Synchronous Session Deliverable #2

Looking at how my fellow classmates handle professional communication gave me a better understanding of how Paul Anderson’s ideas apply in the real world. One thing that really stood out to me across most videos was how important it is to adjust your message depending on who you're talking to, whether it’s a general manager, HR team, vendor, or senior leader. They all showed that context really matters, like if there’s a tight deadline or a problem happening in real-time, your message has to be clear, direct, and easy to act on.

I also appreciated how each person had a unique way of presenting their video. Everyone had different communication styles and situations, which made me realize how personal and flexible digital communication can be. Their different perceptions helped me see that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, what works in one environment might not in another, and that’s okay.

I especially liked how they focused on how their messages would be received. Paul Goodman mentioned starting with appreciation to avoid sounding aggressive. Nicholas talked about beginning with a solution to keep things positive. Brentlee emphasized staying respectful when delivering tough news. They all use smart techniques like bullet points, bolding key info, and writing strong subject lines to keep things easy to read.

One big thing I took away is the idea of leading with the most important point or action. And I liked how they all showed awareness of ethics and tone, being honest, clear, and thoughtful with their words.

Post 2 Examples of Professional Communication

 

This email was part of a larger issue I was handling related to a tax mismatch between Corrigo and NetSuite. I had submitted AT&T’s May invoices through Corrigo, and I noticed that Corrigo was calculating taxes differently than our internal system (NetSuite). This was causing reconciliation problems, which could lead to reporting and billing errors.

Corrigo offered an option to override the tax on all the locations, meaning we could manually enter the correct tax rates so they would align with NetSuite. I emailed Ray to explain the situation and ask if he wanted me to go ahead with overriding the tax amounts. I was clear in pointing out that this wouldn’t resolve the root issue in our tax setup, but it would help get the invoices submitted and aligned for now.

This email shows how I try to keep stakeholders informed while also being proactive about moving things forward, even if that means using a temporary fix while we work on a long-term solution.

Email 1

This situation came up while I was helping manage invoice submissions for WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority), one of our government clients. Scott had flagged an issue with an invoice tied to work order C8802585, but when I checked Corrigo, the invoice wasn’t showing up properly in the system, it still said “Waiting on Vendor”, meaning the financial fields hadn’t been filled out yet.

I sent Scott a message to double-check what he was seeing and asked for a screenshot to help me understand where the disconnect might be. In a follow-up, I confirmed on my end that the invoice had been fully submitted and asked if he was looking for something else. There were several people involved in the thread because Rosie, the main point of contact, was out of office at the time, and others were trying to cover for her.

This back-and-forth reflects how sometimes systems like Corrigo don’t show the same information to everyone, and resolving those differences requires clear communication and a bit of troubleshooting. I was just trying to make sure both sides had the same understanding so we could move the invoice forward without delay.

Email 2

‘Reflect for Transfer’ #1 and #2 in Anderson, pg 19

To: Emily Luther
From: Renee Cherwonik
Date: July 13, 2025
Subject: Memo #1 – Reader Awareness in a Real-Life Writing Situation

In a recent workplace situation, I had to write an email to a senior manager explaining a delay in onboarding a new customer due to a system issue involving tax configurations. I knew that the reader was under pressure to meet project deadlines and that the customer involved, AT&T, was considered high priority. This context influenced my writing because I understood the manager would be looking for accountability, quick understanding, and reassurance that the issue was being resolved.

Because of this, I made two specific writing decisions:

1. Kept the message concise and organized, using bullet points to highlight the cause of the delay, the temporary workaround we implemented, and the next steps being taken.

2. Maintained a professional and solution-focused tone, showing that I took ownership of the issue and was actively collaborating across departments to resolve it.

This situation reminded me how important it is to write with the reader’s needs and pressures in mind. On the job, it’s helpful to stay clear, respectful, and efficient in communication—especially when dealing with urgent or sensitive topics.

To: Emily Luther
From: Renee Cherwonik
Date: July 13, 2025
Subject: Memo #2 – My Writing Strengths and Learning Goals

I bring several writing strengths to this course that I believe will help me succeed in professional communication. These include:

• Workplace experience, especially in writing internal updates, emails to customers, and status summaries.

• Audience awareness, developed through writing to different departments such as Tax, IT, and Accounts Receivable.

• Strong organization and clarity, which I practice by planning my messages and avoiding overly complex language.

That said, I also recognize areas where I want to grow. Through this course, I hope to:

• Improve my persuasive writing, particularly for presenting proposals or recommendations.

• Learn how to structure more formal documents, like memos and executive reports.

• Gain skills in writing for digital platforms, especially for tools like Microsoft Teams and project management software.

I’m looking forward to developing these skills so I can become a more confident and effective communicator in any professional setting.

Geography of Professional Communication Post

 

In my current job in accounts receivable, I talk to a lot of different people every day, some inside my company and some outside of it. I didn’t really think of all these conversations as “professional writing” before, but after learning about Paul Anderson’s reader-centered approach in Technical Communication, I started to see how much thought actually goes into every email, message, or report I write. His framework helped me break down what I do when I write at work and made me realize how important it is to think about who I’m writing to and how they’re going to react.

The first step in Anderson’s framework is thinking about your reader who you’re talking to and what they care about. In my job, my readers are usually coworkers from different departments, my supervisor, and sometimes customers. Each group wants something different from me. My team might need updates on invoice payments, while a client might just want a simple answer about their bill or pricing. So, I always have to think about what they expect to hear and how I can explain things in a way that makes sense to them.

Next, there’s context, which means the situation around communication. This includes things like deadlines, pressure from upper management, or even just how busy everyone is. The way people react to my messages can also depend on how they’re feeling that day, how high up they are in the company, or whether we’ve talked before. Something else I’ve learned is that readers have certain expectations when it comes to how messages are written. If I’m sending an email, they expect it to be clear and to the point. Usually, I follow the same basic structure: I explain the problem, give the important details, and suggest what should happen next. When I’m writing something for leadership, I try to keep it professional and straight to the point. But if I’m chatting with a coworker on Microsoft Teams, I might be more casual and even throw in an emoji or two. Knowing when to switch tones is a big part of getting people to take your message seriously.

There are a few writing strategies I use often. I like to use bullet points when I’m listing things, and I try to bold important dates or numbers so people can find them quickly. I also try to keep emails to the point. Having long explanations in an email get overlooked. These tricks help make my messages easier to understand. But I’ve also had to adapt some of my writing depending on who I’m talking to. For example, if I’m talking to someone who doesn’t work directly with the systems I use, I have to explain things more simply. One time, I had to explain why a payment integration with AT&T wasn’t working. When I explained it to a coworker in AR, I included all the technical details. But when I explained it to a client, I just gave them a timeline and what it meant for them.

There are still some things I want to get better at, like using visuals to show trends or data. I think adding charts or graphs to my emails would help people understand what’s going on without having to read a ton of text. That would make my messages more persuasive and save people time. I’ve learned that ethics plays a big role in professional writing. I have to make sure I don’t share sensitive payment information with the wrong people, and I always need to be honest, especially when something goes wrong. It can be tough to find the right words when mistakes happen, but I try to stay focused on the facts and how we can fix the problem.

Anderson’s framework showed me that writing at work isn’t just about typing up a message and hitting send. It’s about knowing who you’re talking to, what they need, and how you can help them understand what you’re saying. By thinking about my readers, my context, and my tone, I can make my communication more effective and professional, even if it’s just a quick message on Teams.