In the course of a week’s work you probably write and receive scores of emails. It is likely that you put less thought into writing an email than you would if you were writing a traditional business or work-based letter. After all, email is the quick and easy way to communicate, you don’t need to be too formal or think about the wording too much, and somehow the message always gets across. Right?
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How to manage anger and stress: stop thinking how things should be
One of the ways in which we create stress for ourselves and get wound up is through a habit of thought that we may not even realise we have. Ideas about how life should be, how other people should behave and indeed how we ourselves should think, feel and behave can be deeply embedded in our ways of thinking.
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Anger management: make friends with your anger
Rage, fury, red mist, outbursts, lack of control, violence, temper, threats, attacks. The words we use in association with anger feel as if they should be written in red capital letters. They shout at us from the page. They signify behaviour and feelings which are dangerous and frightening.
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How to Write a Condolence Letter
Writing a condolence letter is a tough one. Often, we want to express sympathy but don’t know what to say. We wonder if a letter would be welcome or if it would be seen as inappropriate.
Perhaps the bereaved person is a work colleague, and you feel that to offer sympathy would be too personal. Perhaps you know only one of the people involved and feel awkward about ‘intruding’.
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How to write a thank-you letter
Let’s deal first with the objections. Yes, you’re right, there is no actual need to put your thanks in writing. You said it at the time, you sent a text, you sent an email.
Of course you did, you’re a nice person, and you wouldn’t dream of not saying thank you.
But there’s no harm, is there, in taking social interaction that little stage further, in acknowledging in a more tangible form the bonds which connect us and the part we play in each other’s lives.
How to lay out a personal letter
The first thing is not to get hung about it. No one is judging your handwriting or your written English. It’s not a test. There are some conventions, which actually make the communication easier, but you don’t have to follow them slavishly.
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Why personal letters can beat texts or emails
Imagine writing a letter with a pen, on paper, putting it in an envelope, attaching a stamp, then depositing it in a post box. Perhaps just reading these words makes you feel exhausted, all that effort, all that time, all those stages to go through for an outcome which could be achieved in seconds.
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