🎂Transform Career Relationships with Thoughtful Communications

5 Techniques and Templates for a Kindness Advantage

Apr 24, 2025

When I was 8 years old, I learned one of the most important career lessons still relevant today — send a thank you note. While today’s thank you notes are mostly sent via email, I occasionally miss that stationary composed in cursive.

The art of expressing gratitude can invisibly positively influence career and life relationships. I’ve written about why it matters, recognized related kindness at work and communications leaders agree. Sending thanks shows kindness, takes less than 5 minutes and makes a lasting positive impression.

When you master gratitude, you get bonus points professionally. To gain an even greater edge and be an all-around outstanding person, try these 5 thoughtful communication techniques to stand out at work. There is a catch — you have to be genuine and the timing must be right. Personalize these best practices to your style. These communications are a long-term investment for a lifetime of success. I hope it helps you in your career and life. Let me know what else you’d add to this list in the comments.

✅ Follow-up
📝 Maintain a Check-In list
🎂 Wish a Happy Birthday or Special Occasion
📣 Celebrate People Publicly: Comment, Share, React
📩 KIT: Keep in Touch with Meaningful Outreach

1. ✅ Follow-up

When you meet with someone, they may recommend a resource, suggest an idea or make an introduction for you. Take note of what they suggest and when you’ve taken action — read the article they recommended or met with someone they introduced you to, let the person who made the suggestion know your status. Keep it simple and short. Don’t ask for anything. Share a message, like this:

Hi [their name],
I wanted to let you know that I: [list the action you took – read the article you recommended/talked with [name] /experimented with the idea you suggested].
It was very helpful, and I learned [add here].
I really appreciate your guidance in my career journey.
Thank you,
[Your Name]

2. 📝 Maintain a Check-In List

When you learn someone is going through a challenging time or someone they know is, take note of this low moment with a reminder to follow up at the appropriate time. This could range from someone not feeling well, being a caretaker for someone or navigating a difficult moment. It could be the next day or a few weeks, if they are away from work.

I learned this skill from my first manager who would make Friday calls to check on how people were feeling in his philanthropic leadership role. It was a beautiful practice that influenced me to take a similar approach. Here’s an example:

Hi X,
I just wanted to check-in on you. How [are you feeling/is your ____ feeling?]
I’ve got you in my [thoughts/prayers – if you are more religious.]
I’m sending care. Please let me know if there might be a way I can support you during this time, perhaps [a meal delivery/phone call to listen/add a suggestion that is appropriate here].
With Care,
[Your Name]

3. 🎂 Wish a Happy Birthday or Special Occasion

This is a joyful opportunity to connect. We need more joy generally. It could be for a birthday, work anniversary or perhaps something awesome happened. Recognize someone at a happy occasion. It might just wind up in their smile file. Try this template:

Hi [Name],
I want to wish you [a happy birthday/happy work anniversary/congratulations on this incredible recognition].
I’m so grateful to know you and the awesome ways you contribute [greatness/kindness/enthusiasm/cheer/joy, etc.] to the world.
Wishing you an awesome [day/celebration/milestone].
Cheers,
[Your Name]

4. 📣 Celebrate People Publicly: Comment, Share, React

When there’s a public professional moment to highlight — speaking at a conference or a project launch or if someone shares a thoughtful post that resonates with you, take a moment to comment, share or react, in that order. Comments are gold and mean a lot. Shares are rare, but take you far. Reactions are thoughtful. Don’t wait for someone to win Pulitzer Prize, lots of everyday moments can be celebrated on social platforms.

Depending on the situation, you may want to ask permission, but if the post is public, you can likely skip that step. Writing a short intro to share why you are posting will go a long way. There’s a lot of celebration of public figures, and that’s awesome. But we can do more to champion our peers and people with great stories to share who might not have millions of followers. Here’s an example:

Option 1: I appreciated this post by (@ tag the person), it resonated because [add why]. Here’s the post:
Option 2: Congrats to this team for accomplishing this milestone. I’m so fortunate to work with [tag names].

5. 📩 KIT: Keep in Touch with Meaningful Outreach

Don’t let months go by before reaching out to someone again. If you don’t know them well, find a cadence that feels authentic to you. Every quarter is reasonable. Find a way to keep in touch.

This could be by sending an article or podcast someone might enjoy or sending a follow-up related to your conversation — you learned they are planning a trip to Italy, send along a top recommendation. Take note of what interests them and when you come across something relevant, share it.

Hi [Name],
I came across this [article/podcast/book/story] and I thought you might appreciate it. This reminded me of our conversation and [share why it matters to them].
I hope you’re doing great. Thank you again for supporting me.
Warm Regards,
[Your Name]

I hope you might draw on these five techniques to build your relationships through thoughtful communications. By investing effort into nurturing your connections, you'll hopefully be rewarded with a strong network to support your success as you support others. Start small, be consistent, and your relationships will flourish. I welcome the opportunity to hear about your experiences. Continue the conversation in the comments.

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