Is There a Place for Technical Communication in the Public Sphere?  

Programs in technical communication have, at least in their recent history, emphasized the preparation of students for corporate positions. We claim the ubiquity and relevance of our work to all areas of life, and indeed it is easy enough to find examples of 'technical communication' everywhere. But this observation is not the same as observing that there is a role for technical communicators everywhere.

Rude, Carolyn D. CPTSC Proceedings (2002). Presentations>TC>Cultural Theory

Living and Working in China: Understanding Communication Requirements  

Technical communicators living and working in China need to be familiar with more than the principles of their craft. They should also understand the requirements of proper forms of address, what makes correspondence “official,” Chinese learning and communicating styles, and other cultural influences on communication, such as the importance of slogans, the rule of silence and the habit of non-specificity. Such understandings lead to cultural sensitivity and increased ability to respond to the challenges of working in the Chinese environment. names is a sign of friendliness. The best practice in China, however, is to address people in the generally accepted Chinese way.

Coggin, William O., Betty F. Coggin and Xiaoli Li. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>TC>Regional>China

Living Through Layoffs: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Meets The Corporate World  

Corporate 'downsizing' is effecting a large worker population: and not just those workers being laid off. The pervasiveness and breadth of layoffs at this time is changing workers’ trust in the future and ability to plan for tomorrow. The loyalty to firm is changing also. As one woman said 'the company used to be my family. This was my community, my network, like my parents’ hometown was to them. Its been bombed.' Trust in the future as it was known is shattered. Belief in the 'do a good job and you’ll be rewarded' is low. The effect of the economy on the workplace is grieving and distrust, and shattered selves.

Patton, Jill. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>TC>Workplace

Measuring Value Added: Rationale and Approaches  

This panel will present case studies on the value added by technical communicators and their information products to the products and services they support. Many of us practitioners would like to do more value-adding assessments, but don’t know how to adapt the measures to our real-world situations of limited budget and often limited interest among our customers. The panel will focus on practical approaches for applying some of the metrics used to calculate the value of our products and services (1,2). We will also discuss the benefits of this exercise for ourselves and our customers. With the current economic clime, waiting for others to determine the value of their work often means waiting in unemployment lines.

Knodel, Elinor L., Sandra M. Gallagher, Judith Leetham, Theresa Marchwinski, Amy E. Smith and Emily A. Sopensky. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>TC>Assessment

Meeting The Challenge Of Change, Sharing Ideas For The STC 42nd Annual Conference  

In this panel discussion, the program manager and stem managers for the 42nd STC Annual Conference (scheduled for April 23 through 26,1995, in Washington, D. C.) will be available to share their ideas for the upcoming conference program and to hear your suggestions and ideas for meeting the challenge of change. Only issues related to the program will be discussed.

Armbruster, David L., Deborah L. Baxley Cynthia J. Brock, Steven M. Cascone, Constance L. Kiernan, Deirdre A. Murr, Linda L. Oestreich, Tom Wall and Carolyn L. Watt. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Presentations>STC

More Results on Measuring the Value Added by Professional Technical Communicators  

Measuring value added is a topic of great concern to technical communicators. At the 1994 conference, represented results from a year-long project that included a questionnaire and several case studies. STC then funded a second, smaller project in which we are following up with some of the people who responded to the questionnaire and in which we are collecting new case studies.

Ramey, Judith A. and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>TC>Assessment

Perspectives on Science and Technical Communication  

The purpose of presenting is to actuate. You want to persuade people. You want to persuade them to think, or get excited about something, or act in response to what you present. Otherwise there is no point in making the effort of preparing and delivering your presentation. Presentations do not necessarily need to be meaningful for you. You already know the meaning of your message. Deliver the message from the audiences' point of view. (Another way to say this: What you want to present is not as important as what the audience needs to hear in order for your message to come across clearly, simply.) Remember that an audience will judge a presentation on the basis of how meaningful is was for them.

Kane, Andrew S. University of Maryland (2002). Presentations>Advice>TC

Persuasion In Technical Communication: Applying Elaboration Likelihood Model To Marketing Brochures  

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is a cognitive theory offering insights into persuasion and attitude change that technical communicators can apply to persuasive documents. The two routes to persuasion that ELM postulates (central and peripheral) closely parallel and expand a concept with which many technical communicators are familiar: attention and attraction in document design. By applying ELM to writing and designing marketing brochures, writers can identify and address the many variables that influence the central and peripheral route persuasion processes and, thereby, create more persuasive, effective documents.

Shuffield, Cathy A. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Rhetoric>TC>Persuasive Design

Planning Ahead in Technical Communication

Describes the course of study that new students in the field of technical communication should consider. Describes what high-tech companies in the Northwest are looking for in prospective employees, and provides information about how to employ particular TC skills to cope with an unsettled job market.

Jacobson, Peggy. EServer (2001). Presentations>TC>Streaming>Video

Planning Committee Emulates Conference Theme  

Forum 95 offered an ideal opportunity for technical communicators from 21 countries to exchange ideas. The concept worked admirably. Much of the conference’s success can be attributed to the willingness of the four organizing societies, although from different countries, to work companionable together to create a truly international affair. A secondary concept--to organize videoconferences with technical communicators in Beijing and Moscow--added an event greater international component to the event.

Blicq, Ronald S. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>TC>International

The Plug and Play Technical Communicator  

A presentation about the history and present of technical communication.

