It was my pleasure! I enjoyed working with you and the rest of the team on the marketing campaign, and it has helped me gain a deeper understanding of healthy practices in the field. I feel I am ready to take on bigger responsibilities and look forward to getting started on next quarter’s resources.

Do Not Say

How to Respond to Thank You Letters: Tips and Examples

Sending thank you letters is common practice in business. You may receive a thank you letter after a job interview, sales engagement, appointment or meeting. If you’ve received a thank you letter, you may want to learn more about how to respond properly. In this article, we explain when and how to respond to thank you letters and provide examples and tips for writing your thank you letter.

1. Acknowledge the sender

When you respond to thank you letters, start by acknowledging the sender. Address them according to your relationship with them, and to be more professional consider using their title and last name. Express your gratitude for their thank you letter in this acknowledgment.

2. Explain the benefit

Your response to thank you notes is an opportunity to better your relationship with the sender. To do this, identify the exact reason you are being thanked for and explain how this engagement benefited you as well. Showing them you appreciate them as well can help you strengthen the relationship.

3. Be brief and positive

A reply to a thank you letter is a follow-up communication, so you can keep it short. Be sure to address any queries from the thank you letter while maintaining a positive tone. Focus on reflecting gratitude and highlight the personal benefits you gained from your interaction.

5. Sign your response.

While replying to a colleague or any other member of your organisation, consider including an informal signature with your printed name. If the response is to a customer or an external stakeholder, include your formal business signature with your job title and direct contact information.

The best way to respond to “Thank you” is by truly receiving it

It doesn’t matter what the person is thanking you for or how they express it. The key is in receiving the energy and appreciation that are coming your way. Most of the time, when we hear ‘Thank you,’ we just go over it, thinking: “Yeah, right, that was nothing“. By doing this, we even push the other person away.

If you are having trouble receiving the gratitude of others, here are a few questions to play with through journaling or introspection: “What is really holding me back from receiving another person’s gratitude? What beliefs do I have around this?” Could it be that you believe that if you receive their gratitude, you would need to do something again to give back to this person?

Make a conscious effort to go beyond just hearing the words, and take in the gratitude of the person. Allow it to sink in and let yourself be touched. When you start receiving the gratitude of others, you will start gaining more and more insight into how much people are grateful for you.

It’s often said that it’s not what we say but how we say it that has the greatest impact on people. For instance, just because someone says thank you does not mean that it’s a genuine expression of appreciation.

It could possibly be a habitual behavior that we’ve been conditioned to do from a young age. However, a simple “thank you” can go a long way and build unprecedented connections with others or unravel pent-up frustration. Thus, the response can affirm or shift the dynamics of the relationship at stake.

Yet, the response depends on the situation, the context of the thank you, and the relational background of all parties involved. For instance, if a teacher provides a student with supplies because they are unprepared for the lesson, the student should reply with a grateful “you’re welcome” because the student could not complete their assignments otherwise.

If your best friend picks up your kids from school because you and your partner both have to work late, the best friend may reply with “no problem” because they want to help. If your partner sneezes, your reply may consist of silence because of a mutual understanding.

If you constantly have to wait on a colleague to complete their work tasks before you can complete your part, they may respond with “sure” or “okay” because they are sarcastically being petty due to their slow productivity.

If your parents keep their grandkids for spring break, which they haven’t seen for a long time, they may reply with “my pleasure” or “it was an honor” because they receive joy spoiling their grandkids then sending them back home to you.

If an elder makes a donation at the local charity organization, they’d kindly respond with a head nod. If your sibling borrowed your car and brought it back later than the agreed upon time, they’d reply with a sleazy “whatever” because they have no consideration for your schedule.

II) Ways To Respond “Thank You” In Formal Situations

1, Much obliged.
This response is very British and quite old fashioned. The full formal way of saying it is “I’m very much obliged to you”
For example:
“Thank you so much doctor” – “I’m very much obliged to you.”

2, You’re most welcome.
This response does sound very posh. So, you should use it with careful thought, or planning. You can consider saying that phrase if you’re in a very formal situation.
For example:
“Thank you for sending me some forms.” – “You’ re most welcome.”
=> In this case, one is saying thanks to her solicitor for sending her some forms, and her solicitor says “you’re most welcome”. This response is suitable as this is a formal legal situation.

3, We appreciate your business / We appreciate your custom.
You use “we appreciate your business” if you’re talking to a business client and “we appreciate your custom” if you’re talking to a customer.
For example:
“Thank you for sending the sample so promptly.” – “Thank you for sending the sample so promptly.”

4, I’m happy to help.
This response is usually used for business situations, and is the common response among given by the native speakers.
For example:
“Thank you for helping me carry the coffees to the office.” – “Oh, I’m happy to help.”

Do Not Say

It is the end of our lesson today! Thank you for reading and hope you can apply well all the above-mentioned responses to thank you. To get further explanation as practice your listening English, you should watch the video below. The English teacher- Lucy, with her warm voice and interesting ways of presentation, will certainly make you become engaged in the lesson.

Sources:

https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-respond-to-thank-you
https://upjourney.com/how-to-respond-to-thank-you
https://learnenglishfunway.com/do-not-say-youre-welcome-respond-to-thank-you-properly/

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