Cool Tip: The Art of the Thank you Note

As we think about the approach of Mother’s Day, we’re reflecting on one of the lessons our mothers taught us at an early age: remember to send Thank You Notes. One of the things we seem to have lost during the Pandemic is the habit of writing Thank You Notes! … and that’s a shame! But now, as we begin to travel and socialize, this once again has become an important courtesy to remember.

A Thank You Note, at its essence, is an acknowledgement, after the fact, that someone went out of their way to do something nice for you. While we almost always remember to say “Thank You” at the time, a Thank You Note shows a consideration and deeper appreciation by the sender…and makes the recipient feel that their efforts were well spent.

There is, of course, a hierarchy of Thank You Notes, but that is less important than the fact of conveying one. At the top of the Thank You Note food chain is the hand written note. There is nothing that quite compares to the feeling you get when you receive a hand-written Thank You Note. But this is followed closely by a phone call or an email. Obviously, the more personal you can make it, the better: “the pasta carbonara was out of this world” … “you made your beautiful dinner look easy, but I know it took a lot of effort” ... “you made us feel very welcome, indeed” … “thank you for including us in this elegant evening of good friends and good food” … “the setting was so warm and festive” … etc.

The key is that it’s your purpose-built communication to thank someone for an effort on your behalf. It doesn’t take much time or energy to be a gracious guest! And it just may get you invited back!