Writing Good Memo in Business Communication

Tips for Writing a Good Memo in Business Communication

Business writing differs significantly from article or academic writing. Business communication is generally in the form of reports, policies, instructions, procedures, memos, letters, orders or rules & regulations. Memos are business letters but only for employees & used within an organization.

Memos are used to give information to employees such as changes in some procedures or rules, policy change or for specific purpose like request to attend a meeting. The format of the memo differs from business letter format. Memos generally contain sections like to, from, date, subject & text of memo.

Points to remember while writing a memo:

If you are sending memo to specific person, then you should write correct name of the reader. You can write job title along with name to make it more formal.

Subject should not be vague or unclear. It should be brief & specific, which can give an idea about the purpose of the memo.

Generally, memos do not contain salutation or complimentary closing.

The text in text section of memo should be concise, clear, to the point.

Avoid use of long and complex sentences that contain too much information. Short sentences make your message more readable and understandable. You can use headings & bullets to make your memo easy to read.

First paragraph in text area or opening paragraph should contain background of the problem & purpose of the memo. Memo’s recipient should get an overview of the memo by reading the first paragraph only.

In next paragraphs, you can explain the steps you have taken or methods and sources you have used to solve the problems.

Last paragraph should be the closing segment, where you can request your reader to take an action to solve the problem. Some people use conclusion at the end of memo to summarize the content. Conclusions are also useful for suggestions and recommendations or if you wish to make a request to the reader.

If there are any attachments, always mention at the end, after closing segment.

Always proofread your memo before sending it. You can use software programs, which are available for business writing, for proofreading & to check and correct English grammar & spellings in your memo. Some software programs enrich your text with adjectives & adverbs, which enhances the simple sentence into more professional and sophisticated one & suggest context related synonym for repeated words.

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