“memo,” “letter” and “report.” Let’s define them before we work on them.
A memo is a one-page document written to someone inside your organization. Because people working for the same company, public agency or non-profit organization already share goals and probably know each other, when they write, they are usually trying to accomplish some specific work goal. A memo is heavy with facts.
When we say “memo,” we don’t mean “speed memo.” Maybe you have seen forms at your company or someplace else that include basic routing information and allow a little space for comment. Speed memos are valuable for certain situations. But we are not talking about speed memos here. When we say memo, we mean a document about a page long, that is, long enough to introduce and carry forward a workable idea.
Letters, however, are between people who do not work for the same organization. So when you write a letter, you cannot assume you share goals and experiences with the reader the way you do when you write a memo. Therefore, a letter often tries to establish a human connection between people, sometimes total strangers. A letter, as we use the word here, is also about a page long.
A report, I define on the basis of length alone. A report is a written document two pages or longer. The reason for this definition comes from the reader. Think about this from your own experience. When you receive a document two pages or longer, what do you do? If you are like most people, you do not immediately read it. Instead, you devise a strategy for reading it. The strategy usually begins with “I’ll read it later.” When a person gets around to reading a report, strategy continues. People often do not begin reading a report at the beginning and follow along to the end. They begin by looking for “entry points” such as the list of conclusions or an explanation of methods. So we must write reports with such strategies in mind. Now don’t get me in trouble with this definition. If you use a one-page document at work called the “weekly report” or something. Fine. Don’t tell your boss that’s a “memo,” not a “report.” I use these terms this way for efficient communication between you and me throughout the book. As always, local rules apply. If your boss calls it a report, it’s a report.
Writing for Action
You have no doubt noticed that freewriting is much different from your usual writing at work. For one thing, no one is looking over your shoulder. Freewriting is something just for you. No one approves it or offers criticism.
At work, however, the writing is different. Not only do people see it (and judge us), but also it is directed at a goal. We write because it is necessary. By learning how to write at work and knowing how to do it quickly and well, we increase both our productivity and our enjoyment.
Fast Tips for starting
1. Complete this sentence: “My reader will want to read my message because....”
2. Say it all in one 2-line sentence.
3. If you are having trouble starting, write down your goal first.
4. Write anything.
Today, more than ever, people at work must know how to write. Not just people who work at a desk. As computers enter the workplace, information becomes a larger share of each person’s daily job. Promotion to a supervisory or managerial position often requires more writing.
People are busier than ever before. With international competition affecting almost every part of society, the push for improved productivity becomes stronger.
We need to be able to write memos, letters and reports quickly, with a sense of accomplishment and confidence. Writing at work successfully means mastering the activity of writing rather than letting it control us.
Even those who gained strong writing skills in school find it necessary to learn the particular composition techniques used in today’s workplace. Although experience at writing stories or term papers is valuable in becoming an effective writer at work, these disciplines differ from writing memos, letters and reports in certain important ways.
Writing is also one of those fundamental human activities—such as sports or dancing — that require constant attention to maintain skills. Every person can write better. Even those who have mastered all the skills must try to write faster when they come to work.
Yet mastering the skills of language is not enough. Writing at work is goal oriented—it gets work done. The memo, letter or report is never the end product. At work we do not write for information alone. We write for action.
What I Like
The largest single change most people have to make in order to write effectively is to move from a passive to an active attitude. Instead of trying draft after draft to see if something “sounds right,” you must define precisely what you want to accomplish with each writing project.
To arrive at a written product that you like, you first must identify what you like. Think about the messages you have received. Which ones were readable? Which ones struck you just right? Which ones caused you to take the action the reader wanted you to take?
On a piece of paper, list at least five elements you feel make an effective memo, letter or report. (Writing means writing. Running an idea through your mind or “thinking about” five elements is not the same as listing them on paper. Getting into the habit of listing ideas, or outlining or taking notes on paper moves you closer to better writing.)
Reader Point of View
So far, we have discussed leaving out information or including it. Faced with the diverse amount of information coming to anyone’s workplace, how do you determine what information is useful for a particular piece of writing and what information is unnecessary? The reader will tell you.
You cannot understand the writing problem as either deciding what to put in or as selecting what to leave out. Both approaches are too narrow. Determining the most effective content means “selecting” among many conclusions, examples, anecdotes, recommendations and facts.
The most effective method of selecting what to include in your writing is to identify what interests the reader. Too often the wordy or clumsy message merely includes content that has no bearing on the reader; it is included only because it interests the writer.
To decide what content will most likely cause the reader to take the action you want, you must adopt the reader’s point of view. Taking the reader’s point of view is a personal attitude as well as a literary technique.
The following section lists three different versions of a message about recycling. Examine each closely for point of view. See how each subsequent rewrite gains strength and focus by shifting more toward the reader’s point of view. (Here is a tip: Writing from the writer’s point of view uses the words “I,” “we,” “us,” and “my.” Writing from the reader’s point of view includes the words “you” and “your.”)
Writing from the Reader Point of View
Writing from the reader’s point of view is an easy suggestion to accept. Everyone agrees with this notion when simply stated. However, when it actually comes time to write a memo, adapting your writing style to the reader is sometimes difficult to do.
Take
