The most important part of saying thank you in person is being sincere. The person you are thanking should understand that you mean what you say 100% and that you aren't just saying "thank you" out of obligation when you don't really mean it. Here's how to do it:  Have a sincere tone of voice. Don't say "thank you" as if it's an afterthought or as if someone else just told you to do it. Speak clearly with an even tone, and show that you really mean every word you say. Don't mumble. Use sincere words. Be specific and show that your thank you means something. Don't just say, "Thanks," but really mean it say, "Thank you so much for helping me with my homework. I never could have figured this out without your help." Be honest. Being honest is a part of being sincere, so open up and say what you really mean. Tell the person, "I don't know what I would do without you," if you really mean it. To say thank you in person, you have to show that you are truly grateful for what the person has done. You should say that the person has impacted you in some way, whether it's big or small. Your thank you should not be perfunctory, but it should show that the person's action really made a difference. Here's how to explain how grateful you are:  Be specific. Don't just say, "Thank you," but say, "Thank you for taking the time to help me pick out a prom dress. I wouldn't have been able to do it alone. If it wasn't for you, I never would have even tried on that blue dress, and now I can't imagine my prom without it." Show that you understood the person made a sacrifice. Whether the person made a big or small sacrifice to do something nice for you, you should demonstrate that you appreciate that he or she had time to make the effort. Say, "Thank you so much for letting me crash at your place last week. I know it was a really busy time for you and it wasn't easy to have a house guest, and I really appreciate that you took me in anyway." Show that you're grateful for the results of the person's help. If the person gave you an amazing book for your birthday, you can tell the person that you read the book, loved it, and that it had a big impact on your life. Maintaining the right body language will help you fully demonstrate how thankful you are. If your body doesn't communicate how much you mean it when you say thank you, then your words may be lost on the person you're thanking. Here's how to have the right body language:  Maintain eye contact while you're thanking the person. Look into the person's eyes and give the person all of your attention to show that you really care about what the person did. Face your body toward the person you're thanking. Keep your arms open and gesture if you need to. Don't fold your arms at your sides, or you may look like you're reluctant about thanking the person and like you don't really want to be there. Touch the person if it's appropriate. While you don't want to scare off a person whom you don't know very well with your unwarranted touches, if you're thanking a friend or a family member, a light touch on his or her arm or shoulder, or even a hug if it feels right, can help communicate your true feelings. Show your emotions. If the person impacted your life in a big way, you don't have to cry, but let your face show how touched you are by that person's help.
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One-sentence summary -- Be sincere. Be grateful. Use the right body language.


Imagine yourself with pajamas on, your head looking like it got wrung through the dryer, and little footie slippers on your feet walking into your neighborhood grocery store. You’d rather not, huh? The image evokes a sense of shame and embarrassment, even though there’s nothing wrong with it. Instead, imagine yourself dressed to the nines, hair manicured just right, with silver buckles on your shoes. Feels pretty good. So on those days when feeling awesome is a battle, get fancy. Sometimes you just have to work from the outside in. There's science behind this, too: doctors who wear their white coat and dress clothes while testing perform better. Soccer coaches who dress in suits and ties instead of sweats get better results from their players. Who knows? Maybe getting fancy would change the effect you have on people, too! Very few people are happy when they don’t have others to rely on and to share their happiness with. What’s more, having others around can get you out of those moods when that happiness is hard to come by. To feel like you’re impacting others’ lives for the better, get involved. Make yourself an integral part of a group. The group will be better for it, and so will you. Research supports the same idea, turns out. Happiness is essentially the same thing as being well-connected. The more positive connections you have and the stronger your friendships, the happier you'll feel. Having new experiences is one of the simplest ways to stay feeling invigorated, otherwise life can get a little boring. Routines are great, but they need to be deviated from time to time. Take a day once in a while to do something brand new to lead to surprising, exciting experiences. You may run into something you love! Having new experiences and surprising yourself is a great way to keep laughing. Research has shown that those who laugh are happier and more productive. And it feels good, too! It seems like the news is getting worse and worse. Media outlets are stretching further and further to get a rise out of us, to surprise us, and to keep us captivated. But as a result, our overall happiness is suffering. Research has recently found that those who read the news are less happy. If you're feeling a less awesome than you'd like, turn off the notifications on your phone and sign off the Internet for a bit. You'll likely feel better. If you're a news junkie, make efforts to limit how much of your time is spent on news outlets and social media sites, which are just as bad. At first you'll feel a sense of withdrawal, but after it passes you'll wonder why you even wasted your time in the first place. You know how they say "it's better to give than to receive"? Well, it actually is. Helping others can make you feel good about yourself, happier, and more awesome. Here are some ideas:  Volunteer at your local hospital, soup kitchen, or shelter Help out a few elderly people you know Assist your friends who you know could use a hand You likely have a handful of friends that do things because they're expected to, because their parents want them to, or because they want something materialistic, like money. This is a one-way ticket in the fast lane to feeling pretty darn miserable. It should be one of your top priorities to do what you enjoy, regardless of what it is. If you enjoy it, it's not a waste of time. You'll feel awesome doing what you love, honing your skills, and becoming a master at something that has meaning to you. Not all of us can fulfill our dreams, but we can take strides to make aspects of the dream a part of our lives. Love basketball, but you know you'll never play it professionally? Join a league. Coach at a school. Referee the local league. Play with your kids or friends on the weekends. Keep it in your life as much as you can.
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One-sentence summary --
Get all fancy. Nestle yourself firmly into a community. Surprise yourself from time to time. Use technology and the media only to feel good. Develop the habit of helping others. Do what speaks to you.