I heard a speaker on the radio (CBC) this morning and like so many others I've heard in the past he responded to the interviewer's thank you with a thanks. I hear this response often, and it grates every time I hear it. It reminds me a bit of the Chip 'n Dale cartoon chipmunks that were so awfully polite...

"Thank you my dear Chip"
"No, thank you my dear Dale!"
etc.

And on and on. So very polite, but in the real world, thanking the thanker sounds awkward and stilted. It leaves the conversation seemingly unfinished. So it is my firm belief that there are only 3 reasonable responses to a Thank You so as not to sound cartoonish, awkward or stilted and to end a conversation with grace:

1. You're welcome.
   The standard reply. You really can't go wrong with this one.


2. My pleasure.
   For those times when you were happy to oblige.


3. Don't mention it.
   For when you're feeling particularly generous or humble.

So there you have it - a small thing but it adds so much grace to your use of the language.