If you hear about something randomly (and listening again is so key) maybe it’s a random thought. If you hear about something three times maybe its becoming something buzzworthy…if you hear about something four or five times…and once is from the pulpit…maybe it is really a thing.
Case in point is letterwriting, its value, and its becoming a lost form of communication that surprisingly can help anyone cut through the email and text and social post glut that we are all so used to.
I have been a subscriber to a service call Letterjoy for some time…every week I get a hand written copy of a letter with the original text and then the backstory of its significance. I have learned more about the influence of Benedict Arnold to the mindset of Werner von Braun to the works of Clara Barton to the anguish of Emmet Till’s mother, all because the writing is original deeply personal and is in the prose of the day. It gives me a chance to learn, to think, and to literally witness history for the first time.
So that’s one. Then this past week we did a podcast with Henry Yeh, who is now a graduate student on the women’s basketball staff at Duke. Henry is the American dream (future post coming) but one of the things he got his “big break” with was MAILING reports to every NBA team’s scouting department with his own take on player evaluation. One day he got a call from Shane Battier at the Miami Heat. Henry’s package that was mailed landed on Shane’s desk and after a few months he opened and read the hard copy…and hired him on the spot. That would not have happened with an email.
Here’s another. This weekend I was reading the New York Times about a connection of families from Superstorm Sandy to Hurricane Ian. Sandy was 10 years ago, and one of the things the survivors mentioned that got them through the day were hand written nots from strangers and school children. Tangible things they could touch and save…not NFT’s, not GIFs…cards and notes. They have no reciprocated with local schoolkids in Queens back to communities in Florida with the hope of sharing it forward.
Keep going? Friday I was listening to Robin Roberts’ Masterclass on authentic communication. One way she strongly suggests people following up? Send me a hand written thoughtful note I can revisit and review. Too many emails, but a note? There is a way to cut through all the junk mail we receive.
OK another one. Saturday night I attended mass at St. John The Baptist in Hillsdale, New Jersey. Our pastor, Reverend Monsignor Peter Smutelovic, always has a great way of relating messages. His homily? About how the historic, handwritten letters of long ago prophets…let’s call them influencers…continued to inspire and be relatable today, and how in the loss of traditional letter writing, that personal communication is being lost.
So what’s the deal? Do we need to abandon all forms of the great tools we have for reaching a global audience and just go back to pen and paper? Nope. However if you are looking for a way to cut through the clutter, express your own descriptive voice in written form, or just do a special thank you, maybe card and letter writing should be part of the time challenged regimen. The handwritten notes of world leaders still resonate much more then the emails and texts that can be lost, and lose their nuance with quickly scribbled thoughts. What still brings a bit of shock and awe and inspiration are those flowing words, no matter how simple, that were done with pen or pencil and paper. I know one or two colleagues, one being Dr. Harvey Schiller, who always found the time to send handwritten birthday cards to people. Simple but thoughtful and memorable. Now I wish I actually did that more than just scrolling through Facebook birthdays, and I probably should, but Dr. Schiller always said that those notes were saved, and revered, for years, and often times were the first thing that people brought up upon his next interaction with them.
So write this down…letter writing and card sending seems to be a thing again…or at least it should be. For those looking to gain an edge, try it out. For those who need a break from the mundane and a way to jog memory, a card or two is not a bad idea either.
Now just practice that cursive!
