Sympathy Messages: How To Write A Sympathy Message

Sympathy messages take much thought to express your words of sympathy the right way for the right person. Sympathy messages don't have to take much time, however. You don't need to worry about how to write a sympathy message.  Don't stress knowing how to start your message.

You may worry about writing just the right sympathy message, wondering how to express your condolances. Follow the message writing steps below. This hub will give you the directions to write your own sympathy card messages with ease.

Here is a list of sympathy message words to use to show your condolences. Use them to get your ideas flowing.

1. Sorry
2. Loss
3. Condolences
   
4. Deepest
5. Genuine
6. Miss
7. Pray
8. Thoughts
9. Prayers
10. Saddened
11. Peace
12. Strength
13. Memory
14. Comforted
15. Sincerely
    

1. You can choose a random combination of numbers, such as 7,3,10,2, which are Pray, condolences, saddened, loss.

2. Then make up some sympathy card messages using those words. Here are some examples:

• My condolences
  
• I am sorry for your loss
• You will be in my prayers
• I was saddened to hear of your loss

Get personal by mentioning something positive about the person who died. Try to stay positive if possible. The greiving's heart will be bandaged with a very thin band-aid, so it will be easy for you to cause them to feel the loss again if you are negative. Here are some examples using the words from the earlier examples:

• My condolances. I will miss John's warmth and ability to ease tension in a room so naturally.
• I am sorry for your loss. You will be in my prayers. John will be missed.
• I was saddened to hear of your loss. John was a blessing from God. I am glad I got to know him.
  

Out of my examples, I like the last one the best:

• I was saddened to hear of your loss. John was a blessing from God. I am glad I got to know him.

Develop this one even more:

• I was shocked and saddened by John's death. I know I will miss him, but I am glad that I was able to get to know him so well. He has been a blessing from God. I will be praying that God will bless you and give you strength at this time.
  

Now that you have developed your message, it is time to check over it for a few problems. Make sure you don't do any of these common sympathy card message mistakes:

1. Avoid cliches like: "It was his time to go" or "It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." Avoid these like the plague, even if they have truth to them. You will seem insensitive, insincere, or uncreative at the least. Make your own message and make it sound like something you would want to hear if you just lost someone.
2. Don't bring up personal business like: "John owes me $50.00 so you can give it to me when you get a chance. No rush." Do you want to be the ridiculously selfish person trying to profit somehow from someone's death? Then leave your personal business out.
3. Do not write anything negative, unless you are expressing your own feelings. Don't put down the deceased in any way, obviously. You also don't want to use any negative message about the survivor's feelings or loss. For example, don't write: "I bet you are feeling awful. I don't know how you can even get up in the morning. You have it bad." This does not help at all. However, if you genuinely express your own feelings, then you will validate the same feelings the receiver may feel. For example: "I feel sad" is much better than, "You must feel sad."

Now you are finished. Write your message in the card and send it or hand it to the greiving person who can be touched by your genuine, well thought out, sympathy card message. And you didn't have to struggle writing it.

You can find more messages for cards at the following links:

• What to Write in a Card
• Sympathy Card Messages
• Sympathy Card Wording
  
• Sample Sympathy Card Messages
• Thank You Card Messages
• Birthday Card Messages
• Get Well Card Messages
• Anniversary Card Messages
• Baby Shower Card Messages
• Thinking of You Card Messages
• Wedding Card Messages
• Business Holiday Card Messages
  
• Online Cards