Five Minutes to Better Memos

The procurement profession demands strong writing capabilities. Unfortunately, writing skills aren’t necessarily innate, and it is always easier to write poorly than to write with clear purpose and brevity. The good news is you don’t have to be Shakespeare or even Peter Drucker to write good well, especially in a business context. With some practice and a little diligence, anyone can become an effective business writer.

And we’re here to help you do just that! After receiving great feedback on our Five Minutes to Better Emails video, we decided to keep the momentum flowing by producing a companion piece, Five Minutes to Better Memos.

Anyone who has been in a professional setting has likely read a memo or two, some good and some pretty awful. Procurement professionals write a memo nearly every time they modify or update a contract in what is commonly referred to as a “memo to the file.” While business memos don’t have to be complicated, they deserve extra effort so that we honor the time of our recipient and the attention we are asking them to provide.

In Five Minutes to Better Memos, we provide tips for getting the most out of your memos that can also be applied to other business documents. To help you apply these lessons to your on-job demands, we invite you to download this handy memo template that you can remix, reuse, or re-purpose for all your memo writing needs.

Got a business writing challenge for which you’d like some tips? Drop us a note in the comments section so we can support you with future learning resources.