Category: Newsletter

by Ruth-Anne Klassen

This past June, I worked as a Student Volunteer for the Society of Technical Communication Summit. It was my first time at the conference, and I learned a lot about STC’s programs and opportunities. Technical communicators come to Summit to improve in the areas of writing, technology, career and leadership, and wellness. Because the event was held virtually, attendees could join from anywhere in the world. 

The conference offered both work-related and casual experiences. There were daily opportunities for networking with STC leadership as well as with other conference attendees. Some sessions offered a presenter, giving tips and tricks on using common software, or promoting a promising technology. Others addressed common frustrations that technical communicators experience—such as unresponsive SMEs—and some examined what diversity and inclusion looks like for professionals. The wide range of topics covered offered attendees many benefits for their careers. Along with professional development sessions, attendees also took in entertainment, such as a magician’s show. To appreciate work and achievements from the past year, the STC Honors Event recognized award and scholarship recipients, along with showcasing artistic talent from STC members and guest musician Rich Franklin. 

While technical communication professionals learned about forwarding their craft and career, I garnered a rich experience from helping attendees and helping STC achieve their missions and goals. Live speaker sessions presented via Zoom gave attendees the feel of a live event, while SimuLive sessions in the Engagez platform allowed speakers and attendees to interact during pre-recorded presentations. In both types of sessions, I supported attendees by monitoring the chat feed for questions, either directed at the speakers or asking for technical support. If live presenters preferred, I would read questions and comments to them. I also checked the clock on live sessions, notifying speakers when they were almost out of time. For SimuLive sessions I ensured that the presenter’s PowerPoint presentation and any supporting documents were accessible to the audience. 

Along with helping conference attendees, I represented the STC by reminding conference attendees about the feedback surveys, where they could tell the STC about what did or did not work in the sessions, and in the conference in general. 

I also benefited from volunteering at the conference. As a big-time introvert, it was a great learning experience for me to interact with speakers and attendees. I met other student volunteers and other STC members that would be in my corner while I launch my career as a technical writer. The best part was learning that STC members are a passionate, knowledgeable group of people who are a blast to be around. In short, the STC Summit 2021 was a valuable and fulfilling event, and I would recommend that people join us at Summit 2022!

By Maralee Sautter

STC’s Summit 2021 is in the rearview mirror now, gone but not forgotten. Since there was an array of wonderful session choices, my article is based on my personal viewpoint, and totally opinionated. The good news is that I won’t throw any rotten tomatoes (even though there were a few presentations that deserved a toss).

Kudos to STC and Engagez

While we wanted to meet in person, this year’s Summit was all virtual. Therefore, my first mention goes to STC for using the Engagez platform. While there were some audio difficulties the first day, the overall platform was very accessible and intuitive.  

The main menus were simple, and I easily learned about speakers and how to download their presentation slides. Navigation was easy during and after the Summit conference. By going to the Sessions tab, I was able to find all presentations with ease. Isn’t that what we look for in good web design?

The following graphic is an example of the Engagez platform open in the Sessions tab

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Favorite Impactful Message

Design for Cognitive Bias: Using Mental Shortcuts for Good Instead of Evil

Presenter David Dylan Thomas created an impactful message for me, because Cognitive Bias is new territory. He changed my understanding of bias and how it applies to techcomm. His presentation was packed with many examples of how bias works and how we can frame information in a less-biased way. Thomas provided real-world examples to identify some harmful biases that frequently lead users to make bad decisions.

Some of the presentation terms and takeaways are outlined below:

• Cognitive Bias. A series of shortcuts (patterns) that our mind takes to get us through the day. We have trillions of decisions to make, daily. Allowing our minds to go on Auto-Pilot allows us to avoid spending energy making decisions on most of them.
• Confirmation Bias. When you have an idea stuck in your head, you only seek supporting evidence and ignore any opposing evidence—perhaps calling it fake news. 
• Cognitive Design. When we find it harder to read a message, it becomes less believable. When it’s easier to read a message, it becomes more believable. Good design makes messages memorable when it uses: 
  • plain language
  • pictograms (infographics) 
  • clear messages
  • rhyming 

For example: A seat belt campaign in Texas, Click it or Ticket, used rhyming to clearly communicate that tickets would be given to people not wearing their seat belts.

• Assumption Audit. A checklist for information design includes identities that might not be in the room—the under-represented—but that will be impacted by the design. By honoring and understanding the identities, the design becomes more inclusive.
• Deformation Professionnelle. How a person sees the world through the lens of their job. By changing the bias, the job is defined with more humanity towards one another.
• Design Ethics and Design Justice Network. Groups pushing to include real user-centered design versus shareholder design (directed by corporations) by humanizing those identities that are under-represented and excluded, despite being impacted by a design.

Thomas ended by asking, “How can we define our jobs to be more human to one another?”

Favorite Infographics Presentation

No Money, No Design Skills, No Problem

Presenter Mike Parkinson is an infographic genius, and his presentations are always well-attended. In this session, he provided great ideas about creating infographics on a budget using free and inexpensive assets. 

Parkinson contended that we live in an at-a-glance society. The most efficient way to communicate content and visualization is also the most challenging. To create complex graphics that tell a story, known as infographics, Parkinson asserts that you need to buy or build graphic assets. 

