Transcript 087 – Andrea Miller on Writing a Perfect Thank You Note

Transcript: Episode 087 – Andrea Miller

Transcript for Episode 087 — Andrea Miller on Writing a Perfect Thank You Note

I hope you’re all enjoying time with family and friends this holiday season!

I’m keeping today’s episode short and sweet so you can keep those holiday vibes going.

Today I just want to share a super practical and perhaps even life-changing resource for you. That might be relevant at this time of year.

As music teachers, we are often blessed to receive many, many gifts during the holidays. It’s pretty great.

I don’t know how it was in your house growing up, but in the days after Christmas or birthdays, I could always count on my mom to make me and my siblings sit down at the dining room table to write thank you notes.

Over the years, a sort-of template emerged in my thank you notes. I’d express thanks for the gift, I’d talk about how I would use it, and then I’d have some signoff.

Something like this:

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

Thank you for the American Girl outfit. I can’t wait to show it to my best friend when we get together to play. I missed seeing you at Christmas, but I hope you had a nice visit with the cousins.

Love,

Andrea

As I grew up, I carried on the thank-you note writing habit, personally and professionally, but the template that got me through childhood just didn’t seem adequate anymore.

Dear Studio Family,

Thank you for the candle and Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. I love the scent you chose and Reese’s PB Cups are my favorite candy! I hope you have a wonderful holiday break!

Andrea

Adequate or not, I couldn’t seem to break out of that structure. That bland, formulaic, not-very-expressive structure. Do anyone else’s thank you notes sound like this?

Then a few months before I got married, a thoughtful friend who knew I’d have a lot of thank you notes to write in my future, shared a FANTASTIC template with me that has changed thank-you-note-writing forever.

Now my thank you notes sound something like this:

Dear Studio Family,

You know me so well. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift! I immediately devoured the Reese’s PB cups from your Christmas package and I’ve been enjoying the cinnamon-scented candle every day. It has been a pleasure to have you in the studio this year!

Andrea

Doesn’t that just sound like the kind of thank you note you hope you would write as a grown up?

Well, you will. And it’ll be easier than you thought, because I am going to share the very same three-sentence template my friend shared with me.

Here it goes:

Sentence 1 – A Compliment

You can never go wrong complimenting someone. This sentence should start with “you,” not “We or Thank you.”

Sentence 2 – The Thank You

Thank them for what you’re thanking them for. This sentence can start with “Thank you.” 

Sentence 3 – Action Sentence

This can start with “I” or “We.”

 

That’s all there is to it! A compliment, a thank you, and an action sentence.

Now let me read that example one more time and you’ll hear the different elements. (Sidenote: I really feel I should be playing Jimmy Fallon thank you note music as I read these. Just imagine that in your head…ok, here we go:

Sentence 1 – A Compliment

“You know me so well.”

Sentence 2 – The Thank You

“Thank you for such a thoughtful gift!

Sentence 3 – Action Sentence

“I immediately devoured the Reese’s PB cups from your Christmas package and I’ve been enjoying the cinnamon-scented candle every day. It has been a pleasure to have you in the studio this year!”

I threw a little bonus compliment in there at the end, but that’s totally optional.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m telling you, I knock out thank you notes so much faster with this three-sentence template and they’re actually a better expression of the gratitude I feel.

It’s been a game changer.

So, if you find yourself with a bunch of thank yous to write this season, give this template a try and let me know what you think or how you make it your own.

And you should definitely cue up the Jimmy Fallon music for real, you know, for ambiance.

That’s all for today. Thanks for listening! I’ll be back next week to talk about goal-setting in the new year.