(As HR manager of Victorian International Trading Co. Ltd., Jeff Smith is having a discussion in the small meeting room on how to write effective memos with Joe, Zhang and Amy, who are co-workers in the import and export department of the company.)

场景：会议室（圆形桌）   人物：Jeff、Joe、Zhang、Amy

Jeff: At last meeting, we emphasized the importance of improving written communication among colleagues. Ever since then, we have become less reliant on phone calls for internal communication because we all know the disadvantages of making internal phone calls.

Joe: Yeah. It is a waste of time and sometimes annoying if we receive phone calls when we are having a meeting or driving.

Jeff: Exactly. Memo is frequently used in internal communication among colleagues. A memo can also take the form of an e-mail. Recently I have received quite a lot of e-mails on business related matters, and have found some problems in memo writing. I have got some samples here. So the main purpose of today’s meeting is to find out what the problems are and what improvements we have to make.

All: OK.

Jeff: Please look at the samples. What do you think is wrong with these two memos?

Amy: The first one has no subject at all while the second one the subject is too long.

Jeff: You are right..Effective memo writing starts with a clear subject heading that has a direct indication of the matter or situation discussed. It tells the topic of the memo, so it should be clear, concise, complete as well. Besides, it should be in noun phrases. As for the subject of the memo, there are two categories.

Amy: Then, what are the two categories of subjects in memo writing?

Jeff: Informative and descriptive. The former provides relatively detailed information while the latter summarizes the general topic. Say, for example, we are going to offer a short term language training course for our staff and we want you to write a memo to our staff. How would you write it?

Zhang: I would write “Language Training Course for Staff” as a descriptive subject since it focuses on the information itself and “Offering Free Language Training Course for Staff” as an informative subject since it is more detailed.

Jeff: Perfect! Now let’s discuss more sample memos here, and see what other aspects needs to be improved in the light of the rules of effective memo writing, namely, POSE. POSE stands for Positive, Only one topic, Short, and Easy.

Amy: OK, I think I know the problems with these memos, the samples. In this one, the information is quite imprecise. It fails to give a clear purpose and as a result, the recipient will have no idea what to do.

Zhang: That's right. So, it is liable to be misunderstood and even disregarded.

Jeff: Yes, and as for the other one, you can find that it covers two subjects, one is about language training, the other is about a survey on the staff's language ability in terms of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Joe: Readers may feel confused when reading this memo. One more question, Jeff, what about the layout of the memo?

Jeff: Well, surely it’s important. Besides the subject, the other three items on the top of a memo cannot be left out. They tell you who the memo is for, who sends it and the date it is written. Now in the rest of the time, shall we all practice more so that you will be more skilled in writing a memo?