Sunday, March 1, 2009

Condolence message etiquette

When someone “passes away”, it is a time of extreme sorrow for his/her family. For them the world comes to a stand-still. It is hard to reassure them at these times. Being a friend, you`ve got to be extremely careful with whatever, you say to them.

It is not hard to understand why….

I would advise you to follow some of the well-known etiquettes during these times. This is extremely essential if, you don’t want to hurt the feelings of the bereaving family. I know you want to help the family in any which way you can. However, in order to do that, follow some of the condolence message etiquette:

Proper Condolence Message Etiquette

* Convey your condolence message as soon as you hear the news.
* Address your condolence letter to a person with whom, you had more closeness.
* If you knew the deceased person, but don`t know his/her surviving family members… it is still advisable to write a message.
* In your message, try to express your feelings of huge sorrow but at the same time, remind them that you are always there to help.
* Try to give a personal touch to your sample condolence letters.

What NOT to do:

* Don’t wait for the right moment to write a condolence letter.
* In case that the deceased was a spouse of your friend, whom she/he had divorced then, make sure that they both had kept friendly relations even after the divorce…. Before, writing a condolence letter.
* Don’t forget to write a few words of sympathy, about the family members of the deceased.
* Don`t try to email or text message your condolence letter.
* Don’t delay your departure to the house of the mourning family.

Now, I will try to explain the aforementioned points, a tad briefly.

Using the right condolence message etiquette

Some people try to find the” right” words before writing or conveying their message of condolence. While, there is nothing bad in doing so, make sure that you don`t waste a lot of time, in doing that. As you would want to be prompt with your message, at this critical turn of events in anyone`s life.

Moreover, try to keep your condolence phrases short but long enough, to cover everything. That`s very important. Although, many people don`t mention anything about the surviving members of the deceased, I would advise you to write a few words about them. This is considered as a condolence message etiquette.

You can address the condolence message etiquette to the one with whom, you have had more closeness. If you did not know the deceased`s surviving members, even then, it is considered as an etiquette to write a condolence message.

While, you can pour down your emotions in your condolence message etiquette, always remember to remind the surviving members that you are always there to help. This gesture provides a sort of reassurance to the mourning family & helps to lessen their pain.

Some of the guys, try to send their condolence message as an E-mail or a text message, which is not advisable at all. If you write a message in your own hand-writing, it shows that you took time to express your feelings & it also lends, a sort of personal touch to your messages.

These are considered some of the most essential condolence message etiquette.

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