I have deliberately written this tutorial in story format to make it easier to read. All characters are fictitious and do not in any way represent any person alive or dead.
Different organizations will have their own official letter or memo format, so it would be best if you follow those formats. The gist is to know what information to add and what not to add in written communications.
Communications from an organization need to be specific and detailed enough to make it clear to successors as to the manner and type of discussion or transaction being conducted, yet the writer of said communications should also be consciously aware of the effect of such information. (By the way, this is the normal way to ‘firm-speak’, and it is the main reason why I am doing this tutorial in story format.) During the course of my working years I have come across official memos and letters that either had too much or too little information. I believe that this may have happened because the writer of those correspondences gave
This tutorial will help you understand that a business is an on-going affair. What you know, what you understand is not another person’s knowledge or memory. For that reason letters are sometimes needed to state the obvious, so that the terms and situations will continue to be clear to another person some years down the road.
In the past, I have come across memos so obscure that only the people directly involved in the meeting knew what was being referred to. “With reference to our discussion by phone yesterday, management has agreed to proceed as per your suggestion.” What discussion, what suggestion - nobody had any clue until we contacted the originator of the memo. Thank goodness he still remembered because the memo was almost a year old. Even then, we had to reissue a new memo stating the agreement number and the product this ‘suggestion’ referred to because it was tied into a contract that was about to be signed.
Doubtless you will also come across similar experiences in the course of your career. Just remember, people are more honest than we think. Sometimes we are tied down by our complex culture which makes us unable to insist on clarification. But the thing is, most people I have dealt with are relief to ‘clear the air’ early on in negotiations. Not only does it make everybody’s job a lot easier in the long run, the worker bee also doesn’t end up being the scapegoat of an obscure agreement.
I hope you will enjoy the story that I have made up for you, and please write to me at alpha@gmowe.ws to help me improve the tutorial. Thank you for reading.