The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is an international professional society for the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication. It has hundreds of local chapters (also known as 'communities.'
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China Is Hungry: Technical Communication in the People's Republic of China 
Nine technical communicators and three technical communication teachers from the United States and Canada visited the People's Republic of China, to determine how technical communication is practiced and taught by the Chinese. The delegation discovered a field at its earliest stages, without status as a separate profession or academic discipline. The practice of technical communication by Chinese managers, scientists, and engineers is typically ad hoc and instruction is almost always extracurricular. China's expanding economy, however, offers a timely opportunity to promote the discipline and the profession. To build bridges to the international community, China is hungry for contributions of information technology as well as expertise in English and technical communication.
Tegtmeier, Patricia, Sylvia Thompson, Ron Smith, Debbie L. Scroggs and Sam Dragga. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>TC>Regional>China
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For years, would-be employees have undergone scrutiny by employers during the interview process. In addition to our resume, we have to provide personal and professional references. We have to pass drug tests and personality tests. We have to prove our education and in many cases, whether or not we actually served in the military. It's all for a good cause of course, but rarely is the topic of employer suitability mentioned in the Job Hunting context. These last few years have been unprecedented in regards to company ethics and business practices. One doesn't have to look far to hear a sad tale of over-promised benefits, stock, and promotions from companies who are now nothing more than memories. The ongoing telecom scandals have even further rocked our beliefs in the stability and ethics of Corporate America. With all the recent layoffs and 'restructuring' now is a great chance for employees to take time out to evaluate their next employer. employee happiness is possibly the most important area of a person's overall professional satisfaction. Thus, it is not to be taken lightly. Nothing else matters if you go to work for the wrong company - not even if you've been out of work for a year and you simply need the money. Sooner or later, you'll be back in the same jam.
Souther, Christopher. GaryConroy.com (2002). Careers>Interviewing>TC
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Circles of Leadership: Resources for Chapter Committee Managers 
Every chapter relies on volunteers for its success. The secret to successful chapters, then, starts with recruiting the right people, training them well, delegating to them carefully, nurturing them along the way, and rewarding them for a job well done.
Brown, Dennise C. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
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Civil Engineering: Technical Writing
A collection of technical writing links organized from a civil engineering perspective.
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Clarifying Abstract Concepts Through Multimedia: Principles for Technical Communicators
Multimedia can sometimes convey meaning in ways that text and graphics alone cannot. This paper offers two principles for understanding how multimedia can clarify abstract concepts. The first principle is that multimedia is excellent for conveying any kind of change, such as change in quantity, size, shape, or relationship. The second principle is that multimedia can help present complex concepts by providing information in both the visual and auditory modes simultaneously. These principles can guide technical communicators in evaluating whether multimedia is a cost-effective way to present their information.
Garb, Rachel and Claudia M. Hunter. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>TC>Multimedia>Visual Rhetoric
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Coach Your Staff to Better Performance 
Use coaching techniques to help employees reach more ambitious goals, faster and easier, or overcome performance problems. The coaching model is both an attitude and a way of communicating. Use coaching techniques to inspire and motivate people to accomplish more, with less stress and greater satisfaction. A coaching relationship supports the self-worth of each individual and provides a range of benefits to an organization. Coaching empowers others to seek and deliver their best.
Agnew, Beth. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Management>TC
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As a technical communicator, I am the bridge between those who create ideas and those who use them. Because I recognize that the quality of my services directly affects how well ideas are understood, I am committed to excellence in performance and the highest standards of ethical behavior.
STC Rocky Mountain Chapter (2004). Articles>TC>Professionalism
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Collaborating in Project Management, Long-Distance
From early 1993 through July of 1994, three STC chapters jointly managed a research project on Technical Communication in Western Canada. Based in Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver, the managers were thousands of miles apart, relative strangers and simultaneously engaged in running their own businesses. In this volunteer assignment, they involved committees within their own chapters. As team building and collaborative arrangements become more prevalent in technical communications projects, it can be instructive to look at how such a farflung research project fared. We will relate this experience briefly to some research results reported in Technical Communication.
Jones, Sheila C. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Project Management>TC>Collaboration
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Collaboration Via Desktop Videoconferencing: Implications for Technical Communication
From our case studies of technical communication college students collaborating via desktop videoconferencing (DTV) with high school students, we learned that DTV requires that collaborators manage a great deal more than text on a computer screen. Collaborators reliant on viewing computers as conveyors of text alone must learn new strategies for connecting interpersonally with people viewed on screen. Collaborators must macro-manage technology while they micro-manage dialogue about writing.
Duin, Ann Hill, Linda A. Jorn and Lisa Mason. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Collaboration>TC>Online
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College Curriculum and the Assessment of Recent Graduates
Technical communicators and academics share an interest in higher education program assessment because the quality offiture employees is at stake. If universities fail to adequately educate, on-the-job training must pick up the slack. This paper describes Michigan Tech's efforts to learn what skills their recent graduates use, and where they learned these skills.
Jobst, Jack W. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>TC>Assessment
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Combating Isolation as a Self-Employed Technical Communicator: Beyond Working Hours
Small, independent business owners never really stop thinking about their businesses; after all, your latest and greatest client may be on the stair stepper next to you at the gym. However, you know that sometimes you need a change of scenery, a change of activity, a chance to unhinge the hips that sometimes feel they are permanently fixed in a sitting position. Plus, occasionally, it’s necessary to realize that there is a world out there that is full of interesting things that have nothing to do with publication deadlines, document management, or online help. Yes, really, there is.
