Saying "thank you" is a good idea for all kinds of reasons.  And happily, it only takes a couple of minutes to write a thank-you that the recipient will appreciate. 

There's a little formula that will work whether you're thanking your grandmother for a birthday present or a potential employer for an interview.  And your first opportunity to road-test your thank-you writing skills begins now with thanking Jaana for her presentation. 

Here's the formula:

                             GENERAL -------------------SPECIFIC----------------GENERAL

And here's what you do:

 General:  Your first sentence should orient the reader by thanking them for the time they spent with you on such-and-such a date. (This will vary by occasion, of course.  Maybe it's the gift they gave you on such-and-such an occasion.)

 

Specific: Describe something that you especially enjoyed or were impressed by.  Being specific will help you sound sincere and will make it obvious that you’re not writing the same canned thank you to everybody else. 

 

General: Thank the reader again with a forward, positive looking statement.



Here's an example of a thank-you that I might write to you:

General:  Thank you so much for making our first day of class a successful one.

Specific: I especially appreciate how engaged you were with your questions and attention.

General:  Today tells me that I'll really enjoy working with you for the next three weeks.

And here's how the email itself would look:

Dear Young Scholars -- 

Thank you so much for making our first day of class a successful one. I especially appreciate how engaged you were with your questions and attention.

Today tells me that I'll really enjoy working with you for the next three weeks.

Sincerely,

Beryl

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Boom!  Done! 

Your turn now.  The forum itself is in Baby Steps.


Last modified: Thursday, 24 November 2022, 2:29 PM