The Art of Thank You Note Writing
If you're new to The Art of Manliness, you may want to sign up for a daily dose of manliness either by email or by RSS. You may also want to check out our free e-book on how to be a gentleman in 2008. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to man up!
Gratitude is a virtue every man should cultivate. Yet gratitude means nothing if you haven’t mastered the art of expressing it. A man should use every opportunity to express to those around him how much he appreciates their love, support, and generosity. One of the key ways of expressing gratitude is the thank you note. Unfortunately, many men today completely overlook this aspect of etiquette and consequently, break the hearts of sweet little grandmas everywhere. Every gentlemen should be knowledgeable of the when’s and how’s of writing thank you notes. Being a frequent and skillful writer of them will set you apart from your uncouth peers.
When to write a thank you note
- When you receive a gift (Especially if the gift is from your Italian grandma. If you don’t write a thank you note, she’ll put the moloch on you.)
- When someone performs an act of service for you.
- When someone goes above and beyond what is asked of them, whether at work or in a friendship.
- After a job interview.
- When you stay overnight at someone’s home.
- If someone shows you around their town or city when you’re vacationing there, regardless of whether you stayed at their home or not.
- When someone has you over for dinner.
- When someone throws a party of event for you.
*Anytime someone does something extraordinary that warms your heart. Don’t be stingy with the thank you note. There’s never a wrong time to write one.
Some Ground Rules
1. Always write the note as soon as possible. Send it within two weeks of attending the event or receiving the gift.
2. Send it through the mail. Email thank you’s are certainly convenient, but except in response to very small things, they are not appropriate. Some may say, “Well, a thank you is a thank you. Why does it matter what form it takes?” Sending a thank you note through the mail shows effort. It shows that you took the time to put pen to paper, addressed an envelope, and bought a stamp. It’s tangible; they can touch it, hold it, and display it on the mantle. It makes your thank you far more sincere.
3. Use real stationery. Having to run to the store to buy a card every time you need to write a thank you note will make you drag your feet about writing them. So invest in some nice looking stationery. It doesn’t have to be fancy; buy something with a neutral, conservative theme so that the cards can be used for a variety of occasions. A good option are Man|Cards from Thoughtful Gent.
How to Write a Thank You Note
1. Begin by expressing your gratitude for the gift/service. You’re opener is simple: “Thank you very much for ______________.” If the gift was money, use a euphemism for it. Instead of “thank you for the dough,” say “thank you for your kindness/generosity/gift.”
2. Mention specific details about how you plan to use a gift or what you enjoyed about an experience. If you are thanking someone for holding an event like a party or dinner, be specific about what you enjoyed about it. If you are thanking someone for a gift, tell the note’s recipient how you plan to use it. This is true even for a monetary gift; tell the giver what you plan to spend it on or what you’re saving for.
3. For some recipients, add some news about your life. This isn’t always appropriate; obviously if you’re writing a thank you note for say, a job interview, you don’t want to tell them how you recently caught a two foot bass. But if you receive a gift in the mail from people who see you infrequently and who would like to know more about what’s going on in your life (read: your grandparents), give a brief sketch about what you’ve been up to recently. You know Aunt Myrtle will love it.
4. Close by referencing the past and alluding to the future. If the person gave you the gift at a recent event, write, “It was great to see you at Christmas.” Then say, “I hope we all can get together again next year.” If the person sent the gift in the mail, and you see them infrequently, simply write “I hope to see you soon.”
5. Repeat your thanks. “Thank you again for the gift,” makes the perfect last line.
6. Valediction. Valedictions are the words or phrases that come before your name. The hardest part of a thank you note is often choosing a valediction that appropriately conveys the level of your relationship with the recipient. “Love” can sometimes seem too gushy and “Sincerely” can seem too formal. If your affections fall somewhere between those two expressions, here are some neutral valedictions that can fit a wide variety of situations and relationships:
- Yours Truly
- Truly Yours
- Kindest Regards
- Warmest Regards
- Best Regards
- Respectfully
Any other tips on writing thank you notes? Drop a line in the comment box and let us know.
…i wish this was posted like one week ago…but definitely bookmarking this post! Thanks!
I am amazed how rare thank you notes are — at least among men.
