The Art of Persuasion (Collection)

Always Say Thank You

I was brought up always to say thank you, and I would feel really uncomfortable if I didn’t, in the same way I’d feel unpleasantly odd if I didn’t brush my teeth as soon as I got up. Actually my mother, who instilled this habit in me, was once given two black marks at school by her teacher—the first one was for bad behavior, and the second one was for being so cheeky as to say thank you for the first one. My mother had explained that she’d been brought up always to say thank you when she was given something. The teacher didn’t appreciate my mother’s sense of humor.

My mother was right though (well, in principle anyway). We may not always notice when we should thank someone else, but we certainly notice when we aren’t thanked. ...