Memos bring attention to problems and then solve them. They inform the reader about new information like policy changes or persuade the reader to take an action such as attend a meeting or change a procedure. Regardless of the specific goal, memos are most effective when they connect the purpose of the writer with the interests and needs of the reader.
Choose the audience of the memo wisely. Ensure that all of the people that the memo is addressed to need to read the memo. Be certain that material is not too sensitive; sometimes the best forms of communication are face-to-face interaction or a phone call.
Standard memos are divided into segments to organize the information and to help achieve the writer’s purpose.