When I was hired for my current job, the boss thanked me several times for my brief message of appreciation. He said that he interviewed about 30 people over a two-day period and I was the only one to have sent a note.
In my last position, it was the same thing. None of my competition ever considered a thank you note. Better still, my boss kept that basic little card front and center on his desk the entire time I worked for him.
Quite an impact for the price of a stamp.
this post was very helpful, you’re always posting good things to know
thank you
i hope it’s not too late for me to thank you. i read your website regularly and i can say that i have learned a lot about manning up. too sad that it takes a website to teach me that though. still, i think i owe you some gratitude.
thank you!
respectfully,
Jojo Robles
ps: i hope you don’t mind, but it’s supposed to be “stationery,” not stationary.
This is a timely post for me, as I’ve recently started writing thank-you notes and other handwritten notes. I find that drafting is easier as I do more of them. In fact, when I did a mess of them recently, I wrote thank-yous to friends who deserved them over the years who didn’t receive them.
Although I write many thank-yous with your structure, I frequently start with something like, “It was great to see you at …” or “I was so glad you came to ….” Starting off with something other than “thank you” feels less rote and helps me get in the groove of writing.
Along the same lines, I’ve abandoned greeting cards. I now write birthday notes and mail them. Stationery looks better than greeting cards and costs less to boot.
Awesome blog
Basic post and I cannot disagree with it. It is a very simply concept, yet extremely powerful.
There are services out there that let you type a letter, and they will write it and mail it out for you. Now I just have to find the link.
The best thing to do is to get a box of thank you cards (or the stationery mentioned) and have it on hand before you need it. Stamps as well. Any excuse to procrastinate a thank you note will mean it never happens. Write it the same day, while it is still fresh in your mind. Life gets busy.
I do use email sometimes, but only for the most casual stuff. The stranger that gave me a jumpstart. Someone who gave me a coupon. It can work well when a note would be over the top. Or even verbal ones for small favors. People just like to be appreciated.
One advantage of a thank you note is that it can uncover missing gifts. Two times recently, thanking someone for one gift allowed the sender to ask if the other part was received. This allowed the recovery of two would-be lost gifts.
This is good to teach many young men at this current time. I have written thank you notes for years, but now have been reminded to get them out earlier and earlier. It surprises people when, as a young man myself, I write thank you notes. It only takes a couple minutes.
Nick.
I send tons of thank you notes. One tip: create a simple database to track what you say to whom. It will keep you from duplication when you write additional notes to the same person. Over time people while see that you give genuine gratitude.
Everything here is great, except the link to Man Cards—”manly” is not synonymous with “offensively hideous.” Simple off-white or gray stationary is attractive, classic, and perfectly manly. You can get it on the cheap at your local Hallmark, or personalized and pricey from someplace like Crane. Find yourself something subdued and restrained, saving the bold colors for, well, almost anything but paper and dress shirts.
Here’s a quick tip for job interviews:
- Bring thank-you cards and stamps with you.
- During the interview, ask for the business card of each interviewer. This ensures you have their correct name, title and address.
- After the interview, immediately fill out notes while the details are fresh. I usually write them in my car in a nearby parking lot.
- Drop the note in a mailbox that day. I usually scope out a nearby post office to ensure quick delivery.
I think posts like these are the reason we keep coming back to this site. Thank you for the reminder and instructions.
I agree with Jack in that I try to avoid starting with the “Thank you for…” intro. Otherwise, great post. I think the main point is simply to do it. As others have said, just sending one regardless of the content puts you way ahead of everyone else.
By the way, I actually have an Aunt Myrtle.
Mr. Robles’s observation on “stationery” v “stationary” brings to mind something the article did not mention: the mechanics of writing. “Mechanics” means spelling things properly, correct usage (which means using the correct word: “stationery” for something to write on, “stationary” for not moving), and punctuating correctly.
If your message is full of punctuation errors and misspelled words, it says that neither your message nor your reader was worth the effort of making sure these things were done correctly. What a strange thing to say in a thank-you note! (It’s just as true for memos, meeting minutes, blog entries, etc.)
If you are uncertain about how to do these things, either enlist the help of someone who knows what to do, or get a book, such as “The Everyday Writer” by Andrea Lunsford. If you prefer a more modern method, check out Grammar Girl’s podcast.
