100 Sincere Thank-You Messages That Leave A Lasting Impression

Maybe you’re sitting down right now looking at a newly opened document and you’ve drawn a blank. You’re trying to find the right words to thank you, but every time you type something, you delete it a few seconds later.

Where should you start?

You might be inclined to use ChatGPT to autogenerate a response. That’s what Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford did when bidding farewell to a former teammate on X (formerly Twitter).

It was so obvious, owing to the painfully robotic language, the lack of authenticity, and the fact that he accidentally left in the words “Caption ideas”.

Awks.

It doesn’t matter if you’re Marcus Rashford or Marcus Aurelius. We all need a bit of inspiration to get our creative juices flowing. Here are 100 sincere messages of appreciation to help you on your way.

How To Make Your Thank-You Message Sound Human.

Let’s talk about contractions. No, not those you may have experienced if you’ve ever been privy to childbirth.

I’m talking about the contractions of words where we insert apostrophes to join two or more words for the sake of concision.

It’s been a while since high-school English classes, so here’s a recap:

Unless you’re writing a period novel, an academic assignment, or legal documentation, this type of language will come across as too formal. We rarely speak like this in daily life.

Read out the following two statements to see how they sound.

Which comes across as the most natural?

In the second example, we use it’s instead of it has, you’ve instead of you have, and I’m instead of I am.

Where an opportunity presents itself in the below thank-you messages, we always favour the use of contractions when we express gratitude.

The first five sections relate to the workplace, and the latter five relate to life outside of work.

1. Thank-You Messages For A Coworker’s Support.

We might not feel like it’s our job to thank fellow coworkers. Surely that’s the job of our superiors?

Not true. If you fail to recognise your colleagues for their support, don’t count on them helping you out again in the future.

2. Thank-You Messages Following An Interview.

Your attitude after an interview can leave a lasting impression and still influence the recruiter. Reaching out shows that you’re proactive in your communication rather than reactive.

It also shows how much the opportunity means to you.

Avoid using excessive punctuation like exclamation marks (for the same reason you wouldn’t use emojis).

Don’t be overbearing with your praise as it will come across as a disingenuous attempt to influence the recruitment process. HR professionals won’t fall for your schmoozing.

3. Thank-You Messages To A Senior Colleague.

Senior managers and leaders like praise too, you know. People need positive feedback to reinforce their good behaviours.

If we think our leaders are going above and beyond, it’s courteous to acknowledge their efforts.

4. Thank-You Messages For An Employee Who Went Above And Beyond.

If you thank those who directly report to you, you’re much more likely to retain them.

More often than not, people don’t leave jobs because they feel underpaid.

We find it easy to correct behaviour when we recognise something we don’t like to see and something we want to change. But when everything is hunky-dory, we often see no reason to intervene.

We search for the next problem, like problem-seeking missiles, when all the while, staring right in front of us is a model employee deserving of attention.

Thank-you cards are a great way of recognising them.

5. Thank-You Messages For A Job Referral/Recommendation Letter.

When someone goes out of their way to write you a glowing reference or recommendation letter, don’t let the opportunity pass you by without expressing gratitude.

Note: The next categories of thank-you messages are broken down into specific categories or scenarios, as signposted by the accompanying text in bold.

6. Thank-You Messages After Receiving A Service.

If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, bar, or any profession in the hospitality industry, you’ll be acutely aware of how people are spoken to like excrement.

It’s time to change that.

We shouldn’t just thank people because we think it will advance our careers, and we should give without the expectation of receiving. It’s one of the most wholesome feelings.

7. Thank-You Messages For Gifts (Birthdays, Weddings, Baby Showers, Other Occasions).

People might think you don’t appreciate their gifts if you don’t respond with a thank-you card.

It’s rude to keep them guessing. If people have thought of you, reciprocate the sentiment and let them know you’re thinking of them.

8. Thank-You Messages For Help Given.

A friend in need is a friend indeed, so if anyone out there has given you their time, be sure to acknowledge their selflessness.

9. Thank-you messages For Guests For Attending An Important Event.

If you’re thinking of improvising some warm wishes to close off a speech, maybe don’t. Otherwise, you could end up rambling like Bilbo Baggins when he says to his guests:

Crickets chirping.

In his defence, Bilbo had already sunk a few beers at the Green Dragon earlier that day.

But unless you’re a barefooted, hairy-chested, dungaree-wearing hobbit, you won’t have as much luck endearing your reader or audience with that kind of spiel.

10. Thank-You Messages For Your Inner Circe.

Remember the film Meet The Parents with Ben Stiller? God, saying that makes me feel old. Robert De Niro has what he refers to as a circle of trust. Who’s in your inner circle?

This next batch of thank-you notes is written specifically for those.

Disclaimer: some in-laws are so impossible to please that even Shakespeare couldn’t woo them with his poesy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Thank-You Notes.

Here are some frequently asked questions that will help you imbue your thank-you notes with emotion and authenticity.

How do you express a heartfelt thank you?

If you add specific examples about why you’re grateful, the recipient will know that it’s not a sentiment that’s been cut and pasted from another source.

Don’t just say thank you, say why you’re thankful. Let them know how important they are to you by expressing how they’ve had a positive impact on your life and what their input has enabled you to do.

Be specific about:

Example of a heartfelt thank-you note.

Martin, thank you so much for all your support in preparation for the launch of our X range. Without your relentless perfectionism during the product development phase (especially with the branding and packaging), we simply wouldn’t have launched on time – meaning the product launch would have been postponed for another three months.

Based on our sales forecast, we would have missed an extra $140,000 in sales during these next three months.

If we’d missed that window of opportunity, my head would likely be on a spike outside of our head office. Ouch! Joking aside, I feel so relieved that we finally got there in the end.

Coffees on me for the next week. Remind me what’s your fav… It’s a mocha with cream, right?

Should I write a handwritten thank-you note or type one?

Always let sincerity be your guide. If it feels appropriate to write a note, then go ahead. If you want to type a note, then that’s okay too.

As long as the reader appreciates the message, that’s the most important thing.

If you work on a production line in a factory, a handwritten thank-you note is a much easier medium of exchange. Not all colleagues have access to emails during working hours.

On the flip side, if you work in an office, it’s much easier to send an email to the recipient, which they can pick up at a time that’s convenient for them.

Also, if you’re passing a handwritten note to a colleague (generally of the opposite sex), people might assume you’re exchanging telephone numbers or other secrets.

Gossipers can’t help themselves, can they? If you want to be discreet, send an email.

Final Word On Writing A Thank-You Note.

You don’t have to be a wordsmith to write a thank-you note, so don’t overthink it (although I appreciate that’s much easier said than done).

But I’d take a sincere thank-you note with bad grammar over a polished note with robotic language any day of the week.

If you have time on your side, step away from your screen for a few hours, and let your earliest ideas ferment. You should use the above examples as a starting point rather than an end.

Tommy