Remember when you first started texting?
The novelty of writing real sentences on your phone was extraordinary.
Better than having to actually talk to someone!
Then those words were abbreviated. Cue early adopters and old fart confusion.
I remember receiving texts from my daughter that were more complex than The Times cryptic crossword!
It felt like Robert Langdon trying to decipher a simple last step in the Davinci Code.
It was usually, ‘Hi Dad, I’m ready to be picked up now’ but it actually read ‘rdy 4 pk up nw’.
Guess what? Voice is back.
Not actually talking to people; goodness no, that would be communicating, it’s voice notes.
And I’m not a fan.
I think it’s lazy. WhatsApp voice notes are for people who think they’re too busy or important to type a message.
I’d go further.
In my book Five Star Service, I write about the joy of sending and receiving cards. It’s a lost art.
And the excuse ‘that it’s too expensive’ pales into insignificance when you realise that the fewer people who send cards the more special sending and receiving a card becomes.
Sure, I like to receive a text or WhatsApp from somebody saying thank you for their Christmas gift. But receiving a card with a few choice words is so much better.
My local printer used to produce a constant stream of correspondence cards.
These simple cards contained your name, address and perhaps a telephone number and they would be used to say thank you, offer condolences, RSVP or even just to reconnect with an old friend.
In a time where the concept of typing a message has become too much for some, am I old fashioned in thinking there’s something to be said for sending cards?
What do you think?
Please let me know below. I’ll send a card to my favourite.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
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I love sending people things in the post. I think it’s a brilliant way of showing people that you are genuinely listening to them. I’m sure Dale Carnegie would approve!
I completely agree. I remember as a child, days when we sat down to write thank you notes to aunts, uncles and friends for our Christmas or birthday gifts. Pretty cards – and a fountain pen when we were old enough. Today, i have a stationery fetish and a pen collection which is still used. And after his death, my cousins found my notes in a box my uncle had kept. They triggered so many memories for me. Doubt texts will last but I have kept a lovely voicemail from my dad…
I love receiving hand written post, it makes me day as its usually a dreaded bill or some sort. I also love that you can keep them and re-read them, I have many cards and letters from deceased family members which I love to take out and read and they always make me smile.
Completely correct Michael
I wrote to Jurgen personally this morning
It’s fast becoming a lost art!
very best wishes, Simon
Hi Michael, I agree entirely I love to send and receive thank you notes and cards so much more than text of voice messages.
Maybe I’m old fashioned too but on my early management training at Estée Lauder companies I was give a beautiful branded writing pad with ‘from the desk of Wilma McDaniel’ on it and I sent notes to my teams, retailers and others usually mentioning some act of kindness or job done well I’d noticed. I also received many from my superiors and actually still have one ‘ From the desk of Leonard Lauder’ Estée’s son following a trip we took together around Glasgow. In our training these were referred to as giving psychological pay cheques.
Last Saturday I received a personalised thank you card and flowers for supporting the ‘Women Can’ roadshows across Scotland. It was a surprise and delight so I posted about feeling appreciated on LinkedIn.
Stay Brilliant Michael, always a pleasure
Wilma
This rings so true and It makes me sad to think that the ancient art of letter and card writing will die out if we don’t action it! I have some wonderful memories of letters and cards received and pop them up around my desk as reminders and motivation. One particular favourite was simply stating ‘I bet you thought this was going to be some sort of inspriational quote but I just wanted to say….. Willies it is on my wall now and makes me laugh everytime!
Assuredly, you’ll know how I feel, Michael… I love communication & I particularly love designing my annual Christmas card. As I write the personal greeting inside, put it into the envelope and then stamp it I do genuinely have a vision of each person who’s going to receive it & send good thoughts over the magical world of telepathy. But the card is tactile and, I ALWAYS hope, brings a special joy! DEE xx
Michael I absolutely agree !
There is nothing lije a handwritten card or letter & my absolute favourite is a card with a letter on the other side if the greeting !
I so enjoy writing to people … spending time with them whilst writing to them !
I sent very late Happy new Year cards to people with a letter at the beginning of Feb… its never too late to say hello !!
Thanks for your brilliant oist !
Fi x
I’ve started to make cards to send to people, not just for special occasions but as a way to say hello. Hopefully people appreciate something written :). I also make shaped cards if I have to send in a competition entry, eg rugby ball shaped!
Whilst getting things in the post is just ACE – hands down (and thumbs up for cards)… If we’re talking WhatsApp messages Vs voice notes, I prefer a voice note. I think it’s a movement the other way, back towards caring. Messages and emails can be quite cold and short sometimes, whereas if someone goes to the effort of wanting to share something by recording it, then the gap between the two of you narrows a little. And there’s usually a ton more content and feeling, too.
IMHO. No wht I mn m8?
I think sometimes you cant beat a conversation by voice but I do like to message people when i just want a task doing and dont want to chat
You are absolutely right Grandad 🙂
I have been visiting hospital a great deal lately as an outpatient in two or three departments. Christmas they had a card in each department thanking them for the great care they had taken of me. With a card pinned up all the staff can be thanked at once, it is colourful and shows my care too that I had to pick it, write it and send it, along with the special coffee for the rest room – of course if they had time to rest. Smiles tell you that this is a prefered way to be thanked.
