hone your already sharp rationalizing skills.
Hygiene. I put thank-you notes in a category I call “interpersonal hygiene.” Do it out of common courtesy. Don’t do it all and you kinda stink.
Alternate ideas. Have fun with it! A traditional card works fabulously, but if that’s feeling boring, reach for a sheet of sandpaper (“Thanks for helping me through a rough time”), write a haiku (“Thaiku very much”), or try one of my favorites: a miniature note sent via the World’s Smallest Postal Service).
Nice, nicer, nicest. A quick thank-you via text or Facebook is at the low end of the nice spectrum. A chunky e-mail is nicer. Mailed letter is way nicest. I think the genral rule of thumb could be: The more ephemeral the medium, the less meaningful it is.
Keeping score. People will sometimes claim they don’t want a thank-you note—”they just want to be sure you received the gift.” Let me translate for you: “Yes, a thank-you note would have meant a lot.”
Special. It feels good to receive a special note.
I really enjoyed Amy’s candid and fun way to explain the importance of thank-you notes. I especially liked the Alternate ideas, which I believe can apply to any type of note. For example, yesterday my wife went to a baby shower and gave the WTF! card. Now, admittedly this takes a ballsy person to send any day of the week, but a baby shower? Inside she wrote in big letters, WHAT TINY FUN! An unexpected greeting … that got a lot of laughs!
Thanks again to Amy and Amy. I only wish I had both of their addresses to send them a thank-you note!