I know I sound like a fuddy-duddy, but this is important, and I don’t want any of you to be at a disadvantage.
I it ok to type thank you note and still mail them? My hand writing is well not all that great, this is why I ask.
Oh ya and what exactly do you say in a interview thank you, just thank you for your time?
@Alex-
It’s not considered appropriate to type your thank you notes. Just try to keep the handwriting as neat as possible, and even if it’s a little sloppy, it’s better than typing it out.
Excellent post. These are some really good thoughts, and saying thank you is vital and yet something we do far to little, and far too poorly. Your post goes well with a recent post I wrote about the Principle of Thankfulness. You can check it out here:
http://successprofessor.ca/2008/10/12/the-principle-of-thankfulness/
I like your suggestion about using a euphemism for money when referring to it in thank you notes.
Certainly seems like we have gotten away from taking the time to write a thank you note. I believe we underestimate the meaning it has for recipients. I know I appreciate it when someone takes the time to send me a note. Great post.
I often write thank you cards for my career. They definitely do say more than just an email. As said by Paul, those Mancards were pretty bad. I found some at Staples, that were both neutral gendered and pleasing to the eye. If you just need to write one or two, I actually found some at a local store, Charleston Angler, that have Redfish, Spotted Trout, etc. Quite pricey though.
My handwriting also leaves something to be desired. If both cursive and print is bad, which one do you go with?
I just ordered another 4 boxes of the best ‘man-cards’ ever: Artist Bob White’s Small Fry Cards at http://www.whitefishstudio.com
Another excellent post! There really is no excuse not to take a few moments to pen a short, yet sincere, note of thanks. The excuse I run into most often is “I don’t write because my handwriting is so terrible.” So, does that mean you don’t endorse checks because your handwriting is so terrible? Your handwriting is part of your persona. It’s OK, really. Of course, try to keep your writing neat and clean, but don’t let what you consider to be hen scratchings keep you from being considerate and respectful.
Write On!
My mother used to HOUND me to write thank-you notes when I was young, and I didn’t really recognize their importance — or how bloody easy they are to write – until the people to whom I owed thank-you notes (e.g., grandmothers) had passed on.
I hope you’re planning to put this blog into book form someday. If I ever have a kid, he’ll get a copy as soon as he’s old enough to read.
The final step(s) should be:
Put it in an envelope, write the address, add a stamp and post it straight away.
Unless you send a lot of mail, adding it to a “to be mailed” pile will mean it never gets done. Put your shoes on and walk to a mail box.
Make sure you have a ‘writing kit’ on your desk with everything you need: paper, envelopes, pen, stamps. If you have to scrabble around looking for these in order to write a short thank you note, you won’t do it.
Around birthdays, Christmas or whenever you’re likely to receive gifts, keep a notebook on you and write down who gives you what.
And finally: do as I say, not as I do.
Dave
Truly, saying thank you is difficult to thank you and that too to those people who come into the professional circle. Thanks for giving the write up . It was very helpful.
Here’s another vote for personalized stationery!
It’s just so easy to get these days. Not like it used to be. I remember getting my first box of personalized stationery years ago and the frisson of “now I’m a grown-up” which accompanied it. But I had had to save up for months before I when to the local printers and ordered It. These days I go online and look through dozens of designs in minutes. I pick out the one I like best and it’s usually delivered in the next couple of days. There are plenty of places to go but the one I’ve settled on is called giftsin24.com. They do other sorts of personalized printing too (baby cards, wedding announcements, etc. etc,), but the place i usually start is here: http://www.giftsin24.com/browse/category/932/1
great post!! I’ll be sure to practice what you preach.
AJ Kumar
WAR
Dropped bombs exploding
Bullets flying
Civilisation slowly eroding
While innocents lay dying.
Shrapnel falls like rain
Women and children fall
We all see the pain
And do nothing at all.
What cost of war
When civilians are dead
People don’t want this anymore
Living in dread.
Rally religions together unite
Divine intervention will come
Not in gods: name do any of us fight
Thy kingdom come.
DAVID BRIAN GOODWIN
Well Done!
Wish not only men, but more people in general would write thank you notes.
Seems to have become a lost art.
- Liz