HEARTSPOKEN: Handwritten Notes, Letters, and the Art of Connection

Elizabeth H. Cottrell

Handwritten notes, letters, and the art of connection. Each week, Elizabeth H. Cottrell—author of HEARTSPOKEN—reads a short letter to her readers and listeners on the notes and letters that hold our lives together: what to write when words are hard, and the history, keepsakes, and small joys of putting pen to paper. Drawn from her Substack letters, her LinkedIn writing, and the Heartspoken blog, for anyone who wants to nurture the relationships that give life its meaning. Get each letter in your inbox with The Heartspoken Note: [Substack URL] Read the book, HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes That Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire: [https://heartspoken.com/book] Join fellow note writers in "The Art of the Heartspoken Note" community on Facebook: [https://facebook.com/groups/heartspokennotes] Explore the blog: heartspoken.com Contact Elizabeth or find her on social media: https://heartspoken.com/contact heartspoken.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Thank the Poll Workers

    Episode: Thank the Poll Workers Summary: Poll workers arrive before dawn and stay past dark so the rest of us can vote. This letter shows how to thank them with a short note, whatever your politics, and where to send it. In this episode: • Three ways to deliver your thanks: hand a note to a worker after you vote, leave a few at the check-in table, or mail one to your local election office • A sample note, plus the notes I sent to my precinct’s workers and our county’s General Registrar • How to personalize a note for a poll worker you know, and how to become one yourself Read it: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/thank-poll-workers Links mentioned: • November 2026 Calendar for Note and Letter Writers: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/november-2026-calendar • Find your local election office (USA.gov): https://www.usa.gov/election-office • Become a poll worker (Help America Vote): https://www.eac.gov/help-america-vote More Heartspoken: heartspoken.com · the book · the Facebook community · membership. Professional Circle: https://heartspoken.com/professional-circle/ Listen & follow: Follow HEARTSPOKEN on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so each new letter finds you. Closing: Whether written or spoken, words from the heart will never fail you. Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Oct 27

    November 2026 Calendar for Note and Letter Writers

    EPISODE: November 2026 Calendar for Note and Letter Writers SUMMARY: November is National Gratitude Month, and this week-by-week plan, from All Saints’ Day to the first Sunday of Advent, gives you ideas about whom to write and what to say. It’s for anyone who wants to thank the people who give a great deal and seldom hear thanks for it. IN THIS EPISODE: Notes for friends facing their first holidays after a loss, for poll workers on Election Day, and for veterans, with a question that may bring back a story worth keeping Long letters for I Love to Write Day, a hello to someone you’ve lost touch with, and specific offers of help for family caregivers Thanksgiving place-card notes, thanks for small business owners, and an early start on Christmas cards READ IT: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/november-2026-calendar PENS MENTIONED: LAMY Safari (a wonderful first fountain pen): https://link.amazon/B06NU7q20 Lamy 2000 (Elizabeth’s favorite): https://link.amazon/B07QAN9Ww FOR YOUR PROFESSIONAL NOTES: The HEARTSPOKEN Connection on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-heartspoken-connection-7060735420233355264/ PAST POSTS MENTIONED: Send a Smile: Letter-Writing to Boost Morale for Vets and Troops: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/send-a-smile-letter-writing-to-boost Get Ready to Write Your Holiday Cards: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/get-ready-to-write-your-holiday-cards Write to Your Elected Officials: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/write-to-your-elected-officials MORE HEARTSPOKEN: heartspoken.com · the book · the Facebook community · membership. Professional Circle: https://heartspoken.com/professional-circle/ LISTEN AND FOLLOW: Follow HEARTSPOKEN on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so each new letter finds you. ALWAYS REMEMBER: Whether written or spoken, words from the heart will never fail you. The pen links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

