What “It Was a Pleasure Speaking with You” Means & How to Use It

• “It was a pleasure speaking with you” is a formal way to tell someone you enjoyed the conversation you had with them.
• Use this expression when saying farewell in a formal setting, such as an interview or when speaking to someone in a position of authority.
• The phrase, “It was nice talking to you” and “It was nice catching up” are more casual alternatives to “It was a pleasure speaking with you.”

“It Was a Pleasure Speaking with You” Meaning

“It was a pleasure speaking with you” means you enjoyed talking with someone. This is a rather formal expression that you might use when talking to someone in a higher position than you, such as your boss or a hiring manager, or someone you’re not that close with. You use this expression to let someone know you had a pleasant time talking with them, and it implies that you’d be happy to speak with them again in the future. The phrase “It was a pleasure speaking to you” carries essentially the same meaning. However, the preposition “with” implies that you and the other person engaged in a two-way conversation, while “to” often implies that the conversation was more one-sided and you were doing most of the talking. For example, you might say “It was a pleasure speaking to you” at the end of a speech where you did most of the talking to the audience. Nevertheless, these two expressions are interchangeable for the most part.

How to Use “It Was a Pleasure Speaking with You”

Use “It was a pleasure speaking with you” to say goodbye. This is a good way to wrap up a conversation you might be having in a more formal setting. For example, if you’re speaking with your boss and the conversation naturally comes to a close, end with “It was a pleasure speaking with you” to show them respect. “It was a pleasure speaking with you, and thank you for your time.” “I appreciate all of the advice. It was really a pleasure speaking with you.” “It was a pleasure speaking with you, and I’ll have that report done by Friday.”

Start a post-interview thank you note with this expression. After you’ve interviewed for a job opening, writing a thank you note or email to whoever you spoke with is a great way to show your professionalism and make you stand out from other candidates. “It was a pleasure speaking with you” is a very common way to start such a letter and creates a very formal and professional tone. An example email would be: "It was a pleasure speaking with you this afternoon regarding the Project Manager position at the Smith Company. I enjoyed meeting with you and appreciate the time you took out of your busy day to interview me. I am very excited at the prospect of working for such an incredible company and contributing to its innovative mission."

Use it when concluding a presentation or speech. “It was a pleasure speaking with you” is also a polite way to thank your audience for listening and/or participating while you were presenting. Use this expression when concluding something like an academic speech, a formal training, or a company presentation. It’s also perfectly acceptable to say “It was a pleasure speaking to you,” especially if it was more of a one-sided presentation where you did most of the talking. “It was a pleasure speaking with you all today, and I hope you have a great rest of the week.” “It was a pleasure speaking to you. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll be happy to answer them.” “Thank you for this opportunity. It was a pleasure speaking with you all.”

Say this phrase when ending a phone conversation. Just as you would end a formal in-person conversation with “It was a pleasure speaking with you,” it’s also a good way to wrap up speaking with someone over the phone. It’s best to use this expression when talking to someone you have more of a formal relationship with or are speaking to for the first time, such as when you’re talking to your boss or making an appointment with your doctor. For example: “Thank you for calling. It was a pleasure speaking with you.” “It was a pleasure speaking with you, and I’ll see you for my appointment on Friday.” “It was a pleasure speaking with you like this. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.”

“Speaking with You” vs “Talking to You”

“Speaking” is slightly more formal than “talking.” While many people use both phrases interchangeably for the most part, “It was a pleasure speaking with you” is slightly more polite and formal than “It was a pleasure talking to you.” For example, it’s much more customary to use “It was a pleasure speaking with you” when writing a post-interview thank you note instead of “It was a pleasure talking to you.” The word “pleasure” makes both expressions rather formal, so there won’t be any issue if you switch between using the two in most circumstances. It’s more common to use the verb “talk” when addressing people close to you, such as friends or family. To make the expression more casual, you might say something like, “It was good talking to you” or “It was nice talking to you.”

Other Ways to Say “It Was a Pleasure Speaking with You”

“I enjoyed speaking with you.” This carries the exact same meaning as “It was a pleasure speaking with you.” This is also a rather formal expression that’s good to use when speaking to someone in a higher position than you or someone you may not be that close with. “I enjoyed speaking with you last week. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.” “I really enjoyed speaking with you the other day.” “I enjoyed speaking with you and hearing your thoughts on my work.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you.” This is a formal expression most people use when saying farewell to someone they’ve just met for the first time. Like “It was a pleasure speaking with you,” this expression implies that you enjoyed conversing with the other person and implies you’re looking forward to seeing them again in the future. “It was a pleasure meeting you today. I expect we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future.” “It was a pleasure to meet you. If you ever have any questions, you know where to find me.” This is also an acceptable way to start a post-interview thank you note. For example, “It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday during my interview for the position of Project Manager.” A more casual alternative would be something like, “It was nice meeting you” or “It was great to meet you.”

“It was nice catching up with you.” This is a very casual way to say that you had a nice time speaking with someone, and you usually only use it when talking to someone you haven’t seen in a while. For example, you might say this when talking to a friend from college that you haven’t spoken to in a few months. “It was nice catching up with you. We should definitely do this again sometime.” “It was really nice to finally catch up. I’ll definitely make an effort to reach out more in the future.” “It was great catching up with you. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I hope we can talk again soon.” This is another polite way to end a conversation, and you can use it in both formal and casual situations. The word “soon” doesn’t give a specific time for when you’ll speak to the other person next, so it’s a polite way to say, “I enjoyed talking to you.” “Thank you for taking the time to call me. I hope we can talk again soon.” “It was great speaking with you. I hope we can talk again sometime soon.” “Thanks for the helpful advice. I really hope we can talk again soon.”

“It was lovely seeing you.” This expression is used in more intimate relationships, such as with a romantic partner or close friend. It has a very warm tone and implies that you enjoyed spending time with the other person and talking to them. “It was lovely seeing you yesterday. Let’s do this again sometime.” “It was really lovely seeing you the other day. I had such a great time.” “I wanted to let you know that it was lovely to see you last weekend.”

“It’s always a pleasure.” This is a shortened way of saying, “It’s always a pleasure to speak with you” or “It’s always a pleasure to see you” when you talk to someone you see often. It’s also a way to respond when someone expresses their gratitude toward you. For example: Them: “Thank you for taking the time to train the new interns.”You: “It’s always a pleasure.” Them: “I enjoyed talking with you today.”You: “Me too. It’s always a pleasure.”