The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.

The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada.

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February Meeting Report
Barry Clegg on 'Selling' Technical Communication
by Susan E. Webb

Can you imagine the horror of working at a company that gives little thought to – and makes minimal use of - technical writers? Well, Barry Clegg has lived through such an experience and survived to tell the tale at the STC’s February wine and cheese meeting.

Fortified by wine and scrumptious nibbles, STC members frequently erupted into gales of laughter during Barry’s presentation. A professional engineer, Barry spent thirty years in IT development and management and now works as a freelance communicator. He spoke about “selling” the value of, and promoting, technical communication. He described the state of affairs at a public utility with a bit of a blind spot to technical communication. A niche presented itself so Barry squeezed into it.

Aiming to raise the profile of technical communication and refine the writing skills of colleagues at the company, Barry launched a one-person campaign in the IT department, holding lunch sessions to outline what technical communication could do for - as well as to - the workers. Why did it matter, and how could it be made easier? He pitched technical communication as a method of explaining difficult ideas with words, diagrams or interfaces. Wherever words appear on paper or on a screen, technical communication exists. Top-notch technical communication can make an author look good, while poor technical communication can damage a company’s sales, among other things. Consider, for instance, how an ESL audience would struggle with badly-written documentation that might be acceptable to native English speakers. Barry sadly recounted how the release of an overdue, poorly-documented product aroused resistance and caused delays far more costly than hiring a technical writer would have been.

According to Barry, technical communication matters most when:

• The audience is large or important
• The content is complex or controversial
• The cost of misunderstanding is high (i.e. air traffic control)
• The company’s sales depend on it

 

To design any technical communication product well, we need to ask ourselves:

1.   Who is the target audience?
2.   What is their attitude likely to be?
3.   What does your audience really want to know? 
4.   What are you trying to achieve?
5.   What happens if you fail?

 Barry encouraged us to think outside the box vis a vis “hooking” our audience. An attractive drawing point can promote technical communication (e.g. he promised free sandwiches to session attendees). So too can a catchy format, such as a nifty origami-style fold-out map. A detailed chart or graph can convince executives that good work is being done, even if they do not take in the details. His own examples included the famous map tracing Napoleon’s march to Moscow.

Barry pointed out that technical writers, in addition to being more cost-effective than software developers, can develop better communication products more quickly and thoroughly.

To wrap up his campaign, Barry presented his coworkers with a “TC-lite” handbook, 25 pages summarizing the benefits and techniques of technical communication. His four-month project had a beneficial effect on the profile of technical communication in the company and Barry was subsequently offered additional projects with them.

It is an ongoing challenge for us to raise awareness of technical communication everywhere we work, but with the conviction of our cause – and some innovative approaches to promoting it – we can spread enlightenment to the masses!

Congratulations are in order for:

• Ann Rockley, who has been named a Fellow of the STC.
• Ralph Robinson, for gaining international recognition  through his distinguished service award
• Phil Kahn, our fearless editor, on his “Second Time Dad” honour - Phil and his wife recently welcomed their new daughter Sasha.
• Yours truly, who won the STC logo shirt in the lucky draw

Susan Webb is an STC chapter award-winning technical writer and editor who works on privacy compliance and related documentation. She also teaches Adult ESL with the Toronto District School Board and designs amusing Webb pages, as well as exquisite, carefully-documented jewellery.