General Guidelines
The “You” Attitude
As you write your memos, keep in mind that it should always be clear to your readers that the information being conveyed is import- ant to and/or directly impacts their work. To do this, you can represent a “you” attitude in your text. As you compose, focus on your audience: What do they need to know to do their jobs? How and why does this information matter to them? Answering these questions will help you select relevant content and orient your writing toward your audience’s needs.
Appropriate Language for Your Audience
As previously stated, your text should be clear, concise, and focused on the topic. In addition, think about your lexicon—the words you choose that communicate to a specific field, discipline, technical specialization, or area of expertise. A memo oriented toward engineers will use different language than a memo oriented toward organization executives, even if the subject matter is the same. Make sure that you are choosing terms and expressing concepts that are meaningful to and useful for the audience.
Direct vs. Indirect Approach
In general, memos employ a direct approach to organizing and presenting information. This means that the main idea is directly stated and presented up front in the document, as discussed in the “Memo” section of the chapter.
Sometimes, however, you will need to report negative outcomes or bad news. If you are tasked with writing a memo that presents negative information or information toward which the audience will not be favorably disposed of, the direct approach may be perceived as abrupt or insensitive. In these more delicate situations, you may want to consider an indirect approach. The indirect approach leads up to the main idea, rather than stating it up front.
For example, a direct approach supplies the main idea clearly at the beginning of the memo, and then develops in more detail the information, events, circumstances, and/or research that informed a conclusion or action. An indirect approach would explain the information, events, circumstances, and/or research informing negative conclusions or actions prior to starting those negative conclusions/ actions.
By explaining the information leading to the main idea, the indirect approach works to “soften the blow” of negative news by communicating why or how negative conclusions were reached. But the indirect approach is harder to follow than the direct approach, which tells readers what to expect from the start, and some readers may stop reading or skip to the end of the memo to get to the point, so you should consider carefully whether the indirect approach would be effective for your memo’s purpose.
Note (on international audiences): American correspondence generally uses the direct order with the occasional exception of bad news. International communication often follows some sort of indirect order. As you are considering your readers, pay special attention to the customs of your international audience when making or- der decisions.
