It's so easy to say 'Thank You'
It is so easy to say thank you, and yet we rarely do it. But thanking someone makes both you and the recipient feel good.
I felt inspired to write this blog after a concert I sang in last week. I sing with a Ladies Close Harmony choir and we perform perhaps a dozen concerts per year. We are usually thanked verbally by the host at the end, but last week was different. Last week each member of the choir was given a thank you card with the following note on the back:
“Thank you for coming to our ladies evening and blessing us with your singing.
‘It is a good thing to sing praise to our God’
Psalm 147 v1”
Both the musical director and the master of ceremonies were also presented with flowers. I sing because I love it, but this simple gesture really made me feel appreciated. It is not just in our social life that “thank you” goes a long way. Peter Bregman works with Chief Executives to develop their teams, he writes about how important thanks are in the workplace:, "... saying “thank you” is mostly an emotional act. It connects one person to another. Saying “thank you” doesn’t just acknowledge someone’s effort, thoughtfulness, intent, or action. It acknowledges the person himself." Everyone likes to feel appreciated, whether it be at work, at home or socially. We seem to live in a society where complaints are forthcoming, but compliments and thank yous are forgotten. We can convey our thanks in many different ways: by email, phone, social media, face-to-face and written. The method you use will depend on the circumstances. In the last year not only have I received thank you cards for singing, but also for hosting a dinner party and for recommending someone’s business. I have kept all these cards on top of the piano and then moved them to a keepsake box. They are treasured in a way that an email or telephone conversation never can be. Etiquette dictates that following a wedding, christening or other occasion you should always send out a thank you note. If you want to make the thank you note a bit special you can personalise it with photographs of the day or with a special message. But I want to show my appreciation more often, so I am going to:- give more positive mentions to friends and business colleagues on social media
- write testimonials for people who I work with
- send a present to people who refer business to me
- thank my family verbally for the wonderful things they do all the time
- stock up my desk drawer with cards and send out nice hand written thank you notes to people who I appreciate.
