The Memo Makeover

The average office is a veritable paper jungle, with literally tons of correspondence vying for the attention of one and all. The sad truth is, there simply is not enough time in the day to read and assimilate all of the information that crosses your desk, and still be able to apply it to the work you need to accomplish. Therefore, many of the memos we receive are either tossed immediately, or “filed” for later perusal, (meaning thrown on the desk, forgotten about, and finally tossed due to being out-of-date.)

However, there is a marked exception to this rule. There are memos that weather the storm, rise to the top of the In Bin tornado, and get read. Why is that? The answer is very simple:

They Are Interesting!

Imagine that! An interesting memo? An attention-grabbing sticky note? A motivating email? It is possible, and you may have seen a few in your own workplace. But they are very rare. The reason? Most individuals who are forced to author these Mediocre Memos are doing so under pressure, or are unwilling or unable to give the appropriate time and thought to their creation. They may feel “Nobody’s going to read it anyway.” Well, with that attitude, they’re right.

However, the authors of the exceptional memos have taken a slightly different stance: They are determined to take the information they have to share, and mold it in to a format they would be excited to read themselves. They are convinced that, presented in the right way, their information will be of interest to everyone on their mailing list. On this solid positive foundation, the exceptional memo writer can then build his or her masterpiece.

Perhaps describing a lowly office memorandum as a potential masterpiece is a touch melodramatic, but consider: If the information contained in the memo were not of importance, why waste the time, effort and paper producing it? If the information is important enough to go through the authoring process, is it not important enough to make extraordinary? Of course it is, and it is the extraordinary memo that gets read.

So, what exactly goes in to the production of an extraordinary memo?

As already stated, the extraordinary memo must begin with a positive attitude about the memo’s worth and the value of making it extraordinary.

The next step involves gathering all the necessary information that may be included in the memo being written, and then eliminating at least half of it. Yes, eliminating at least half of it. Why? A memo very quickly overstays its welcome if it is too lengthy for its own good. Most vital messages can be relayed in several sentences rather than several pages. Eliminate all the “fluff” such as background data, unnecessary statistics, obvious explanations, repetitive charts and graphs, etc. If your audience truly requires all of the above information to understand and appreciate your topic, a memo is not the best format for your presentation. (You may want to consider scheduling a meeting or series of meetings wherein you are able to present the information with visual aids and data sheets included.)

Now that you are left with a list of vital information to be included in your memo, you must ask yourself the same all-important question every marketing master and advertising ace has been asking for decades: “What’s in it for them?” In other words, what does my reader want and need to get out of this message? After all, just like a marketing master, your bottom line goal is to sell! You need to sell your reader on your message, and make them buy in to it. You need to convince them that it is to their benefit to read and apply your message.

Therefore, you need to ask and answer the “What’s in it for them?” question, then apply the answer to the way you write your message.

This simple question will turn a drab request in to an emotional appeal. A boring list of details becomes an encouraging outline of benefits. A dead thank you becomes a sincere gesture of appreciation and respect. A potentially boring collection of thoughts has received the attention it deserves because in the end, a mediocre memo has been deftly transformed in to an extraordinary one!

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Justin Lambert is the owner (and toughest critic) of CopyGhost, a copywriting and ghostwriting firm serving businesses of all sizes, nationwide. Visit www.copyghost.com to subscribe to the FREE Connexion e-newsletter, your source for tips and tricks to improve your business communications, both written and verbal. Subscribe today, and download the Special Report: 10 Ways to Spruce Up Your Copy - Even If It Doesn't Need It!

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