Nobody writes letters anymore. I get it; we live in a digital age. E-mail is the norm. It’s efficient. It’s (largely) free. The postal service is antiquated. Stationary is a ripoff. But let me present to you an argument for a handwritten note.
When you take the time to write a note by hand and have it delivered (or, better yet, deliver yourself), you:
- Develop better handwriting skills which are highly useful for whiteboarding/sharing notes with colleagues
- Instill a sense of trust and create a personal connection with others to whom you exchange notes
- Build personal brand and establish a reputation as an upstanding person
- Buck the trend of digitizing absolutely everything in your life
- Differentiate yourself from “everyone else” who probably sent a quick email (or forgot to send anything at all)
- Help people recall the “good ol days” (reminding them how far we’ve come, a warm-n-fuzzy for all)
Whether it’s a “thank you”, a “congrats”, or anything else, you are building your character and people will respect the hell out of you.
Til Next Time,
Michael