- In the digital age, writing a note by hand carries a lot of weight.
- Penning a thank-you note after a job interview can help seal the deal, and sending a handwritten letter to a loved one can show gratitude.
- Business Insider spoke with Zaim Kamal, the creative director Montblanc, and etiquette coach Myka Meier, both of whom made the case for why people should still invest their time perfecting the art of the handwritten note.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
There’s something almost sensual about the way a good pen glides across a smooth piece of paper; the excitement of reading handwritten letters from a friend, a lover, or a family member. It’s also a bit nostalgic, reminiscent of a time when the words “pen” and “paper” were as inseparable as “touch” and “screen” are today.
And in the 21st century, a note written carefully and meticulously by hand is just about the most luxurious thing you can get or give someone.
“Handwritten notes show you took time and effort, which shows genuine gratitude,” Myka Meier, an etiquette coach and the author of Business Etiquette: Made Easy, told Business Insider. “In the digital era, tangible notes are less and less frequent, meaning when you receive one, you take extra notice.”
Handwritten letters date back thousands of years
Around 500 BC, one of the first handwritten letters in recorded history was penned by Persian Queen Atossa. And as literacy rates grew throughout the world, so did the popularity of sending letters. In the 18th century, as Malcolm Jones pointed out in an old Newsweek article, handwritten letters were once so common that one of the first prose narrative novels in the English language, Samuel Richardson’s “Pamela,” is actually just composed of handwritten letters.
Today, notes can be used for just about anything. For example, after a job interview, sending a handwritten "thank you" note can help seal the deal; sending out invitations to friends on personalized stationery shows effort, and sending your best wishes to a loved one shows that you care.
Even bad news can be delivered via handwritten note - much better than with a blanket email statement.
"A handwritten note can even become a sentimental keepsake to some," Meiers said. "It adds extra emphasis to whatever you are saying. It sets the message apart and draws attention to whatever it is someone is communicating. Executives often receive hundreds of electronic messages daily - a handwritten note will surely make a statement."
The goal when writing a note is to make it as unique as a painted Birkin or a customized car
Handwriting, as messy as it can be, adds something special to a note. Business Insider's Shayanne Gal previously reported that experts can look at one's handwriting and find over 5,000 personality traits. Large letters mean you are more people-oriented; small letters indicate you're introverted; writing with no slant means you are very solid and pragmatic; and writing with light pressure means you move easily from place to place.
All of this, in addition to having personalized stationery, adds an extra level of gravitas that sets one apart from the rest of the crowd; a level of maturity and the security of the before times, prior to everything going digital.
"When you write something on a handwritten letter, you don't just pass on the content, you are actually passing on meaning," Zaim Kamal, creative director of Montblanc, told Business Insider. "When you carry a letter around, you are carrying around the person that wrote it. Handwritten notes convey emotion and feelings."
Successful executives recognize the value of handwriting something over simply sending a note digitally.
Business Insider's Allana Akhtar previously reported that Sheldon Yellen, CEO of Belfor Holdings, always travels with a suitcase full of stationery and writes notes by hand for everything from anniversaries to birthdays. Each year, he writes cards to each of his 9,200 employees to show gratitude to them; the result is a "culture of compassion" he's fostered at the company.
Meanwhile, Business Insider's Charlie Wood reported that Alex Rinke, cofounder and joint CEO of the $2.5 billion company Celonis, used to write handwritten letters to senior executives to help market his company to large firms and potential investors.
"The idea was that if we hand wrote letters, we would actually get to the senior executives, because if they receive a handwritten letter, it could be their grandmother; it could be somebody really important or a personal emergency or whatever," Rinke said. "And it worked - people really did open the letters. I mean, you send out 1,500 letters and you win maybe two or three Fortune 500 clients. It's not a huge number percentage-wise, but it's pretty meaningful."
Even digitally-native Gen Zers can come around to the handwritten note - nostalgia sells, like Polaroids, like stereos, like DVRs, and soon like pens and paper. Kamal told Business Insider that a good balance could be writing a handwritten note, taking a photo of it, and then texting or emailing the photo to someone.
"It has nothing to do with wealth or where you come from; it has to do with how you want to convey yourself," Kamal said of writing notes by hand. "In the past, everyone wrote by hand, and now everyone is rediscovering it. Especially now that we are in lockdown."
As for how best to express yourself in handwritten correspondence, the etiquette guidelines are actually pretty straightforward.
Meiers suggests that "flat or fold-over cards" are best to give as a thank-you note after an interview, while monarch stationery (also referred to as Executive stationery), which often comes with a personalized letterhead printed or engraved at the top, is best used for handwritten social notes or informal printed letters.
"When you write something by hand - and we see this in studies - you are actually slowing your thoughts down. You are not in the automation process; rather, you are editing, you're putting things away, you are making connections in your head," Kamal said. "You're basically creating a memory out of a note. When you write on a computer, all you create is a file."