A personal hand written card means so much. When I worked at Chelmsford City Council all Directors were given a pile of postcards with a photo of a Chelmsford landmark on one side and the line Thank You Because…. on the back so we could write personal messages to staff to celebrate good work, successes in exams or customer compliments. You knew how much these meant when you walked round and saw the postcards displayed in people’s desks.
I make sure my kids write a handwritten thank you note following birthdays or christmas. They get to design them, colour them in and show off their handwriting.
We do send a cheeky whats app/text message/video at the time of opening as the writing can take sometime!
I have a family member that writes cards and pops them in the post, no reason just to say hello and catch up, I great fuzzy feeling when they arrive.
At work, when a team member leaves myself, my business partner and our head of venues sends a card to thank them. They are greatly received !
I fear the day when nobody can read or write correct English. It’s already happening: one university near me that accepts papers and exam answers with a certain amount of text spelling and almost zero grammar!
Here at BabyLady we send actual cards congratulating parents after their baby has arrived telling them how much we have loved sharing their journey and that we are here for them if there is anything they need. We have being doing this for years. recently we employed someone who’s Mum still had the card we had sent when her daughter ( now a member of staff ) was born.
it was quite a special moment. Never underestimate the power of the written word
Mum was a big card sender and collector, I found hordes of them around the house after we lost her and, surprise, surprise; I’m exactly the same.
I love to receive them and they stay up for a whole month.
I also love to send them and often enjoy a giggle choosing them. A card and a lovely message inside is a physical reminder that you are special enough for someone to take the time and trouble to send you one. I hope they never die out.
Every Friday I send or give a card to someone. Sometimes it may be for a family or friends birthdays but most of the time it’s a card saying thank you or some uplifting or comforting words. If I received excellent service in a shop or restaurant I will send a card. The joy is in giving x
In today’s fast-paced digital age, it’s easy to take modern communication for granted. We can send a message which can be instantly transported around the world, be read and responded to within seconds. Seldom are they kept. These messages are often deleted, replaced newer texts of greater importance, perhaps.
Compare this to the pleasure of watching the postman as he approaches the house and the gentle sound of a letter landing on the mat. Items of personal correspondence are kept close to our heart.
In my personal treasure box I keep letters, notelets and cards from relatives, friends and school mates. I love to re-read them from time to time almost as a diary. I had penfriends too from Norway, Finland & France. Handwritten notes are not just a thing of the past. I regularly receive friendship notes from our accountability group members with messages of support. Of course daily texts pass amount us too; they have their place but we must endeavour to keep the art of of letter writing alive.
I think actually it’s high postage costs and the scandal with the Post Office that have put paid to the art of sending written cards (okay maybe not entirely but it doesn’t help). Would love to receive them but definitely people have fallen out of the habit. I am 50 next year and very much doubt I will receive any handwritten cards. For last birthday I only received one posted written card from my mum and one other that wasn’t posted by a friend. Maybe thats simply a reflection of being lonely. I don’t know.
I’ve just celebrated my 80th birthday and decided that now i’m old I’d better use old fashioned ways of saying thank you. So I posted thank you cards written with a fountain pen.
We’re in fast-paced digital age,
We type to send a text.
Our messages fly round the world!
Ooh! Whatever next.
I remember letters,
Notelets, cards and notes.
All handwritten, nothing typed.
They will get my vote.
I keep my letters in box
From friends and family too.
From time to time I look at them
From people I once knew.
The texts have been deleted
No longer to be read.
But handwritten notelets
Say what they always said!
We’re in fast-paced digital age
We type to send a text.
Our messages fly round the world!
Ooh! Whatever next.
I remember letters,
Notelets cards and notes.
All handwritten, nothing typed,
They will get my vote.
I keep my letters in box
From friends and family too.
From time to time I look at them
From people I once knew.
The texts have been deleted
No longer to be read.
But handwritten notelets
Say what they always said!
Excitement when the postman comes
A letter just for you.
Handwritten with such love & care
I’ll send one back to you!
This brought a smile to my face. Thankfully, it’s rare that I receive a txt (haha) that someone has dictated. I can tell. Some of the words are different from what was intended.
As for cards: my wife and I still send them, albeit they’re primarily to people of our age.
When we worked onsite, I would periodically write appreciation notes to my team members. One of them, receiving a note for the first time, marveled at my (cursive) handwriting. That was a first!
Your email has inspired me to write some cards to people today, to say thank you. I recently had a knee operation, and my family rallied round and helped support me by coming to stay for a few weeks, and helping me and the kids, whilst I couldn’t do much. It meant the world, and even though I have sent them messages and thanked them over the phone, it doesn’t feel right that I haven’t sent them a card. It’s so easy in our fast paced world to not get round to doing it, hence me not as yet. However, thank you for spurring me on! I am going to write some thank you cards today! And I will get great pleasure from doing it, knowing that my parents and sister will get great pleasure receiving it. It is something I am trying to encourage with my boys, as there is nothing like receiving a card in the post. I too keep past cards and letters in a box to look back on, I think it’s something special, and also can create a love and passion for writing too. Again, something that is being easily replaced by computers. I must admit I do like voice notes though. There is nothing like hearing someone’s voice! Thanks again for the inspiration ….