not teaching,
still THINKING …
Gratitude is all around us this Thanksgiving Day. In the spirit of thankfulness, we share a post that originally was published in April 2014 when this blog devoted that entire month to “polishing your professional skills.”
Here it is, again, intended for anyone and everyone.
Thanking someone with a formal note has already been a theme of our April tips. But here is an idea from a professional in the field who heard it and likes it: When you thank someone, use that opportunity to pitch yourself.
Isn’t that rude?
Not if you do it skillfully.
- Be sincere with your thanks. Truly mean what you say. Use your words to show gratitude for a favor, for an interview, for someone’s time, for a person’s talents or for someone’s counsel. Be specific. Share details of how you were helped.
- Be transparent about your pitch. Remind the person who you are and how you came together. Include key highlights of your interaction. This is where you start to pitch yourself: Let the person know how you, in turn, can be of help or assistance; how you can add value to that person’s operation; how you can make a difference in some way.
- Be thoughtful. Realize that you are one person in another person’s busy life. Be specific but be brief. Reread what you intend to send. Put yourself in the other person’s place. Rewrite your message until you reach just the right balance of gratitude and pitch. Market yourself thoughtfully.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, with gratitude to you for reading our blog, sharing our posts and interacting with us over the years.
(These two profs are no longer teaching at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, but we are still thinking.)