One of the most common documents drafted in the business world, for decades now, is a Memorandum, which is also commonly referred to as a memo. A memo is nothing but a document which is sent as a note, to a group of people, informing them about a new policy, telling them to do something, informing them about a specific date/event or anything as such in a partially informal way.
Basically, a memo replaces the need of having a meeting for small matters. It saves time and money for organizing a meeting. Memos generally have a twofold purpose: bringing attention to the problem and offering a suitable solution.
How to write a memo?
There are a few points that we strictly need to keep in mind in order to avoid creating a mess when we write business memos. A memo should be easy to understand and must be kept as professional as possible. Some tips to be kept in mind while writing a memo:
Effective subject: Subject of the memo should be very effective and concise. This is because the first thing that a reader wishes to find in the memo is the cause of writing the memo and the issue it aims to bring forth.
Professional tone: Content of your memo must have a professional tone. Since the readers of your memo could be your own co-workers, boss or any other office members, the tone of your content must not be vague and unprofessional or bring out a negative sentiment.
Executive summary: The first paragraph of a memo is often regarded as the executive summary. This part of the memo includes an overview of the complete memo and hence must include all the major points of discussion. A reader must be able to understand the content of the memo by its executive summary.
Neat and clean write-up: The entire memo should be stylised well, in terms of font style and size, usage of bullets and more. Consistency and professional stylising will make your business memo look very presentable and appealing.
As mentioned in the article above, a memo need not always be a formal write-up. Sometimes the way a memo is written makes it quite dull and people tend to avoid reading it carefully or even taking it seriously. Another question that commonly pops into one’s mind is how to write business memos? Here are a few basic tips on how to start a memo:
Heading – A memo begins with a header section. This section varies from company to company but the basics are still sound. This section includes 4 sub-sections:
To – Mention the name of the person you’re writing the memo for. Sometimes a memo is written to a group of people and so in such case you can simply write the name of the particular group.
From – Here, the writer of the memo has to acknowledge their identity, which can include name and job position/title.
Date – Mention the date of the memo, with the year
Subject – Towards the end of the header, mention the subject of the memo in a concise and clear manner.
Executive summary – Many memos do not include an executive summary but for a good memo you must include one. It gives an overview of the entire memo and makes it easier for the readers to understand the overall content. It is an essential step in your how to write a memo check-list.
Content – Now comes the final part, the content. You need to write the main part of your memo and briefly describe all that you have been talking about till now through your subject and summary. Keep the paragraphs short and attentive because this is the main focus of how to write a memo.
Depending upon the type of memo, you may or may not include a farewell. Even if you do, keep it limited and concise. Also, you may or may not include an initial greeting before entering the body of the memo. If you want to keep it strictly professional then you may exclude this part.
Closer – Provide an ending by asking the readers to take necessary actions as per the requirement of your memo.
Aforementioned tips can be followed for a good and effective business memo. Reading these points will definitely help you with your query of how to write a memo. Just be concise with your writing, edit and fine-tune well, and it will end up being effective and presentable!
