Transcripts

Margaret Shepherd:
When the person gets that envelope and they know that in it is something from you, there is the most wonderful moment of pleasure of anticipation - the same way if you gave them a wrapped gift.

Margaret Shepherd, author of the book, The Art of the Handwritten Note, says email is certainly a more efficient way of sending notes, but has nowhere near the impact as a handwritten note. And, if you don’t send handwritten notes because you think your handwriting is lousy, wrong.

I mean, your handwriting has a magical quality - no matter how critical you are of it.

Pen companies have done research that show that people are extremely uncritical of each other’s handwriting and very critical of their own. So, if you think your handwriting isn’t very good, get nice stationery, use a fountain pen, put on a nice stamp.

And a handwritten note need not be long. In fact, Margaret says, it should be short.

I think three sentences, or four sentences, is just great for a note. If you have something really longer to stay, you can still print out something you’ve typed, on nice paper, write a few sentences by hand at the bottom.

A handwritten note says much more than the words in it.

It says - you matter. I took time to be in touch with you. I am speaking and thinking only to you. You have my full, undivided attention.

At somethingyoushouldknow.net, I'm Mike Carruthers, and that's Something You Should Know.