Forbes: In a recent Wall Street Journal article on “The Lost Art of the Handwritten Note,” author Philip Hensher addresses how our increasing reliance on typing and texting is making the handwritten note go the way of the fax machine. He says, “The ready communication through electronic means that has replaced the handwritten letter is wonderful. But we have definitely lost something here, and those Skype, email and text exchanges won’t be treasured in the way that my teenage letters, scribbled journals and postcards have been for years.”
13 comments:
In a milk crate that's below my bed in my dorm I keep treasured books and CDs, scripts, and playbills from shows I've seen. In with those things are lots of little handwritten notes that I've saved over the years from when I first started doing theatre to the present day. I've kept these notes that are 5 years old, and maybe they only say "Thanks for being a great crew person!" or the small little card that came with a bouquet of flowers (that long ago withered) that said "I couldn't have done this show without you! Thank you for being an excellent stage manager and making this show happen." Those little things, hand written, folded, faded, and with the corners wearing away mean so much to me. I try to return the favor, and I always write little notes after the run of a show. An e-mail will never suffice in this case, and as time wears on, the little handwritten signs of care will mean even more. The author applied his point to the use of thank you letters from interviews and such, and that will still hold true for a while. But, I can even see eventually in sixty or seventy years having e-mail be a standard response to interviews. But, I don't think that those little notes handed to the director or stage manager or crew people will ever lose their place of poignancy in the theatre.
I completely agree with the sentiments expressed by Kelly. I too have boxes upon boxes in my closet at home, many of them filled with cards and notes from my childhood. I also have envelopes full of letters written to me while on a retreat with my high school. With hand written notes, there is a conscious decision whether or not to keep the paper or throw it away once you are done reading it. If you decide to keep it, it is probably stored in a safe place for you to peruse at a later date. It is not this way with electronic communication. Even if you decide to keep something, it can be filed away to some dark corner of your inbox where you'll never see it again. All emails in the same font look exactly the same. Handwriting on the other hand, lends a personal touch to a message that pixels just can't convey.
The author of this article couldn't have said it any better! Just this past Monday, I received a thank you note from someone I worked with on a Playground piece. Getting that thank you note was so unexpected, but so lovely! It made my day! It's funny; I have been writing handwritten notes basically forever, but I never associated writing handwritten notes in a professional setting until coming to CMU. As a kid, I would write my parents notes daily, I would write my friends and family back home when I was away at camp during the summer, and even in high school I was write my teachers notes simply just for caring about me and helping me out with the college process. However, when applying to colleges, writing handwritten thank you notes never crossed my mind. I thought sending emails would suffice. Now, after coming to CMU, it is clear to me that this is the case, and I definitely agree! Writing handwritten notes in any setting shows that you really, truly care. With that said, neat handwriting is definitely important!
I agree whole-heartedly with this author. Handwriting is a dying art in these days. Writing a thank you card or a note to someone takes more effort than an e-mail. Putting your handwriting on paper shows that you had the forethought to pick out a piece of stationary or a card, pick up a pen, think about what to write, and then committed it to paper permanently. E-mail is too easy. You can write a little message within seconds. If you want to change it all you have to do is hit the delete button and retype something else. I still have cards from people that I have worked with years ago. I have a box filled with letters from my grandmother that are too special for me to throw away. Handwriting a thank you note to your crew or your designers makes it just that much more special.
I am actually much like Kelly on this one. I keep a box of all playbills, notes, cards, scripts, etc., from shows or moments in life where people were kind enough to say thank you with a note. In high school we had what we called "Grams" and audience members were allowed to write notes to the actors and the crew and send them backstage during the show. I have over 200 of these that I have saved from middle school and high school and I continue to read them year after year. They remind me of some of my favorite childhood memories and I can tell who wrote them just by the handwriting. That is the thing I love. Handwriting is SO unique and there are not two people in the world with the same exact style. I love that I can tell who wrote it by just looking. It is so much more personal then an email, and who knows, the email could not even be from the person you thought it was from.