Teich, Thea. STC Proceedings (2000). Careers>Freelance>TC
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Many engineering undergraduates receive their first and perhaps most intensive exposure to engineering communication through writing lab reports in lab courses taught by graduate teaching assistants (TAs). Most of the TAs' teaching of writing happens through their comments on students' lab reports. Technical writing faculty need to be aware of TAs' response practices so they can build on or counteract that instruction as needed. This study examines the response practices of two TAs and the ways the practices shifted after the TAs began using a grading rubric. The analysis reveals distinct patterns in focus and mode, some reflecting best practices and some not. It also indicates encouraging changes after the TAs started using the grading rubric. The TAs' marginalia became more content focused and specific and, perhaps most important, less authoritative and more likely to reflect a coaching mode. The article concludes with implications for technical writing courses.
Taylor, Summer Smith. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Education>TC>Engineering
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The Common Beliefs and Practices of Technical Communicators
Although technical communicators are a diverse group, and our beliefs and practices span a spectrum, we share certain common beliefs and practices about our field.
Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio (2002). Resources>TC
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Can prediction markets be used successfully in a corporate environment? Kirtland forecasts that making them easier to use just might be the key. Through simple guidelines, he shares strategies for benefiting the wise crowds.
Kirtland, Alex. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>TC>Marketing
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Communicating the Results of Field Studies to Support Usable Design
When you have completed the study, analyzed the data, and organized the interpretations and conclusions along with supporting data, you have to communicate the results to the people who need to know about them. How you communicate the results depends upon who the intended audience is, content needs of the audience, and the scope of the content. Increasing the odds of this information being used in the design process requires an understanding of the company's culture and the barriers limiting its use in the development process. Various strategies such as computer-slide presentations, reference notebooks, bound reports, and memos have been shown to be very effective in various circumstances.
Carlevato, Denise, Judith A. Ramey and Erin Leanne Schulz. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability>TC>Reports
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Communicating What You Do That's Special
Designed for technical communicators with one to five years of working experience, this workshop enables participants to successfully demonstrate the value of their work by drawing on personal experiences to describe their capabilities and approaches. Specifically participants will effectively muster facts, figures, and metaphors to convince an employer (supervisor, colleague, project director, or whomever) that he or she can: come into a project “cold”; complete a front-end analysis of needs; develop an appropriate approach; and perform to specified standards, regardless of subject matter. Further, this workshop aims to build self-esteem by highlighting the added value that a technical communicator brings to a project by representing a special perspective.
Huff, Claudia H. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>TC>Rhetoric
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The Communication Circle: Articles on Complex Documentation
For professional writers and managers, these articles deal with current and emerging challenges such as pattern languages, outlining, Website editing and management, complexity, SGML databases, Help systems, and collaboration among members of a writing team.
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The field of technical communication focuses on the ability of the author to gather information, interpret it, and then present the necessary items to the reader in a clear and concise manner. This article serves to briefly outline several of the key factors involved when deciding how to include imagery in technical materials.
Higgins, Phillip. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>TC>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration
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Communication Times is the newsletter for members of the Toronto chapter of STC. It appears monthly, except for July and August. It is mailed to members of the Toronto STC chapter about a week before the monthly meeting. Non-members can subscribe for $27 a year.
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A weekly podcast for technical writers by a company called DMN Communications.
Davis, Aaron and Scott Nesbitt. DMN Communications. Resources>TC>Documentation>Podcasts
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Communities of Practice: Dealing with the Changes in the Technical Communication Field
STC has been challenged by the changing economy and the evolving nature of our work and career development. These challenges have required Society leaders to look carefully into how the STC should change to better serve a diverse and global membership.
Bachmann, Karen L. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
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While most academics are familiar with strategic planning (at least at a broad institutional level), many may be unfamiliar with the process of compact planning--a more narrowly focused, resource-driven planning model that can help programs identify and reach short-term goals. Because of the technological components of technical communication programs and the rapidity with which those components change and, consequently, affect our programs, shorter-term planning models may be particularly useful in helping our programs remain nimble, competitive, and distinctive. Further, since the compact planning process is a grass-roots initiative (rather than a top-down planning model), it is particularly effective at the program and department levels for its inclusionary properties.
Allen, Jo. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>TC
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Competentieprofiel Technische Communicatie
STIC-leden kunnen zich uitstekend vinden in het competentieprofiel voor de Technisch Communicatie-specialist. Dat blijkt uit de resultaten van de enquête die de werkgroep Opleiding en Trainingen in het najaar 2007 aan de STIC-leden voorlegde.
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The Competitive Advantage of Technical Communication: The Western Canadian Research Project
The Western Canadian Research Project intends to show western Canadian businesses how to improve their performance through the effective use of technical communication. The project consists of intensive research into the current perception and use of technical communication by business and government, and into the current state of the technical communication profession in the region. The project analyzes and presents this primary research in a report, and concludes with a series of publications and events designed to achieve the project’s objective: improved business performance.
Conklin, John James, Sheila C. Jones, Andrew E. Quarry and Donald Keith Steirer. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Regional>Canada
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The Composing Process of Technical Writers: A Preliminary Study
Janet Emig's 1971 study, The Composing Process of Twelfth Graders, spurred an interest in the writing process: how writers compose rather than simply what they compose. However, a survey of current literature indicates that little has been published on the composing processes of technical writers. Perhaps we have assumed that technical writers compose as other writers do. In order to test this assumption, we conducted the research on which we base this study.
Roundy, Nancy and David Mair. JAC (1983). Articles>Writing>TC
