“A handwritten note is an extension of a certain attitude. It is an overt act of gratitude.”
Heidi Kallett (The Dandelion Patch)
This is a brief summary of Ada Polla’s post that has been published on HuffingtonPost.com. Obviously Ada refers solely to handwritten thank you notes sent via the old-fashioned postal system.
- The Golden Rule. Anytime you question whether you should or should not send a thank you note, you should send one. There is never a wrong time or occasion to send a thank you note!
- The most memorable thank you notes are thank yous for random acts of kindness, because those are the most unexpected.
- Send a thank-you note anytime you receive a gift or for every other random act of kindness.
- Timing is key. Write the note as soon as possible, but considering that not sending a note is always worser than sending one with some delay. Not sending is no option.
- When sending a thank you note in the context of business, including your business card is never appropriate.
- An email thank you can never replace a handwritten thank you note. But it is always appropriate to send an immediate thank you email, but only in addition to the hand-written note that will follow.
- Because of the prevalence of email, actually, a handwritten thank you note will have even more of an impact.
- Always be specific when you send a note and mention something specific about the context, like e.g. the event or how or where you are going to use the gift etc.
Read more: Do You Know How To Write A Perfect Thank You Note? | HuffPost