Where would personal lives, businesses and society in general be without the memo? Memos keep all of us informed and up-to-date on what’s happening. Love them or hate them, we depend heavily on our memos. Of course this need has nothing to do with preference. There are few who actually want a memo，there are even less who enjoy composing the memo.

Whether giving or receiving, there are a few rules we need to follow in order to be productive in our memo use. Because if it’s got to be incorporated into our lives, we may as well make them at least productive and enjoyable.

First, keep it short and brief. It’s a memo, not a novel already—keep minimums. As long as you include the who, what, when, where and why, little else is needed. Please keep the quotes and prose out of the note and save them for a more appropriate medium.

Next, there’s no need to monologue, they are unnecessary. It’s not a business letter so you don’t need an introduction of any kind. If you are composing a memo for an office, keep in mind you are composing for internal eyes. You all know where you work and what you do. Company info and tag lines are unnecessary. All the other items you would find on letterhead are not needed either, so there’s no need to state the obvious.

When writing the minimums, many people like to include a joke or reference to someone who’s going to take part in a possible meeting or gathering. Keep in mind inside jokes only play when everyone gets the joke. You also want to assure that no one is embarrassed by it. If you are sending correspondence out to a group and someone won’t get a reference or a past occurrence, you are excluding that someone. Excluding is tough on everyone and makes the memo longer than it has to be. You want to highlight it, but you also want to keep it to a minimum.

At the conclusion of this short correspondence, always sign the note. Make sure you have signature block or information to get in touch with you. If you composed it, you’re the contact person. That being said, everyone needs to know who you are and how to contact with you.

Ultimately, don’t assume you’re so important that everyone will know who you are. That is why signature blocks are so important. When you are sending out a note, you need to be humble. Let people know who you are and why you are sending out the memo. Remember, however, composing it doesn’t mean you’re in charge. Being a contact and taking charge are two different things.

Memos tend to trap all of us. As we wade through the unnecessary garbage of our day, make sure what you are sending to others is valuable and covers all the details in a minimum amount of space.

Continued