  3. Oct 20

    The Extra Hour

    Episode Description On Sunday, November 1, most of us will set our clocks back and receive a small gift: one extra hour. In this episode, Elizabeth invites you to set aside part of that hour to write a note to someone who has been on your mind. She explains why a note takes far less time than we expect, shares a simple sample note you can borrow, and reads listener responses to "The Smallest Post Office in America," including the story of a French rural postman who spent thirty-three years building a palace from stones he gathered on his route. In This Episode ·      Autumn in the Shenandoah Valley and the small gift of the extra hour ·      Choosing someone to write to: a friend you haven’t seen since summer, a former teacher, a neighbor who has been ill, or a cousin you keep meaning to call ·      Why most notes take about ten minutes, start to finish ·      A sample “extra hour” note you can adapt ·      Address it, stamp it, and mail it Monday morning ·      Notes from Readers: Mike Searles on Australia’s smallest post office, Maison Bel Esprit on postman Ferdinand Cheval and his Palais idéal, and Donna Zolkowski on handwritten love notes and her engineer husband Your Invitation Who will you write to with your extra hour? Reply to the letter on Substack or reach Elizabeth through her contact page—she’d love to know. Links Mentioned ·      Read the full letter:  https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/extra-hour ·      Subscribe to The HEARTSPOKEN Note: https://heartspoken.substack.com ·      Previous episode, “The Smallest Post Office in America”: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/smallest-post-office-connection ·      Contact Elizabeth: https://heartspoken.com/contact ·      The HEARTSPOKEN Connection on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-heartspoken-connection-7060735420233355264/ ·      The Art of the Heartspoken Note (Facebook group): https://facebook.com/groups/heartspokennotes Whether written or spoken, words from the heart will never fail you! Heartspokenly,Elizabeth Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Oct 13

    The Smallest Post Office in America Understands Something Big

    Episode description At 61.3 square feet, the Ochopee Post Office in the Florida Everglades is the smallest in the United States. When a National Geographic clipping about it arrived in Elizabeth’s mailbox from her daughter, it opened a story about postcards, patience, and the extra effort that turns an ordinary message into treasure. This week, Elizabeth shares what postmaster Don Walters loves most about his tiny shed—and an invitation to send something small and deliberate to someone who would be delighted to find your handwriting in their mailbox. In this episode ·      How a tomato farmer’s storage shed became a post office after a 1953 fire ·      The travelers on the Tamiami Trail who stop to write postcards using the side of the shed as a desk ·      Why postmaster Don Walters says of those postcard-writers, “I could do this for the rest of my life” ·      What a torn-out magazine page and a sticky note reveal about the value of doing it the slow way ·      This week’s invitation: pick one person, find a stamp, and send something on its way Read it https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/smallest-post-office-connection Mentioned in this episode ·      “Wonders of America,” National Geographic (includes Michael Adno’s “Smallest Post Office,” July 2026)https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/wonders-america-250-united-states More from Elizabeth ·      The HEARTSPOKEN Note—weekly letters on Substack, where every episode of this podcast beginshttps://heartspoken.substack.com/ ·      The HEARTSPOKEN Connection—her monthly LinkedIn newsletter on how business and nonprofit professionals use handwritten notes to build relationships that matterhttps://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-heartspoken-connection-7060735420233355264/ ·      Heartspoken.com—years of writing on the four essential connections of a Heartspoken lifehttps://heartspoken.com/ ·      The Art of the Heartspoken Note—a private Facebook community for note and letter writershttps://facebook.com/groups/heartspokennotes ·      Get in touch with Elizabethhttps://heartspoken.com/contact About Elizabeth Elizabeth H. Cottrell is the author of HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes That Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire and the founder of the Heartspoken Movement. She writes from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

