Business English Writing: How To Write A Thank You Note After A Corporate Event or Business Lunch

Just as small talk is crucial in developing lasting business relationships, saying thank you and showing your appreciation shows the other person their business and connection are valuable to you.

In my recent e-book, Small Talk To Go, I shared two scenarios where showing your appreciation and saying thank you would go a long way to building a strong, successful relationship – business lunches and corporate hospitality. (For more details of my e-book, click here).

Imagine you’ve been invited to a business lunch or a corporate event like a golf day or cocktail party. What do you do after the event? Do you write a thank you note? Or do you simply say thank you as you’re leaving and leave it as that?

Let me ask you? Do you think you should send a Thank You note?

My answer? A big fat yes. You should.

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It never hurts to say thank you in business.

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Why is it so important?

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• It shows you value the other person and their business.
• It’s good for business.

Saying thank you is not enough. You need to send a follow up thank you note, in other words, the thank you needs to be in writing. By taking the time to write a note of appreciation shows the other person they’re important enough for you to take time out of your busy schedule to ‘put pen to paper’.

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Email is acceptable but not What’s App

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You don’t have to send a handwritten note. An email is perfectly acceptable. But not a What’s App message (unless they’re a personal friend).

Now that we’ve established the importance of sending a thank you note, let’s look at when and how you should write this note in English.

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Tips for Writing A Thank You Note

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Tip #1: Write As Soon As Possible

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Write as soon as you can. The same day or the day after would be ideal. If that’s not possible, do it within two days of any event. You want the other person to remember why you’re thanking them and you also want to remember why you’re writing.

Tip # 2: Greet Your Host As You Would Face to Face

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If you didn’t previously know the person who hosted the lunch, use a formal greeting such as “Dear Mr. Smith.” If you know the person well, or he/she told you to address them by their first name, use a less formal greeting such as “Hello Richard,” or the person’s first name, such as “Sunetra.”

If more than one person hosted the event like a golf event, greet the main contact and then follow by addressing the others in the body of the note. For example, “Hello John, It was a pleasure to meet you and the rest of your team at the golf day.”

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Tip #3: Explain why you’re writing; keep it simple and clear

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Tell your host why you’re writing. You could do that in the subject line of your email, “RE: Thank you for a wonderful day’s golf”; ” RE: Your cocktail party”; RE: Really enjoyed our lunch”.

You could say why you enjoyed the golf day (by mentioning the excellent organisation, the good choice of partners) or cocktail party (choice of venue, food and wine) or lunch (choice of restaurant).

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There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

That means business will always be discussed during these occasions in which case, mentioning what was discussed, agreed or promised during the lunch or event is always worth doing.

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Tip #4: Close With An Optimistic Tone

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Tip #5: Check For Spelling And Grammar Before Sending

Example Emails

Corporate Event (Golf)

Corporate Event (Cocktail Party)

Business Lunch

Thank you makes all the difference.