P&G’s One-Page Memo – And Five Tips for Creating Effective Business Communication

memo

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Procter & Gamble is one of the most successful multinationals in the consumer goods industry. The company is also responsible for brilliantly simple marketing efforts, and their business communication system is second to none. It all starts with the P&G one-page memo. The concept of this memo dates back decades, to the time when Richard Deupree was president.

He instilled a philosophy that less is often more in efficient, effective communication. As Deupree once put it, “Part of my job is to train people to break down an involved question into a series of simple matters. Then we can all act intelligently.”

When the information is concise and clear, those on the receiving end learn to practice active listening (or in this case, reading), which helps good habits permeate across communication practices of all kinds.

The One-Page Memo: Background

One of the main reasons Deupree developed this format was the lack of persuasive proposals in the company’s internal business communication. Their proposals tended to contain too much information, and important questions and issues got lost between the lines.

The one-page memo format forces writers to communicate effectively by boiling the information down to relevant facts and critical issues. At the same time, it excludes trivial matters that can complicate business operations and reduce employee engagement. The goal is to offer clear thoughts and a clear plan of action. Take this example from Berkshire Hathaway head Warren Buffet:

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The one-page memo style of business communication defines the situation, introduces an idea, and explains why it works. It also explains why the idea is so important and what could happen if the memo isn’t followed. These are all stages that we’ll discuss in a moment.

The idea is to get the entire organization on the same page… To get all departments and team leaders speaking the same language, creating memos based on the same format and communication style. The point of the memo obviously differs, but it’s the structure of the internal communication that matters most.

This concept is even more relevant today than it was in Deupree’s time. Attention spans are short in the digital age, so condensing information is critical across the organizational hierarchy. The format of the P&G memo is adaptable to today’s internal company issues and business objectives. You can use it for its memo creation tips, principles, and organizational practices, even if you don’t use precisely the same structure.

This approach will hone your communication skills, improve your knowledge sharing, and cut down on the need for time consuming, in person meetings. With this direct and effective method of written communication, you can remove guesswork, drive employee engagement, and move toward your organizational goals with greater efficiency. This is even more important in instances of technical communication.

Even beyond memos, these principles apply across communication channels to reduce noise and increase immediate understanding.

Business Communication Tip #1 – Define the Situation

For effective business communication, always start a one-page memo with a short summary. Offer some background or set the context so the reader understands the purpose of the memo immediately.

Is it about a problem you found? Is it about a model you want to use to drive the company’s success? Did you find an opportunity you think the company should jump on? Are you refining the customer onboarding processes?

It’s best to get your audience up to speed as fast as possible to avoid losing their attention.

If you do an excellent job in the summary, you can often get the reader to agree with your conclusion without making them read further. Once you engage their interest and instill curiosity, a good part of your job (truly effective communication) is already done.

Business Communication Tip #2 – Introduce Your Idea

Your idea can be a proposal, a recommendation, or even a solution. After summarizing the issue, define your plan in the simplest of terms. Make it as clear as possible for everyone, no matter what department the readers may come from – from team leaders to remote employees, whether the topic is customer engagement or an effort to improve organizational practices.

Simplicity is the key to effective communication.

Keep in mind that in business writing, introducing your idea is not the same as explaining it. There is a separate section of the memo where you highlight what you propose. In many situations, one sentence is more than enough to make the point.

Too much explanation early on can actually create confusion, and amounts to poor communication when the goal is clarity and simplicity.

Business Communication Tip #3 – Explain How the Idea Works

Now you can start detailing your idea… Your audience already knows what the issue is, and your proposal for addressing that issue. Now it’s time to use this communication channel to explain why it’s a good proposal and how it works.

This section offers the opportunity to answer any critical questions and address concerns. Keep the content detailed, yet condensed. Only talk about the most pressing issues you foresee, whether that’s customer satisfaction, workplace environment, employee productivity, etc.

For the most effective communication, stay focused on the specific issue at hand, and don’t let tangents or other related topics create communication barriers.

Treat it as you would a sales pitch. Formulate your explanation while keeping your audience’s perspective in mind. Always evaluate your written communication through your audience’s eyes and thoughts.

Keep in mind that this approach is applicable to a one-page memo or any other sort of proposal, internal communication, and beyond. The goal is to learn how to think clearly and put your thoughts into words that everyone understands.

Only give the details that matter to the company’s success, and offer a timeline if necessary. Highlight how your solution solves the issue presented in the summary.

Effective business communication is all about the right balance of detail and digestibility, and that includes providing compelling “reasons why.”

Business Communication Tip #4 – Discuss the Idea’s Key Benefits

To write a compelling memo in the business world and beyond, you need to know what your strongest points are. In this section, you get to emphasize them. Narrow your points down to three at the most. This will make things easier to explain, and it’s easier for the reader to follow along and absorb the information. This kind of clarity also creates better employee engagement with your message.

Your idea could have more than three benefits, of course, but a memo is not the medium to list and explain all of these in detail. Find the most persuasive key benefits and present them in clear sentences for better business communication.

It’s also important to remember this: if you put down too many reasons as to why you’re right, it may seem like you’re trying too hard to sell something – which is just another form of poor communication. Your audience may perceive you as insecure in your offering and thought process, which gets in the way of knowledge sharing.

Business Communication Tip #5 – Define the Next Steps

So, what is the best way to end your memo? Briefly define the next steps the company should take after everyone gets a chance to read your written communication. 

Whether the goals are related to employee productivity, tightening up organizational hierarchy, boosting customer satisfaction, creating positive relationships, introducing new software solutions, or anything else, the next steps toward the specific organizational goals provide a clear path forward.

“where do we go from here” type ending will wrap things up nicely. That’s the first question your audience will ask after reading any internal business communication, so avoid a cliffhanger by offering the next steps and how to proceed.

Again, you don’t have to be too explicit, but you do have to be straightforward. Mention if someone needs to do something specific. Present a timeline and milestones if you have them. These should be clearly stated and answer any remaining questions.

Obviously, you can’t solve a complex issue with a one-page memo, but you can inform everyone through effective business communication and get them on the same page.

Across business communication channels, clarity is paramount. From the one-page memo to in person verbal communication, video conferencing to instant messaging, among department managers or remote employees, the faster and easier everyone can get to the point, the better.

Conclusion: Solidifying Business Communications

Remember that the one-page memo is all about saying as much as possible with a few words. Condensed information matters a lot, especially for maintaining engaged employees in the digital world. Procter & Gamble still uses the one page-memo to this day, which shows how useful the format can be to facilitate communication.

It promotes an efficient type of thinking that you can apply to many aspects of your business operations. The structure proves useful in a variety of contexts across internal and external communication, and can be altered to fit different situations… But the core principles always remain the same.

These business communication and memo creation tips will help you grab the reader’s attention and get their agreement with the first few sentences.

These tools are priceless among your communication processes, and bolster your knowledge sharing in every other situation. As you incorporate these tips, your team’s communication will improve too – because they’ll have concrete examples of clear written communication that sets the stage for private conversations as well.

Open communication is great, of course, but clear, concise communication techniques are what truly make a difference.

 

 

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