Memos are important documents for Internal business communication. But many people don't have much, if any, memo-writing experience before they join the workforce. If you're ever asked to write a memo, you may be at a loss. Luckily, though, there are a few easy tips and rules of thumb to follow to craft effective memos.
When writing a memo, its purpose — articulating key points — is the most important thing to keep in mind. As a memo is a purely functional form of communication, its format is driven by the overall goal of clear, efficient communication. The steps for writing a memo are as follows:
Some organizations might have special letterhead designed for memos — if that's the case at your organization, you should write your memo on it. If you don't have memo letterhead but do have business letterhead, you should use that.
Memos should be written in a standard (Times New Roman or Arial), size-12 font. Margins on all sides should be one inch.
Paragraphs should be written in "block" style, which means leaving a line between paragraphs and not indenting the first line.
Before finalizing a memo, the writer should be sure to review and edit it to ensure that it's error-free, with proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. Memos should also be edited with an eye to clarity, concision and consistency in language. Wherever possible, overly-academic terms or technical jargon should be avoided.
A memo's author should either be signed at the end by the author or have her initials by their name in the header block.
When writing a memo, less is more. You want to get your point across as in a concise way so the memo's recipients read them as quickly as possible. Sentences should average fewer than 20 words, and paragraphs should average fewer than seven lines. The full memo should be one page at most.
The following formats may be used for three common memo types: memos without CCs, memos with CCs, and memos with attachments.
