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In business digital communication like emails is the most common communication of all. It allows businesses to interact and conduct cross border business therefore opening up many opportunities for professionals. Unfortunately many times professionals who are not natively English can be misunderstood and come off as harsh and abrasive making it difficult and unpleasant to work with them. If this is by no means your intention using different ways to express thanks in an email can go a long way in making people open to what you’re about to say next or what you’ve said before.

Sending an email can also reveal cracks in your speaking ability which otherwise would go unnoticed, so, if you’re language learning these responses should be your go to for a number of situations.

10 Methods To Send A Thank You Email

1. Thank you for your feedback

Have you just been contacted about something? Or has someone taken the time to respond to your initial communication? Even if that response isn’t favourable saying thank you is still the best course of action. Many times you may vehemently disagree with something especially if it were negative. But taking time to write a short email expressing your thanks is a great way to show you’re polite, well mannered and handle criticism. This may not be the best response if the person is praising your work. You may want to use another phrase that truly conveys your appreciation and gratitude.

2. Thank you for bringing this to my attention

If someone has taken the time to point something out to you this is by far the best response. You could start your message with a professional greeting like ” Good day” followed by this message and what next steps you’re going to take, perhaps even asking for their help or ideas to improve the situation. For example Good Day James, Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We have been working long and hard to improve our websites uptime and performance, your patience and understanding in this regard is appreciated.

3. Thank you for contacting me/ Thank you for getting in touch

This is a great relationship building response, especially “thank you for getting in touch”. Often times professionals take communication for granted but it shows that you appreciate their time and you value your professional relationship. But be aware that these expressions are best suited as a response after a long break in communication. It would look really odd to any native if you emailed each other only yesterday and this is your reply. However if you had a verbal interaction or face to face communication recently this response is perfectly reasonable.

4. Thank you for your prompt reply/response

Sometimes in business communication people can take days if not weeks to respond, even when it’s an urgent or pressing matter. It’s understandable to expect a delay especially since people are busy but when someone responds quickly expressing thanks should be your go-to response. Do it in the opening sentence so they know their effort isn’t going unnoticed. You can use prompt response instead of prompt reply but they mean the same thing.

5. Thank you in advance

This sentence is best used in anticipation of something and sounds less demeaning than an outright demand. Once again it’s a great way to show that you value your communication and that you’re not being condescending or forceful. Remember, the person on the other end doesn’t know what tone you’re using. But this sentence doesn’t and cannot undo a very rude or abrasive tone throughout the email and can if used incorrectly sound facetious. It’s best to use this at the end of an email that was already upbeat and positive in nature instead of at the end of a complaint or barrage.

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6. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me

If you’ve just completed a business meeting, presentation or pitch this is the ideal response. It shows the recipient you understand that their time is valuable. It’s also a great way to start a dialogue about a follow up or a way to nudge them to close the deal. It’s really amazing what starting an email with gratitude can do for your professional career. You could show that you’re awaiting their next move or response by adding “I look forward to your follow up” or something similar.

7. Thank you for your consideration

Have you just been for an interview or pitched something to a business professional, this is the best time to say thank you. You can use this sentence before or after your initial communication. If you’re sending out your CV or resume or portfolio to land job interviews you can also use this as a closing statement, but always address the sender by name so it doesn’t seem like you’re using a template.

8. Thank you for attending to this matter

Let’s say you were the person who had an unpleasant experience and someone took the time to ensure your issues were resolved this is the best way to express gratitude and thanks. Really in this email nothing else needs to be added and it could be as simple as a formal greeting, followed by this expression and lastly signing off. Where you don’t need to say anything else don’t feel like you have to. Short and to the point emails are common in business so long as they’re grammatically correct and still professional in nature. You could also use “Thank you for your attention to this matter” but this should only be used if all the previous communication was very formal.

9. Thank you for this information

When you’re working on a project and you’ve requested that someone conduct research or provide you with specific information, once they have don’t take it for granted. Respond. Show them that their work is being appreciated, it’s only the decent thing to do. Even if the requested information is part of their job description it doesn’t mean you can overlook being appreciative. This is where having an expression like this would really come in handy.

10. Thank you for taking time out of your day to [help me]

Another excellent method of expressing gratitude. This sentence can really show team members that you notice their hard work and value their time. These days people aren’t that forthcoming in expressing thanks for minor things like time. You’ll soon realise that by using these expressions your colleagues, team members and even other business associates are more likely to reciprocate.

Different ways to say thank you

You can swap out the “thank you” for any of the following:

1. I appreciate your [help in this regard]

2. Your [attention to this matter] is greatly appreciated

3. I’d like to express my gratitude for [your timely response]

Words like appreciation, gratitude and grateful are all great at replacing thank you. It’s really best to rotate between thank you and these expressions so people don’t think you’re using a template to respond and it shows that you’re actually taking time to type a response. Not to mention that it shows you have a great command of the English language. Replace the sections in square brackets with a more appropriate phrase that has to do with your particular situation.

Respond like A Native English Speaker

An email is not an essay, you should keep communication succinct and to the point. Also don’t use many verbs or adverbs in your thank yous. Thank you sir for your kind cooperation isn’t how natives speak. Thank you for your attention to this matter is much better. It’s not rude to mention the person by name if you’ve met them before or if they’re referring to you by name. Instead it could help make you more acquainted with the person and make doing business with them easier.

When A Simple Thank You Isn’t Enough

If a simple “Thank you” isn’t enough send a gift like a gift card as a way to express your gratitude. Giving gifts or bringing attention to an employee or coworker during a meeting to express your thanks shows that you really mean it and you’re not just saying it. If you’re overjoyed or really taken aback but appreciative of a colleagues or team members help, you can open your email with a thank you and sign off with a message of thanks as well.

Learn Business English

Business English and professional English is not the same as your day to day communication. If you’re communicating with a friend via email all these aforementioned responses would just sound weird. The same goes for using casual responses in a professional setting, they may not sound weird but disrespectful. So why not get professionally and dedicated training on how to use English professionally and learn English in our business course. Find other exciting ways to say thank you and the do’s and don’t of professional communication amongst other topics covered by this course.

Thanks again for reading this blog post.

Tag: Thank you