感謝の気持ちを適切な方法と正しいタイミングで伝える事は人間関係を築く要となります。このレッスンではよりパワフルで印象的な謝意が伝わるコミュニケーション（言葉と態度）にフォーカスします。
Saying thank you the right way and at the right time can build relationships.
Work with your teacher and think of a time recently that you've said a specific thank you.
Think of a time recently that you've said a specific thank you. For example:
- Expert interview: you need to thank your expert. It's really important.
- There are two types of expert interviews:
- paid experts—for instance, phone a university professor and your company pays a lot of money for their time and insight. You may need to speak with them again, so it's important to build a relationship.
- experts at your company—for instance, maybe a partner at a branch in Europe is an expert in the field your project is in, so they make time in their day to talk to you. They are super busy and talking free of charge. Be really, really thankful.
- Think of an example case: "So let's think of an example industry." ... "And what might you ask an expert?"
- There are two types of expert interviews:
- Your superior helps you with a task. "Do you have anyone above you who has helped you?"
Strong thank you:
- Appropriate language (not too formal or casual).
- Specific and memorable (not just "thanks for your time").
- Good email thank-yous are important too. There's a lot of detail in Language B.
This is a lesson that can be taught almost as much to native speakers as to non-natives. We will discuss grammar, but more importantly, we will discuss style.
Litmus test for confident students
Unit 3 has some good advice even for native speakers. So, if your student is confident, explain that we'll talk about strategies to not only say thank you correctly (you should be doing that) but memorably so that you'll build and strengthen your network.
Example: "So, your English is really good. You don't need to learn how to say thank you, you can already do that. But do people remember your thank yous? That's what I want to talk about."
If your student still finds this boring or silly (perhaps they are not a very thankful person), then say something like, "Let's just take a quick look at these strategies and see if there's any English style you can pick up."
Consider the following advice about saying thank you. Do you agree or disagree, and would you find it easy or difficult?
- Be specific. Don’t always just say, “Thank you, [name].”
- Provide some lasting recognition such as a follow-up email or mentioning it at a later date as well. Appreciation is not a one-shot event—it should be ongoing.
- Give public thanks and praise—for instance, saying thank you in a meeting is more significant than by email.
- Be sincere in your thanks. Only say it if you mean it.
- Be specific in your praise.—This is key. Stock phrases are fine, but they leave no impact. Simply saying "Thank you for your time" is polite but forgettable.
- For instance, if you are ending a long expert interview with a renewable energy insider, you can say, "Thank you for that insight into the renewable energy industry. It's really valuable to us."
- Provide some lasting recognition.—How about sending a follow-up thank-you email the next day? This is great for networking. Some also make a call or send a handwritten thank-you note.
- Give public praise.—The goal is to encourage employees to keep up the good work, while simultaneously encouraging others to put out greater effort. Praising in public raises general morale. The flip side of this is to criticize in private.
- Be sincere. —Give praise only where it is due. If it's insincere, it might not go over well and could even seem sarcastic. This does depend on the person though; a lot of people are able to fake it pretty well.
Note
Especially in relation to "be sincere", you can talk about your personal style of saying thank you. More vigorous intonation and body language can also be important in English. Thank yous are an emotional form of communication, so your tone needs some emotion in it.
According to notable psychologist Albert Mehrabian,
- words account for 7%;
- tone of voice accounts for 38%; and
- body language accounts for 55% of communicating emotion.
That means we form an impression of how much we like or dislike a person not so much based on what they say but on how they say it.
A. With your teacher, arrange these thank yous from least to most formal:
- I know you are busy, so thank you for your time. This insight on the European markets is valuable.
- Cheers!
- On behalf of everyone here, I'd like to say a sincere thank you for that presentation. We all learned a great deal about Asian markets.
- Thanks so much.
- Okay, good meeting. Very productive. I'd like to say a special thanks to Jane for that presentation. It was very impactful.
Now, think of some of the most formal and the least formal contexts in which you'd say thank you.