Handwriting letters, cards, and notes always brings me joy. As a person who loved having pen-pals as a kid, I don't think I could ever replace handwriting notes completely. I just feel like they are the perfect way of saying thank you.
I agree with this author I think it is invaluable to write notes as follow ups. I think hand writing letters really isn't that time consuming honestly. If you write 5 lines and address it tops that would take 10 minutes. An email certainly takes less time but as the author said it can be buried in the inbox or junk mail folder. I think for how much of a reaction it creates it is completely worth it.
I agree with everyone here because I, too, have a box full of handwritten letters from my beloved friends. Those letters have been a great meaning to me as well as a memory that brings up the sentiment. I feel a great difference between an email from my friends and a handwritten letters. As technology develops I find the email and computer-written notes prevail more than handwritten notes. Although I understand computer is more comfortable to use, I feel sad how people forget the value of handwritten notes. Whenever I reread the letters, I feel the same way as I did for the first time. I feel like the electronic communication is kind of void of emotion when a person is writing it because he/she can just make up words. However, there is definitely advantage of email; people can keep the letter forever and can read from anywhere as long as they have computers with them. However, I hope that people can realize what effect the handwritten note can bring and use more often to deliver a message to others.
I completely agree with this article. Sadly I also really fear that in say 10 or 20 years it will have to with they way our postal service is suffering economically. It seems like everything in our world is being replaced with electronic versions and that is a travesty. A hand written note is just such a personal thing. It shows that you really took some time to sit down and pour all your thoughts onto paper and then even spent a little money and time to go and mail it somewhere. Anyone can just shoot off a quick email. & dont get me wrong, email certainly has its uses, but it almost seems like an insult to send someone an email version of something that should have been hand written. My grandma has sent me a letter every single week since Ive been at college and I really love every one. I even enjoy trying to decipher her crazy cursive handwriting. I have held on to every letter and I know someday they will be even more special to me when I can go back and read them all just as if I was talking to her.
A good friend of mine gave me some great advice when it comes to applying for Jobs. After having an interview whether or not you are offered the job, if you want to make a really good impression you send them a hand written letter thanking for their time. It is just another way for you to stand out from the crowd and make a potential employer remember you, if not for the job now but in the future if a job opens up. I unfortunately have horrendous hand writing and do not do very many hand written thank you letters so to compensate if i do send someone an email as a thank you or how are you I try to remember something from the last meeting be it a joke or a topic that came up and remember it in the email. Its all about making it personal because the Screen is harder to connect through then is the hand written letter.
I think that in a time when electronic is so overwhelming taking a break from it really shows putting forth and effort far beyond that of an email. After all technology was made and is used to make lives easy, so sending a hand written note shows you are willing to step outside the easy of electronics and do something a different way. It almost seems as the only right way to communicate. I unfortunately have heard however that projections of the united states postoffice is seen to close in ten or less years. I do not really see what can be done then. With traditional postage dying out there must be another way to show the same things with gratitude.
While I completely agree with this article in that nothing can match the sentimental value of a handwritten letter I find that those of us with dysgraphia, or I suppose exceptionally terrible handwriting, are at a disadvantage because in my opinion a poorly illegible handwritten letter can come off as unprofessional or immature when we were trying to convey a professional courtesy.
I agree that a handwritten note will always be more personal and effective than an e-mail. However, both have their place in modern society. If you're thanking someone and they are in your area or you are not in a rush for a letter to get to them, handwritten is best. IF you have just interviewed for a job in person, handwritten is best. But sometimes that is not a possibility. Sometimes the person is far away and you are either on a time constraint or don't know their address. This is where even an e-mail substitution will work well. Yes, it is always important to consider the feasibility of the best option first. But an electronic note is often better than no note at all.
I must admit that I don't fully understand people's need to have hand written letters instead of electronic text. At the same time I can understand that a lot of other people in the world do value hand written text and I can respect that. I know that a lot of the people who will be hiring me in the future may have fond memories of the good old days when people only used pen and paper. In the interest of getting along with the older generations I need to used hand written letters at times.
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