How To Have A Personal Touch
Definition Of Personal Touch
A personal touch is adding something extra with your own special efforts. It has the power to elicit a response from the recipient of a card. How responses turn out depends on how the message is delivered. It can be demonstrated through different means but in my article, I will be using the example of cards.
Heart Touching vs Button Touching
No, I am not talking about the buttons which secure pieces of fabric together. I am referring to the set of buttons or keys used by the keyboard on our mobile phones. In this article, I will be demonstrating what it takes to have a personal touch through a comparison between typing out a message on your phone and writing out a message on a card.
Unique
A personal touch is often heart touching and it is convenient to show appreciation towards others in the digital form (WhatsApp, E-cards and so on) but it cannot recreate and replace the unique aspects of personal touch. A personal touch has an identity of its own like our fingerprints or DNA. It ought not to be copied otherwise it would not a personal touch anymore and loses its uniqueness.
In truth, a personal touch is not a snap of the fingers. I feel that teaching someone to have a personal touch is not really the way it works because you can determine what it takes to have a personal touch, but whether it's your own unique way, you have to define it yourself.
Personality
Personality is what makes a person stands out. It makes the message come to live as if you are the words. It is about having your own style in delivering the message and also shows to the recipient that the message is really from you.
Nowadays, we have emojis (emoticon, smiley) to express some body language and emotions to the recipient but it is not as genuine and real as handwritten cards.
You can argue that a handwritten card typically omits emojis which make the card less heartfelt and more likely neutral but I think if you personally know the sender, you will be able to deduce the sender's personality through the written words.
By knowing the sender's personality, you will be able to observe how the message in the card is not just a group of words pulled out from the dictionary. The sender would have chosen specific words to string sentences and the act of choosing words is noteworthy because it is the effort that counts.
Sincerity
A message for someone should be done from the heart and with patience. Rushing to complete the message means that you pay little attention to the recipient's feelings. You should be motivated to make the message the best that you can. In writing a message, there should be a good intention of hoping the recipient enjoys reading your message. This makes the recipient feel appreciated and respected. The benefit that comes with it is maintaining and developing relationships.
If you sincerely want to write a message on a card, then you know that the Send button is nowhere within the circumference of your vision unless you are having your mobile phone glued to your hand. You are likely to be more cautious with your words before you write them. Writing out words carefully is what gives the message more substance because each word has its own meaning.
Conversely, the Send button is just one click away and your message will pop out on the screen almost immediately. Obviously, you can always Backspace as and when you want before you send the message but considering what to write on a card is the more sincere choice as you try to avoid any mistakes in the process.
WhatsApp now has the Delete For Everyone feature which enables you to delete your messages within 7 minutes if you regret words that you have typed. However, the box enclosing your already deleted messages still remain and will give notice to the recipient that you have deleted the messages.
That does not leave a good impression on the recipient or you could say that you are hardworking which is highly likely not the case. You will appear clumsy and insincere. There will, however, be recipients who are kind enough to find that amusing and cute.
How often do you write birthday messages on cards instead typing them on your mobile phone?
© 2018 Li-Jen Hew