B. This is the structure used in a thank-you email. Match the language in the email below with the points in the structure:
- Actions (for context.)
- A thank you.
- A hope for the future.
Dear Frank O'Neil,
It was a pleasure to speak with you last Friday about European markets. The competitive benchmark information about the German business model you shared with us has helped a great deal.
I just wanted to say thanks again. Let's keep in touch!
Best,
Tom Jones
Now, think of a thank-you email that you can write, and dictate it to your teacher. Remember, emails need to be very concise.
C. Common language can also be boring language. How many ways can you say "thank you" at the end of an email?
A.
- First, ask your student to read the full list.
- Then ask, "Which one do you think is most polite?"
- As you go through each one, ask your student, "What's the context?" or "Where would you hear this?"
These should be, from least to most formal:
2. Cheers!—used in very casual, friendly situations. This style is more British. In American English, the quick, casual way to say thank you is simply, "Thanks!"
4. Thanks a lot.—literally anywhere. (Can also be used sarcastically, so be aware of the difference in tone.)
5. Okay, good meeting. Very productive. I'd like to say a special thanks to Jane for that presentation. It was very impactful.—after a meeting.
1. Thank you so much for your time. All that info on the European markets was very insightful.—after an expert interview.
3. On behalf of everyone here, I'd like to say a sincere thank you for that great presentation.—after a presentation.
Note: One of the best compliments you can pay to someone in consulting is to say, "That was really insightful", which means it's not obvious, but it's spot on.
Think of situations where you would want to thank people:
- after a client meeting.
- after a feedback session from your team leader.
- after a lesson.
B. Ask: Is it similar or different to the thank-you emails that you have composed?
The structure of this email comes from this simple guide:
- Actions (for context.)
- It was a pleasure to speak with you last Friday. The insight that you shared has helped us a great deal.
- A thank you.
- I just wanted to say thanks again.
- A hope for the future.
- Let's keep in touch.
Key phrases:
- It was a pleasure to...
- I just wanted to say thanks again.
- Let's keep in touch.
Also see the TEF blog post, "How to email well" for general rules, greetings and sign-offs.
C: Common language can also be boring language.
Try to get past overused phrases that have become meaningless.
How many ways can you say "thank you" at the end of an email? Ask your student to think about communication between:
- two close colleagues;
- peers that don't know each other very well;
- a team leader and a team member under them, and vice versa; and
- a consultant and the client.
As your student comes up with ideas, use the list below to pick out more appropriate ways of expressing what your student says.
- Thank you for all your hard work on this.
- both gratitude and praise.
- Thanks again. We couldn’t have pulled this off without you.
- pulled this off—done this (with difficulty).
- Thank you, you’re amazing!
- strong and very complimentary.
- I’m so thankful for everything you bring to the table.
- bring to the table—your skills and expertise.
- Thank you kindly.
- common in America, especially in the South.
- Thanks a million!
- strong and friendly.
- Many thanks.
- neutral and common.
- Warmest thanks.
- friendly.
- I truly appreciate your hard work.
- strong and gracious with team members.
- I can’t thank you enough!
- very strong.
- Eternally grateful.
- the strongest.
- Thank you for going above and beyond!
- going above and beyond—doing more than what's expected.
- Thanks for being in my corner.
- being in my corner—to support me, often in a high-stress situation (from boxing, where the coach is in the boxer's corner and supports them).
NOTE
Other ways to use the list; plus further considerations:
- The list is quite exhaustive with 13 items. If you choose to teach these directly, be selective.
- For higher levels, let them categorize the phrases according to function, reader and register. Ask them to choose which ones would be useful for them to learn.
Give specific, effective thanks in the following situations:
- An expert gave a presentation on how the fin-tech industry has been changing over the last couple of years, as well as projections for the next few quarters.
- Your colleague was up until 4am preparing for the client's milestone meeting this morning. The meeting is finished.
- Your client has been collecting data. She's been in contact with a lot of her branches. Not all of them had the data available at first, but she somehow managed to get it from them.
- Think of impressive things your colleague, clients or subordinates have done.