Three Tips for Reader-Friendly Memos

In business today, readers are time-pressed, content-driven, and decision-focused. To write effectively, remember that they want simple and direct communications. Here are three tips for giving readers what they want and need:

1. Avoid complex phrasing. Writing elegantly is not important; delivering smart content is. Let the message stand out more than your language.

2. Be concise. Many memo writers get hung up on "flow." But flowing sentences tend to be long and dense. You don't need choppy sentences, just hardworking ones that deliver content concisely.

3. Skip the jargon. Jargon can be a useful way to communicate among experts, but you should never use jargon if it's meaningless, if you don't understand it, or when your audience isn't familiar with it."

- Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Guide to Better Business Writing."