“Thank you for letting me know” in (Business) Correspondence

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Linguistic politeness facilitates human civilization in a myriad of ways.

This concept elicits the fact that people are capable of considering others’ emotions, thereby reinforcing the importance of polite language in communication.

One utterly common example of polite language goes by the verbiage “Thank you for letting me know.”

Let’s take a closer look at its usage, meaning, implication, and alternatives in the next sections.

 
 

What do we mean by “thank you for letting me know?”

In a nutshell, “thank you for letting me know,” a statement with an ellipted subject “I,” is used for reciprocating an information provider. It is a reasonably formal form of verbiage denoting linguistic politeness which is nonetheless commonly-used in business-related circumstances such as internal, external correspondence. This expression may also have other alternatives in formal and informal registers like “Thank you for the information,” and “Thanks for the heads-up,” respectively.

 

In what kind of correspondence is this used and for what purpose?

Although not limited to, this expression highly likely occurs in business-related discourse.

The business world serves as a particular space where many people depend their livelihood on.

Because of that, it is always crucial to embody a civilized attitude in this arena.

Transactional interactions happen between and among people in this industry in the form of emails, phone calls, notices, and meetings.

“Thank you for letting me know” is frequently used in these kinds of correspondence as a form of response to the exchange of information.

The informational exchange may happen within and outside the business organization which is referred to as internal and external correspondence, respectively.

Let’s look at these specific instances in detail.

 

Thank you for letting me know in internal correspondence

Internal correspondence happens when employees within an organization exchange informational data.

These data may be in the form of instructions, notices, requests, and approval letters that are mostly recorded for reference purposes.

For example, the manager provides instructions to the supervisor in the form of an email.

Then, the supervisor disseminates the information to the rank and file staff in order to be implemented or only passed on.

The recipient of the information could then politely respond to the receipt of information using the expression being discussed.

Internal communications are usually less formal, especially if the intended message is brief and mainly informational.

In addition, the use of this expression signifies that the message has been successfully delivered, received, and confirmed.

Thus, this expression is important because it provides a sense that the informational transaction has been completed and it has reached the intended individual successfully.

 

Thank you for letting me know in external correspondence

Another type of correspondence, typically more formal than the internal, is external correspondence.

External correspondence happens when the informational exchange happens beyond the people within the business organization.

This may occur when a person from one organization communicates with another individual from another company.

The intended recipients may be business partners, product suppliers, service providers, or prospective clients.

For instance, the bank that provides financial services to an organization announces service unavailability for some reasons.

Again, the idea of informational confirmation remains constant in this type of correspondence, which regularly happens in electronic mails in the modern world.

 

The alternatives for “thank you for letting me know”

Sometimes, we get fed up with using the same expression over and over again in correspondence.

This leads people to resort to finding alternative statements that would denote the same meaning.

In this section, the other similar expressions are laid out in both formal and informal registers.

 

“Thank you for letting me know” alternatives in the formal register

Now that the function and application of “thank you for letting me know” have been elaborated at length, the next examples should come across easily.

In this post, the formal register mainly refers to either spoken or written discourse used to address clients, coworkers, bosses, and the like, in the business setting.

The formal style of speech matters so as to prevent any unintentional misinterpretation in situations that require a more consultative tone.

Using formalistic registers entails the usage of complete sentences, avoidance of slang and contractions, as well as conversing at length using neutralized vocabulary.

This assists the language user in conveying particularly tactful information that prevents the other party to be offended.

 

Thank you for the information

Although most official informational transactions happen in emails in the business, a language user may be prompted to use a formal tone should the situation dictate so.

No matter how small or discomforting a piece of information can get, it is still rightful to use this tone in expressing informational gratitude.

Keeping a formal language in business discourse emphasizes a person’s courteousness and diplomatic attitude which is beneficial in maintaining relationships.

 

I appreciate the information

Another way to express the same confirmatory idea is by using “I appreciate the information.”

Using “appreciate” also implies a respectful tone to the reader or hearer of a message.

Of course, the recipient of the message above may not necessarily agree with the meeting being postponed.

However, he or she must not utterly express the dissatisfaction felt in order to keep the business relationship intact.

Also, stating this kind of response implies that recognition for the act of informing prior to the scheduled meeting is given, as opposed to having a sudden cancellation.

 

 “Thank you for letting me know” alternatives in the informal register

Being able to adjust to a less formal tonality is also another elicitation of linguistic competence.

This is especially useful in having a discourse with people with whom we have a relatively intimate relationship.

The informal register enables the expression of emotions and opinions that are also salient in building and maintaining relationships.

We have to be careful in using this tone, though, as it may or may not impress a hearer or reader in some situations.

With that being said, this type of register is best applied to individuals with whom we have already established a rather secure relationship.

 

Thanks for the heads-up

The informal, or simply casual, register is more permissive and oftentimes shorter than the formalistic one. 

This allows the use of contractions, slang, idioms, disjuncts, dangling prepositions, and phrasal verbs in the process.

Saying “thanks” instead of “thank you” draws out a casual and a more intimate tone, which is more or less an example of a slang word.

“Heads-up” is an informal idiomatic noun that refers to a warning given for the sake of giving a person a chance to prepare for what is expected to happen.

This may also be used as a replacement expression to “Thank you for letting me know” particularly in the informal register.

Although the dialogue above has a casual tone, the idea of expressing gratitude to the information provider remains intact.

 

Thanks for bringing that up

Another example of a similar colloquial expression is to say “Thanks for bringing that up.”

To “bring something up” means to raise an issue or a topic of discussion for clarification purposes.

The use of “Thanks for bringing that up” utilizes a phrasal verb that is more applicable in colloquial and intimate discussions.

Obviously enough, the sense of conveying informational gratitude is nonetheless observable in the scenario above.

Therefore, despite the change in words, the sense of using the expression to recognize and affirm the information provider remains constant.

 

Conclusion

The act of politeness and gratitude can be effectively manifested by using some specific expressions.

These expressions may come across as ordinary statements, but they are actually embedded in some subjective intentions.

Hence, the impact of language on the advancement of human civilization is inarguable.