Writing Better Social Letters (1950)

[Music] are you through already sure sis I just letter Aunt Helen Ross when I want to write the cousins Jimmy and Alice and thank them too I don't know how you do it Wally you make it seem so easy here I brought down some letters to try to find some help but didn't do any good some of those sharp but there's a difference between reading them Laura it's a talent some people have it and some don't that's not true Walter Barlo and you're going to sit down right now and tell me the secret well all right let's look at this deck what are you doing there you see know our different letters have different purposes they do all kinds of things there are letters of invitations and some of them are formal ones now let's see you don't seem to have one here but I got one in the mail just today see you'll notice it's written in the third person and down here they note formal well I'll write a formal answer that starts out like this Mr Walter Barlo accepts with pleasure and so on you know and of course I'll dress formally for the occasion when I go you know it's only when the part's formal that the invitation is written into third person now take an informal invitation like this one you don't have to write an answer to this kind of invitation chances are your phone to accept this one well that's one general purpose of social Ed giving invitations accepting invitations sending regrets that you can't be present now here's a group of letters with another purpose these are letters of thanks now tell me Nora which of these did you really enjoy the most here this one from Alice may feel good I could tell just by reading it that she really liked I Center here listen to this thanks a million for sending me the delightful book for my birthday how did you know I've been trying to borrow that very book Book for a weeks this is a thank you letter for a gift the one I want to write is a thank you letter for a visit right but these are both thank you letters now um these letters have still another purpose they're friendly letters letters to give news or keep up a friendship let's see I was shopping yesterday and I picked out the smartest blouse but then GE you know as you read that you can just hear Margaret's voice just as if she were telling you uh let's see oh I was shopping yesterday yesterday and I picked out the smartest Lous but then something terrible happened I couldn't find my change purse I was so unembarrassed and frightened too well I had left it at home what an experience no blous now that's a prettyy good example of the sort of thing that makes a letter a lot of fun and then there's another type of social letter it's the letter of sympathy we don't have one here but I got a lot of them when I had pneumonia they were all informal and very friendly and they certainly made me feel better there you see well I see that there are different letters for different purposes and I think I know the purpose of mine it's a thank you for a visit mhm but uh well that's what I Tred tried to write but it's not very good a notebook paper and torn out written in pencil hey you'll want it neater than that and you better check that spelling too read it please okay dear uncle Ross and Aunt Helen I hope you are all well I want to thank you for having Walder and me for the gorgeous visit we had a good time can you imagine what they think if they read such a letter Ross I do hope Nora really enjoyed her visit here oh I hope so pretty hard to tell from her letter I told you it was an awful letter well what do you want an Helen and Uncle Ross to think I mean how do you want them to feel after they read your letter well I want them to feel pleased after all that's the whole purpose in writing the letter to make them glad that they invited me why don't you try again now all right may I borrow some of your white paper mhm and I'm going to use pen and ink now try to imagine what you want your letter to look like look at the page see what should go on it first you'll want your address and the date of course then the salutation and the main part of the letter and finally the complimentary close and your signature you want even margins and you'll want the page well aligned now you got the idea yes I think so first my address and the date and then the salutation dear Aunt Helen and Uncle Ross mhm how's that going to be seems like a good start now uh what are you going to say well I want to say thank you and I want to say it in a way that will please anen and uncle Ross M what would you say if you were there in person now let's see I guess I'd say it was simply Grand of you and Helen to have me for a visit I always have the most marvelous time at your house well that doesn't sound much like a letter maybe it's not supposed to maybe it should sound like you well shall I write that much why not I'll use scratch paper until I'm sure just what I'm going to say hey how about mentioning something that happened to us while we were there the time they let us ride the horses wasn't it fun but but how will I say it you did so many nice things for us oh my I'll never forget riding the horses my it was exciting and so much fun why this is going to be easy I'll have a letter done in no time and I'll start on the letter to Jimmy and Alice there I think that's a good thank you note do you want to hear it all right just a minute the page certainly looks neat hey that's good and while you read it why don't you try to imagine how Aunt Helen and uncle Ross will react to the letter all right dear Aunt Helen and Uncle Ross thank you so much for letting me visit you I always have a wonderful time at your house and so does Walter you did so many lovely things for us I'll never forget riding the horses mayatt was exciting and so much fun but most of all I think I enjoy just being at your house and being your guest so I do mean it when I say thank you affectionately Nora you know Nora that's not bad at all with a little practice you'll be a whizard writing letters thanks Walter you know writing letters is just a talent some people are born with it some aren't I'm glad you appreciated my help seriously though you're writing a letter to Jimmy and Alice can't it be from both of us gee well there are lots of things I'd like to say to them I'd like to tell them about our visit and I'd like to give them some news too well all right we might as well write it together here oh good you know I think writing letters is going to be a lot of fun