WEBVTT - Second Cup: Send birthday wishes

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to send birthday wishes. Well. Many people don't

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<v Speaker 1>like a big public fuss about their birthdays. Few people

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't appreciate a personal note marking the occasion, and since

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<v Speaker 1>it is very easy to send a note, you should

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead and do it now. I will admit that

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is a wee bit self serving as it

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<v Speaker 1>is first airing on my birthday. But all of us

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<v Speaker 1>celebrate a birthday every single year, which means that there

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<v Speaker 1>is at least one opportunity to reach out to everyone

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<v Speaker 1>you know each year to say something nice and appreciative.

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<v Speaker 1>I think a lot of us have gotten a bit

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<v Speaker 1>sloppy about this. In the social media era, Facebook and

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<v Speaker 1>some other platforms will tell you that someone has a

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<v Speaker 1>birthday coming up, which is helpful as a reminder, but

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<v Speaker 1>then most of us just post a happy birthday on

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<v Speaker 1>someone's feed and leave it at that. It is something,

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<v Speaker 1>but we could probably do better. If you do know

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<v Speaker 1>someone's birthday or you are being reminded of it on

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<v Speaker 1>social media, chances are you also know that person's email address, so,

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<v Speaker 1>in addition to any social media wishes, or in place

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<v Speaker 1>of them, send a personal note wishing the person a

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<v Speaker 1>happy birthday. It doesn't have to be long. You can

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<v Speaker 1>simply send them good wishes, recall a happy memory from

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<v Speaker 1>the last year, or say something you admire about the person,

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<v Speaker 1>Say something you are looking forward to together in the

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<v Speaker 1>upcoming year. Then wish them many wonderful birthdays to come,

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<v Speaker 1>and sign off. It is as simple as that. This

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<v Speaker 1>will take less than five minutes. It might just take

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<v Speaker 1>two or three, and it will almost certainly be read

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<v Speaker 1>and appreciated if you know the person's mailing address. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a nice touch too to send a card. If

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<v Speaker 1>it does require a wee bit more planning as you

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<v Speaker 1>want the card to arrive, buy the person's birthday, but

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't take that much planning. If you put the

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<v Speaker 1>card in the mail three to four days before the

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<v Speaker 1>special day, that should be sufficient for most places. I'd

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<v Speaker 1>recommend buying a pack of blank cards so you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to go hunting for birthday specific cards, which can

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<v Speaker 1>be overpriced or corny. You can often buy quite nice

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<v Speaker 1>blank stationary for less than a dollar a card. When

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<v Speaker 1>you buy in bulk. If you've got the cards and

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<v Speaker 1>you've got stamps, then you are almost always good to go.

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<v Speaker 1>You can obviously send a text too, as long as

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<v Speaker 1>you follow the email guidelines. A simple happy Birthday is nice,

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<v Speaker 1>but a bonus statement or two about the person makes

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<v Speaker 1>the wishes extra special, and it really doesn't need to

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<v Speaker 1>take more than a few seconds. You can do this,

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<v Speaker 1>or here's an idea, call the person. I know that

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<v Speaker 1>many people shy away from using the phone as a

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<v Speaker 1>phone these days, but if you talk with the birthday

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<v Speaker 1>boy or girl at other points in the year, a

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<v Speaker 1>short call on their birthday will make them smile. Now again,

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<v Speaker 1>I know a lot of people don't like public fuss.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are going to throw a surprise party or

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<v Speaker 1>rope fifty people into singing Happy Birthday, make sure the

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<v Speaker 1>birthday celebrate is the sort of person who goes for that,

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<v Speaker 1>And if they do, that's great. If not, a card

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<v Speaker 1>or a call is never going to be offensive, so

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<v Speaker 1>you know you can do that. If you are unsure

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<v Speaker 1>of people's birthdays, it doesn't hurt to just ask. It's

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<v Speaker 1>okay to reach out if you know them well enough

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<v Speaker 1>that you'd be sending birthday wishes. It's fine to just

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<v Speaker 1>ask the next time you're talking, say you're making a file.

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<v Speaker 1>If it's awkward, like you've known the person for ten years,

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<v Speaker 1>or it's a family member and you've just forgotten, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>be discreet about it. But you can probably do a

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<v Speaker 1>little slothing and figure it out and then once you know,

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<v Speaker 1>mark it on a recurring calendar and you will be

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<v Speaker 1>able to celebrate every year. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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