C455 Task 1 - Grade: pass PDF

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READING AND WRITING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM...

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Running head: READING AND WRITING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

JOHN SMITH READING AND WRITING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY

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READING AND WRITING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

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“Money makes the world go around” is the beginning to a memorable song in the movie Cabaret which debuted in 1972. This song shows how important money is in this world, so important that it is what the world revolves around. It is not love, or happiness but money that everybody chases. The thing that I find fascinating is that this movie/song was made almost 50 years ago, and money is still king today. Money equaling power has been true throughout man kinds existence, from the Pharos, to Cesar, to a billionaire president today. For me, to think about a time that I used reading and writing outside of a classroom environment I think about my work life. I work in a sales environment, I am a licensed insurance agent by profession. That means I sell everything from home, auto, umbrella, business insurance, and life insurance. Communicating is the key to success in my business. The way that I read and write outside of the classroom is very important because I must be proactive and reactive in my line of work. Proactive in my work life is that I am preparing quotes and presentations before I meet a client. I have PowerPoints and illustrations on what coverages do for people and where there might be gaps in different plans. Doing this for several years has made me more aware of my audience and how they like to be communicated with. I have found that if I am doing a presentation on renters’ insurance I will want to use more broad terminology and more technical for a general liability quote for a business owner. An example is when I have my flyers for a renter’s policy, I would use the word belongings instead of content or say the policy would cover a hotel room instead of loss of use. With the business owner, I would tell them that the typical policy has a million dollars’ worth of liability which means if they are sued that is the maximum the policy would pay the other party. Then I would let the business owner know that this doesn’t include worker’s compensation for their employee but that can be covered under a supplemental

READING AND WRITING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

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policy, so they would not be responsible to pay that out of the business expense. Being in the classroom has taught me how to read and write, but it didn’t necessarily set me up for success in my line of work. I have had to adapt to my audience and change my vocabulary with how I presented things to be more successful. Also reading and understanding what people are saying is very different meanings. Reactive in my job is once I have quoted a policy it is not very common for people to purchase the policy right there on the spot. If I don’t get a commitment, I am in the follow up process. Usually I either set up an appointment for them to come into my office and have a face to face meeting in the future. I try to do this because people are less likely to say no when they are right there in front of you. If I am not able to do that I will try to set up a follow up over the phone, which I have also found that process also closes better than emails or them coming in on their own to complete the business. With everything being more and more digital, I have also found that people prefer communicating by email and online chat. This has been a challenge for me because when you read something it doesn’t necessarily have the same meaning as what is written. If I send a quote and they reply it is too expensive, does it mean that the actual price is too high, or do they not understand what coverages they are getting in the quoted policy. The way I try to explain that is if you go to Denny’s and order a steak, is that the same price for a steak at Morton’s (prime steak house)? Of course not, you are not getting the same quality of food so of course they won’t be the same price, same thing with insurance. When I respond, I must know if I need to respond with a lesser coverage quote to bring the price down; or have a conversation on why the premium or price is where it is at. Reading words is not just reading, it is absorbing and understanding to respond accordingly.

READING AND WRITING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

My family depends on me bringing in money every month to make ends meet. I get paid on new policies and renewals, so I have money coming in every month from the policies that I have written in the past. This is a smaller amount that what I get when they first sign up, and people change insurance companies all the time, so it fluctuates. My job requires me to be very good at communicating in person to be successful. In the beginning, I didn’t think that I would need to be a better writer or be able to read in between the lines to be successful. Growing those skills has made me a better provider for my family which is why reading and writing outside of the classroom is so very important for me.

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