How one step back will take you two steps forward
How one step back will take you two steps forward
A successful stock broker recently told me that when he wants to get a client's attention, he doesn't text, email or even call. He said he sends a hand-written fax, with just a line or two, asking them to call him back. It's almost the 21st century equivalent of a telegram, delivered to the person's desk and impossible to delete.
Most of us are so inundated by tweets, updates, emails and various forms of electronic information that the most frequently used function on our phone or computer is "delete." So when someone sends us a hand-written note, even by fax, we notice.
Business leader and public relations specialist Mark DeMoss takes it a step further, and recommends sending hand-written letters via the U.S. Postal Service. Demoss says he recommends that you do this not just occasionally, but as a daily practice. "Email and cell phones have their laces," he writes, "but for human expression that survives long after digital impulses disappear into the ether, I invest the time and money to write and send real mail.Personal letters are tangible history writ small."[1]
In his book The Little Red Book of Wisdom, DeMoss asserts that successful people make the time to write letters. But personal letters make up only one percent of all the mail sent in the United States (and that doesn't include email). Letter writing has indeed become a lost art.
So, how do you write a personal letter? Here are some simple steps.
Who will you write to? Notice and acknowledge what others are doing. DeMoss writes that he sends hand-written letters to his employees, thanking them for their hard work, and even an employee's spouse when he lost a job.
What will you say? Talk about the other person more than yourself. Commend someone for a job well done, encourage someone who's down, congratulate someone for reaching a milestone. A letter that says you've noticed another person's strengths and just want to let them know they're appreciated will be treasured forever.
How much do I need to write? Keep it short and sweet. Use the sandwich technique: Start by saying something positive about the other person, then share some news about yourself, then finish with genuine, positive statements about the person you're writing to.
While hand-written letters may feel like a step backward technologically, they'll propel your career forward in ways you don't expect. Business is all about relationships, and the old-fashioned art of letter writing goes a long way toward strengthening those relationships.
For more on letter writing and other nuggets of wisdom for your professional and personal life, go to http://www.littleredbookofwisdom.com/
[1] Mark DeMoss. The Little Red Book of Wisdom. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011, p. 37http://dld.bz/QWSK
Guidelines For Picking The Right Present For Every Gal Anger Control Help 2011/2012 Bat Regulations The best way to Effortlessly Cut your Calorie Intake Lean cuisine frozen meals A guide to the Fiskars Momentum push reel mower If you are blind in this world, you are even blinder in the hereafter! PSD to Zencart The Best Tool a Coach Ever Had (and No One's Using It!) Full Metal Airsoft Guns Vs. Plastic Airsoft Guns How to Build a Concrete Block Retaining Wall Which One Was The Best War Unit for an Army? Grammar Tool