Sakson, Donna M. and Saul Carliner. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Slideshows>TC

Processes, Roles, and Regulations: (Re)defining What Technical Communicators Do  

Understanding how you work (process) and understanding what you do (roles) are two important aspects of a successful documentation group that works within a regulated environment. These items will help writers produce better documentation and provide a way to better define (or redefine) their roles in the development process.

Rupel, Roberta A. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>TC

Quality Basics: What You Need to Know to Get Started  

Quality can be an intimidating topic for many technical communicators. Quality is rarely covered in technical communication courses. Most technical communicators do not have access to a Quality guru to help them understand the concepts and available options. Because of this, many technical communicators avoid using Quality concepts that could help improve their documents.

Atkinson, Jennifer M., Donald S. Lenk, Amy Perry, Ralph E. Robinson and Roberta A. Rupel. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>TC>Assessment

Report of the Technical Writer, 2014: A Possible Future  

My task here is to ponder the next twenty years of technical communication as a way of stimulating discussion about our current values. Since I'm an historical scholar and not a futurologist, I'm going to prevail upon you to join me in a thought experiment. Instead of looking forward in the usual manner of labor department reports and trend-searching popular prophets, let's follow the practice of science fiction writers-I apologize in advance to William Gibson and other masters-and place ourselves ahead in the year 2014, then look back, beginning with our own time in 1994, writing, as it were, the history of the present.

Killingsworth, M. Jimmie. CPTSC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>TC>History

Researching the History of Technical Communication: Accessing and Analyzing Corporate Archives  

The historical roots of technical communication are just beginning to be identified and researched. Although many of the theoretical foundations of the field may be understood by focusing on the history of technical communication, several current interests and needs of practicing professionals may also be addressed through the study of the field’s history. With knowledge of the different kinds of corporate archival materials, of their typical locations, and of the techniques for using them, practitioners can begin to study and apply information from the past to their current work. Historical research also provides knowledge of corporate cultures and enhances the identity and professional status of technical communicators.

Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>TC>History

Revealing Your Hidden Value  

How do we add value? How can we measure that value? How can we add more value?

Laurent, J. Suzanna. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2002). Presentations>TC

Standardizing Information for Your Users  

If the modular approach to developing documentation is poorly coordinated, it can be a waste of time and resources. In this paper, learn how a team of technical writers overcame the problem to develop and standardize their documentation.

Gokhale, Sunil and Louis Jude Selvadoray. STC Proceedings. Presentations>TC>Information Design

Tapping into Creativity  

Creativity is a form of energy starting from nothing and generating original and unique values.

Zace, Sokol. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>TC

Technical Communication

A description of the profession of scientific and technical communication.

Wright, Iain. ISTC. Presentations>TC

Technical Communication in Germany: Academic, Industrial, Professional  

Technical communication in Germany faces some unique problems arising from the nature of German culture and language. Typically, the German orientation to writing is writer-based, not reader-based. The development of the profession shows many characteristics similar to the development in the U.S. yet with many different focuses in education, in industrial practice, and in professional organizations. It is a profession 'on the way to recognition.'

Rainey, Kenneth T. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>TC>Regional>Germany

The Technical Communication Knowledge Portal

The STC web-based knowledge portal will make accessible both broad and deep information about the practice of technical communication. It is intended to be the first step in defining a body of knowledge (BOK) for technical communication. The draft site map displayed at the 2008 Summit as “the wall” is a way of organizing the domains of knowledge, skills, and concepts necessary for the practice. The final version of the map will be the initial framework for the knowledge portal.

Dayton, David, Hillary Hart, Michael A. Hughes and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. STC Proceedings (2008). Presentations>TC>Professionalism>Body of Knowledge

The Changing Face of Document Design and Technical Communication: The Impact of Trends on How We Think about Our Work  

Characterizes the evolving trends, and helps you consider the impact of trends on your thinking and doing.

Schriver, Karen A. IDblog (2004). Presentations>Document Design>TC

Thriving in Ambiguity  

A panel of experts will discuss how to work in an authority vacuum. Whether working within or consulting to an organization, multi-talented, multi-tasked professionals are finding themselves working in an authority vacuum. Often, these jobs are nestled in the management ranks. Often, too, the position and the job are so new that the rules have not yet been written. Not everyone can function in such ambiguity. Yet major economic changes are forcing many of us to face more uncertainty than ever imagined. Not only can the panelists help define anew type of evolving management structure but they can also help in giving us concrete ways of dealing with daily uncertainties.

Sopensky, Emily A., Sally J. Derrick, Patricia Gabella, Robert G. Hurst and Krysti Ray. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Management>TC

Transforming Our Roles from Writers to Designers: A Manager’s Perspective  

As software documentation becomes increasingly integrated with the software interface, technical communication organizations must apply new skills to create new kinds of deliverables. In addition to the traditional technical communication skills such as task analysis, audience analysis, and written communication, today’s technical communication organizations may also need programming skills, visual design skills, and user interface design skills. Managers must find ways to hire, train, and retain these new skills. They must also actively work to change the perception of technical communication to align with the new roles that technical communication organizations will play in the future of software development.

Fisher, Lori H. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>TC

Trends in Technical Communication  

Some of the latest issues and trends that are expanding the roles of technical communicators include: working with User Interface and Usability; documenting web-based intranet applications; creating CBTs that complement online help; writing a standard that people actually use; evaluating our expanding tool base; redesign and Re-testing - Always consult with end users to ensure that the interface performance is maximized. If not, go back to the drawing board.

Brandon, John, Bobbi Magnuson, Sara Hoeppner and Nathan Melsted. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>TC>History