Posted by, Toniya Singh
I find scripted Thank You notes extremely tedious to write. I can only imagine how the receiver must feel reading it. Besides, there is only so much you can say that sounds “new” each time. Overlap is inevitable.
To alleviate cookie cutter sounding thank you notes, the easiest ‘fix’ is to be authentic to your own style and personality. One can never go wrong with one’s authenticity and it is easy to defend besides. No need to ‘fake’ it – it’s too much work and rarely, if ever, comes off looking polished.
Ok, so we have our blank canvas before us – the card. We also have the main color theme picked out – our authenticity. Now what? Good news! It is as simple as paint-by-numbers. Follow me……
1) APPRECIATE – put a frame of reference around your gratitude:“Thank you for….. “taking the time”, “the stimulating conversation”, “the offer”, “the advice”
2) WHERE – help them remember where they’ve seen you: “during my interview”, “at the conference”, “on the flight”
3) WHY – tell them why you are thanking them: “it helped me…..”, “it was generous”, “it made me think”, “it reminded me”, “gave me an idea”, “it put into perspective”
4) WISH – leave them with grace on a high note:“have a great day/week”, “hope to see you again”, “best wishes”, “good luck”, “if I can be of help” ………
Now for those of us that find it difficult to remember all of this, here is an easy mnemonic……. Ready? ……. Wait for it…….. AWWW!