Appreciation Letter

The purpose of writing a letter of appreciation is to formally express your appreciation and thank a person or organization for a contribution made to your life or career that is held dear and special. Serviced rendered or something done in the ordinary course of work does not require a formal letter of appreciation. When the situation is one of having received service or something beyond and above the normal call of duty or beyond your expectations, sending a letter of appreciation is certainly the answer. Appreciation letters can be personal or related to a business.

Business appreciation letters are sent in many different situations. For example, appreciation letters to employees or clientele, appreciation of exceptional performance or services rendered beyond the call of duty, such as personally contributing to volunteer service. If some other business or service has extended a special consideration or referred customers to your company, an appropriate letter of appreciation ought to be sent to them. This helps to foster goodwill and building better business relations. If you have a voluntary speaker at a company meeting for a special presentation or for a discourse on some special business topic, an appreciation letter should definitely be sent to him for his contribution. Appreciation letters are also sent to customers for their patronage and loyalty towards your company's products and services.

If a teacher has helped your child to overcome some educational or behavioral shortcoming and has had a positive influence on your child, you must make sure that you formally express your appreciation for the effort. Many times, there are difficult phases in life when your neighbors and friends stand by you like pillars of strength. These are also times when you can express your appreciation by writing an appropriate letter, thanking them for their exceptional support.

You should also write a letter appreciating exceptional customer service provided by a company. If you and your family receive some kind of support through or from some agency or service club, remember to send them a letter of thanks and appreciation for their help and support.

Apart from the above, there are hundreds of other situations, where it would be appropriate or even necessary to send letters of appreciation. These letters are in fact very important communication mediums. They are keys that open doors to opportunity for furthering interpersonal collaboration and help form new and strengthen existing personal and business relationships. When they are sent in appreciation, gratitude and praise to someone's outstanding performance or a job well done, they serve to encourage and motivate the individual to excel and accomplish more. The letters serve as an acknowledgement of receiving an important document or invitation, report or resume too. In your appreciation letter, you must remember to state the reason for communicating your gratitude. Do not resort to flowery or flattering language instead be forthright and honest. Your letter should convey your sincerity, as people are able to see through pretence almost immediately. The language should be clear and concise. Business correspondence would require the use of the official letterhead, but for personal appreciation letters, always pen the communication in your own handwriting and resort to personal stationery.

It is always preferable to address the letter to some specific individual, even in case of the letter being sent in appreciation of the actions of an organization. A well sounding and sincere letter of appreciation can be the foundation on which interpersonal rapport and a productive business relation can be built. 

When writing letters of appreciation, there are a few things that have to be kept mind.

• Writing promptly- Send the letter without undue delay, immediately after the incident for which you are expressing your thanks and appreciation. This would ensure two things. Firstly, since the incident is fresh in your mind, it will help to ingrain an element of sincerity in the tone of the letter and also prevent the communication from looking like an obligatory afterthought.
• Reason for the letter- The opening lines of the letter should clarify that it is in fact a letter of appreciation, referring clearly to the incident or things to which it refers to.
• Appropriateness- There should be a genuine reason for expressing appreciation. It should not sound hollow or appear as if it is being sent due to some extraneous reason.
• Size of the letter- An appreciation letter should be short and to the point. The tone should be warm and cordial.

Check for errors- Always make sure that the letter is free from spelling and grammatical errors before you finalize it. The letter is meant to convey a genuine sense of appreciation and thanks, hence double-check it before dispatching.