Things You'll Need:
- a greeting card
- focus
- a pen
- ideas
- creativity
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Step 1
Determine what kind of card your message will be written on. If it is a birthday card, anniversary card, or graduation card, your message will vary greatly from a sympathy card message. Make sure the tone and subject matter of your card match. Birthday cards are more 'anything goes' than sympathy cards for sure, but be careful.
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Step 2
Determine what kind of person will receive your card message. You don't want to offend your boss who doesn't have a shred of a sense of humor. Consider your audience, who will likely be around when your card message is read, and whether it is actually in good taste.
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Step 3
Make your card message personal. Most of the time people will disregard the message that comes in the card you buy. They want to read that hand written personal message you have spent time thinking about. Inside jokes are the best for funny cards. Back up your sincere message with details that only you could understand. Whatever the cause, make it personal. If someone who doesn't know you or the person you are giving the card could have written the message, then it probably isn't personal enough.
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Step 4
Avoid writing card message cliches. These over-used phrases say nothing original and usually have no remaining meaning. An example for a sympathy card is "It was his time, he is in a better place." This comes across as cold and minimizing. Try another approach. Put yourself in the receiver's place if you can. If you can't then be honest about not understanding the situation. A better example of a sympathy card message is: "I can't imaging the loss you are feeling. The time I spent with _________ was a gift from God." Now you have been honest and shown admiration for the person who has died. This is much more personal than "My Condolences." Of course there are times when you will want a general card message, usually because you don't know the person well enough or it is more of a professional than a personal relationship.
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Step 5
Get something on paper. If you are really stumped, have an imaginary conversation with the person you are writing the message for.
"Hey, happy birthday! 50 today huh? I guess you are still older than me. Although I feel like I am aging faster as if I could actually catch up with you. You have a youthful spirit."
Now take that conversation and write: "Happy 50th, I feel like I should be as old as you by now, but no matter how much younger you look and act, you will always be my big sister."
Take ideas from your speech and write those in a poetic way. -
Step 6
Proofread your card message. Find someone who is neutral and objective to run your ideas by. Ask his or her opinion about what it means. If he or she can't figure out what it means you have either written a really personal inside joke card message or you need to revise and edit.
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Step 7
Use examples of wording and ideas from other sources if you must. There are links at the bottom of the page to examples I have come up with. Feel free to check out those sample ideas and reword them to fit your needs. Or just use them as a reference or idea generator.
