Memo To My Readers

November 5, 2003

To: ALL LOYAL AND NOT-SO-LOYAL NOBLE PUNDIT READERS

From: Chris

Subject: Writing an effective memo

One of the skills that is most lacking in today's workplace is the ability to write clearly. Oftentimes, the ability to communicate effectively via writing will make the difference between who gets promoted and who doesn't. By following a few of these simple steps, you can get a leg up on everyone else.

Grammatically, writing an effective memo is very simple. Keep the language simple and clear. Be concise. Use simple sentence structure. Use the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

The biggest challenge facing you in writing an effective memo is organization. Your first paragraph must tell the reader why this memo is being written and why it is important to them. Miss either of those requirements and you will lose most of your readers. Your middle paragraphs should tell the reader the information you want them to know. Try to limit the memo to no more than three middle paragraphs. And finally, close with a paragraph reminding the reader of what was written and why it is important. Most memos fail to communicate because they lack a basic outline structure like this.

When writing a memo, your goal is to quickly and efficiently communicate an idea to the reader. You do not want to waste their time or yours. Learning to write that kind of memo is a skill that can be practiced and perfected. Being able to effectively communicate is one of the key skill sets managers look for. Writing effective memos will help you to excel in that area.

Chris

On my way into work this morning, the Orlando Sentinel billboard along I-4 was flashing a notice about an article on the do and don'ts of writing memos. It occurred to me that most people see these articles, but never see how to apply them. A list without context is pretty useless.

I've always found that the best way to write a memo is, like I did above: tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and tell 'em what you told 'em. Or in grammatical terms: intro, body, conclusion.

In the intro paragraph make sure that you tell them why you're writing and why it's important to them. Otherwise people will question why you're wasting their time and they may never get to an otherwise excellent point.

In the body, get across your information in a clear, concise manner. Leave no room for ambiguity. You don't want people to be sitting there questioning what you meant. You want them to act! Make absolutely sure that they know what they have to do, without question.

In your conclusion, recap what you wrote. Give a quick synopsis and call to action. Your conclusion needs to be short, but effective.

For most bloggers, the problem won't be writing something coherent - it's rare that I stumble across a blog post that is simply impossible to follow. The problem will generally be keeping it simple. Big words and grandiose flourishes are out. Simple sentences and a third grade vocabulary are in. It's tough. I know it is. At my last job I had one supervisor who was constantly telling me that I needed to be a little less verbose. So I know it's a challenge, but if you can overcome it, the benefits are huge.

Hopefully, a quick example of a good memo will help more than another bullet-pointed list to hang on your cube wall. Hopefully, it will help you to write a better memo, rather than the stilted sounding memo born of religiously following a do/don't list.

I am consistently amazed at how poorly most people write. For people who can communicate effectively through writing, the opportunities out there are legion. It is, by far, the most in demand skill I've found.