Thank You Notes Dos and Don'ts

If you are in a professional industry like law, thank you notes are a way of life.  It seems like one is expected whenever you attend any event or meeting with another professional.  Because of this, you definitely want to have the knowledge of dos and don'ts in your arsenal of skills.

Dos

• Always open with a greeting thanking them for their time
• Refer to specifics of your conversation
• Make sure to speak formally
• Handwritten is usually better
• Unless they have specified email
• Make sure that you actually do say thank you (seems intuitive, but some people forget)
• Stay upbeat and positive
• Sign off with your name (another no-brainer, but some people make the mistake)

Don'ts

• Do not address them very informally
• Unless they have specified that you may
• Do not use colloquial language
• Do not write in cursive if you cannot write neatly--write in print if needed
• Do not just rewrite "thank you" in a multitude of ways
• Do not send on poor quality paper--always use stationary with matching the envelope

Before you send the note, double and triple check spelling and grammar.  It is best to rewrite a note than to keep the mistakes in your note.  When addressing the envelope, make sure to include the person's title.

An example is as follows:
John Smith
Defense Department Partner
Smith, Esq.
1234 Main St.
Seattle, WA 12345

As always, we hope that these tips help!