Writing a corporate memo
Business school students often produce exams or other written assignments in an essay style, but in most business situations a memo format is more appropriate. This article articulates what constitutes an effective memo so that we can try to replace bad academic writing with good business writing.
The aim of a memo is to quickly inform the reader and explain any decision making. It should be easy to read and have a clear message.
- The first few sentences should explain the purpose of the memo and any key background information.
- The use of bullets or numbered lists to split up the text and separate key points is often appropriate.
- Don’t be afraid to highlight important text.
- It’s a good idea to finish a memo with a call to action or some other type of positive ending.
We tend to think of memos as an antiquated document but many emails are de facto memos. In fact, I would argue that any email sent to multiple people should be treated as a memo – they are an important part of a manager’s toolkit!
Addendum: Here the thoughts of Scott Adams on business writing (source):
And for a fascinating collection of corporate memos, see https://sriramk.com/memos.