    The Smallest Post Office in America Understands Something Big

  5. Oct 12

    Get Ready to Write Your Holiday Cards Now

    Welcome to this episode of HEARTSPOKEN: Handwritten Notes, Letters, and the Art of Connection! I'm bringing you my yearly guide to holiday cards. It covers five things you can do this month so card-writing feels like a joy when the holidays arrive. In this episode: ·      Why you can let go of the December deadline ·      Giving yourself time to write a personal note in every card ·      Gathering your supplies, including this year's U.S. Postal Service holiday stamps ·      Updating your address list while there's still time to find missing addresses ·      Setting up your own note-writing station Also in this episode: this week's note-writing calendar (World Animal Day, World Teachers' Day, Random Acts of Poetry Day, and World Post Day), notes from Bel Esprit Letter on the French New Year card tradition and from Zip's Mailbox Club on dog-written notes to grandchildren, and a preview of next week's visit to the smallest post office in the United States.   Read it here: https://heartspoken.substack.com/p/get-ready-holiday-cards Resources mentioned: ·      Free "Get Ready for Holiday Card & Note Writing" checklist: [link] https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/271906/200344124207924767/share ·      October Calendar for Note & Letter Writers: [link] https://heartspoken.substack.com/i/216818088/week-of-october-4 ·      HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes That Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire: [link] https://heartspoken.com/heartspoken-book ·      Professional Circle membership (includes a digital copy of the book): [link] https://heartspoken.substack.com/i/183649244/the-professional-circle-90year ·      Bel Esprit Letter: [link] https://substack.com/@maisonbelesprit| Zip's Mailbox Club: [link] https://substack.com/@zipsmailboxclub | Lydia Ramsey https://substack.com/@lydiaramsey Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

    Get Ready to Write Your Holiday Cards Now

  6. Oct 6

    Ten Letters a Day: What Obama's Mail Teaches Note Writers

    Every night of his presidency, Barack Obama read ten letters from ordinary Americans—an estimated 20,000 to 23,000 over eight years. In this episode, Elizabeth readers her book review of To Obama: With Love, Joy, Anger, and Hope by Jeanne Marie Laskas, the story of those letters, the people who wrote them, and the White House staff who read every one. Along the way, she draws out what any note writer can learn about the power of a personal letter.In this episode: • Why Obama read ten letters a day, and how it kept him connected to the people he served • Inside the Office of Presidential Correspondence, where staff and volunteers handled about ten thousand letters and messages a day • The "10LADs" and the "Red Dot" letters • How letters shaped speeches, priorities, and even legislation • Three lessons for note writers: answer the letters you receive, make it specific and personal, and remember that one letter can ripple outward Read the full review: https://heartspoken.com/book-review-to-obama/ Find the book: Heartspoken Bookshop (supports independent bookstores): https://bookshop.org/a/11265/9780525509400 Amazon, including Kindle: https://link.amazon/B0bS1dIeL These are affiliate links. You pay no more, and the small fee I earn supports my work. Want to write to the president? Mail a letter to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, or use the contact form at whitehouse.gov. Learn more about writing notes that connect in my book, HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes That Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire: https://heartspoken.com/heartspoken-book Get in touch: https://heartspoken.com/contact Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

    Ten Letters a Day: What Obama's Mail Teaches Note Writers

  7. Sep 26

    Welcome: Trailer

    Welcome to HEARTSPOKEN. I'm Elizabeth Cottrell—author of HEARTSPOKEN—and each week I read you one of my own short letters about handwritten notes, letters, and the art of connection. Press play to hear what the show is about, then follow so each new letter finds you. More in the Heartspoken world: * Read these letters on my free Substack newsletter “The HEARTSPOKEN Note”: https://heartspoken.substack.com * My HEARTSPOKEN blog: https://www.heartspoken.com Always remember: Whether written or spoken, words from the heart will never fail you. Get full access to The HEARTSPOKEN Note at heartspoken.substack.com/subscribe

    Welcome: Trailer
  • 1 Trailer
    6 Episodes

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Handwritten notes, letters, and the art of connection. Each week, Elizabeth H. Cottrell—author of HEARTSPOKEN—reads a short letter to her readers and listeners on the notes and letters that hold our lives together: what to write when words are hard, and the history, keepsakes, and small joys of putting pen to paper. Drawn from her Substack letters, her LinkedIn writing, and the Heartspoken blog, for anyone who wants to nurture the relationships that give life its meaning. Get each letter in your inbox with The Heartspoken Note: [Substack URL] Read the book, HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes That Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire: [https://heartspoken.com/book] Join fellow note writers in "The Art of the Heartspoken Note" community on Facebook: [https://facebook.com/groups/heartspokennotes] Explore the blog: heartspoken.com Contact Elizabeth or find her on social media: https://heartspoken.com/contact heartspoken.substack.com

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