#8. Written Correspondence, The ELI Top 10

In preparation for our June "Train to be a Children's Etiquette Consultant class" we are going to have The ELI Top 10 as we celebrate our TENTH YEAR of  the Etiquette and Leadership Institute! This will be a count down of ten awesome things you will gain from signing up for our session! #CheersTo10Years

Think back to the last time you said thank you to someone. Hopefully it was not so far in the back of your mind that you cannot recall it to your memory. What about the last time you wrote a letter of gratitude to someone? What was it for? Did they give you a gift you had been eyeing for months (Or a gift you were not really keen to)? Maybe they stopped by one weekend for a visit and you told them how much you enjoyed their company? Or was it that they placed a good word in for a job position you were hoping to secure?

What about the last time you received a handwritten note? Did it not make you smile and feel special?

Sometimes, creating handwritten notes can be a hassle in comparison to typing up a quick email with spell check there to catch any unseen typos you missed. Though that may seem like the easier track, its those handwritten notes that give a personal touch in an electronic, impersonal world and show someone how much you truly appreciate them. It is the simple act of kindness that makes the difference.

William Arthur Ward said "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving." When you take our June "Train to be a Children's Etiquette Consultant Class", we will prepare you to create well written, properly worded correspondence letters that will elevate you and your business to a new level of compassion.

Now of course these aren't the only things you will learn but we picked ten of our favorites as a preview to get you off the fence and in Athens with us!

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Madonna, hydrangeas, and "Thank you"

Madonna has made a career of being controversial or provocative, but she’s in the news right now for something a little less dazzling: bad manners.

Have you seen the video? At a recent press conference for her new film, W.E., a fan handed a bouquet of hydrangeas to Madonna, who accepted them graciously enough. She even said “Thank you” twice.

But then she grimaced and said — despite the fact that a microphone was right in front of her — “I absolutely loathe hydrangeas. He obviously doesn’t know that.”



Let’s use this unfortunate incidence as a reminder for all of us. All of us have received a less-than-desirable gift, which probably means that at some point you have given a less-than-desirable gift! Think about the effort and love behind the present. If you open a gift and it’s not what you want, all you need to say is two words.

“Thank you.”

Not “Thank you, but...” or anything else. Just “Thank you.” No need to elaborate. Leave it at that.

Madonna’s reaction makes us think of this little gem from Elsie de Wolfe: “Be pretty as you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you!”