There are two families of graphics:

• The vector graphic (made mathematically), recognized as svg, emf, wmf, ai, and eps file types
• The raster graphic (made of pixels), recognized as png, jpg, tif, and gif file types

There are three styles of design:

• Traditional (Skeuomorphic) – dimensional, realistic, glitzy; appeals to >40 year-olds
• Flat – simple with no aesthetic embellishment; appeals to people <40 year-olds
• Material – blended traditional and flat design; the best choice for the widest appeal 

The following graphic is a visual example of design styles.

(Image courtesy of Mike Parkinson, www.billiondollargraphics.com)

An audience reacts to a graphic, first aesthetically, and then intellectually. Material Design is the best approach for the average audience, because it’s not too glitzy, it’s not too cartoonish, it’s just right.

Parkinson contends that before building a graphic, the first phase is to design by:

• knowing your audience
• creating a clear message (motivator and means)
• providing an explanation or validation of the point 

Using key concepts, Parkinson demonstrated how to build a graphic for Eagle Solutions and 3 CleverKeys, an anti-fraud software company.

The second phase is to design by:

• chunking information
• assembling the pieces
• visualizing the graphic

In the remainder of the presentation, he gave examples of the best types of graphics for visualizing concepts, and a demo of building graphics in PowerPoint with and without the Build-a-Graphic add-on. As usual, Parkinson successfully engaged his audience with great slides, smooth performance skills, and amazing demos and content. There’s always so much to learn, and I am grateful to have the slides to review and play with PowerPoint on my own.

Favorite Fun Event

Summit 2021 IDL SIG Social Event

 

At Summit, the were many fun virtual events: 

• a magician billed as the Magician at Virtual Deception
• a trivia game
• a blues guitarist
• the STC talent show

However, the most fun I experienced was at the IDL SIG Social Event: Each of us is YOU-nique! 

Attendees went on a scavenger hunt in their homes, and bringing back items they found, shared “finds” in the Zoom screen with us. People shared their stories of why the item was special to them, and we learned how each story was unique, but still part of the human fabric that binds us. Behind the scenes, SIG volunteers were surreptitiously spotlighting, learning about, and screen-grabbing photos of the attendees. After the event, a special scrapbook page was assembled and sent to each attendee who participated. 

Note: There were many more presentations and events at Summit that were fantastic, and a personal favorite of mine: Tell Your Story the Disney Way, was presented by Lou Prosperi. Read Jamye Sagan’s article about Summit 2021 to see her reviews, including Lou Prosperi’s presentation.

by Jayme Sagan

I attended many interesting presentations at the virtual 2021 STC Summit. Here are highlights from a few of them. 

Survey Says: Don’t Start a Feud. Write Stronger Surveys

Dr. Jennifer Goode (@ProfGoode)

In her presentation, Goode spoke about how well-designed surveys can provide valuable information and insights. She not only explained the different types of surveys available, but also the different categories of questions available and when they should be used. She shared some items to consider when designing a survey, including calculating how much time is needed to complete AND tabulate/share results. She also shared several tips for building the survey, including:

• Using plain language
• Grouping questions logically
• Maintaining consistency
• Not immediately starting the survey with sensitive questions
• Not burying the most important questions at the end 

Overall, survey designers must always keep in mind why a user should take the survey. They also need to consider how they will use the results once collected and tabulated. Taking time to create a solid survey is worth the work. After all, according to Goode, “good surveys yield good data.” 

Quick Fixes for Bad Slides

Mike Parkinson (@Mike_Parkinson)

In his presentation, Parkinson shared 13 tips for designing presentation slides, to make them easier to view and comprehend. Memorable tips include:

• Bleed pictures into the slide background for greater visual impact: Instead of using a small photo, have it fill the entire slide and overlay any title text. 
• Use path animation in PowerPoint to simulate movement. Doing so draws attention to the concept at hand.
• Put text inside bullets/graphics to make them easier to view and more interesting.
• Cut clutter by presenting bulleted information with consistent illustrations and brief text. For example, instead of listing steps in text bullets, chunk them out and illustrate them with numbered shapes, images, etc. 

Parkinson also shared links to several free and low-cost resources for building graphics, including https://www.billiondollargraphics.com/build-a-graphic/.

Overall, we should fix slides to help make them more effective in conveying their message or showing a concept, not merely to make them look pretty. Most of these tips, such as using safe fonts and using higher-resolution images, require minimal effort while some tips, such as building custom images and animations, may require more effort. 

Tell Your Story the Disney Way

Lou Prosperi (@LouProsperi)

In his presentation, Prosperi explored 13 aspects of technical communication through the lens of Disney Imagineering. Imagineering, a portmanteau of “imagination” and “engineering”, pertains to the research and development related to Disney-related items. Some memorable observations include:

• Casey’s Corner: Just as this baseball-themed café focuses on telling the story of baseball through its décor, technical communicators must decide which story they want to tell and stick with it.
• Attention to Detail: Disney attractions pay great attention to the tiniest details because they want to convey a specific mood or story. Likewise, technical communicators must decide how much—or how little—detail to use when conveying their own message through their deliverables. 
• “It’s a Small World” effect: Through peppy music and droll animatronic characters in various settings, this attraction uses repetition and reinforcement to create a memorable experience—the exact elements technical communicators use to emphasize key aspects of their documents.
• Plussing: Walt Disney coined this term for improving upon an already-good idea. As technical communicators, we constantly ask ourselves: “How can we make things better?”

I thoroughly enjoyed this virtual stroll through the “Wonderful World of Disney” and how Disney’s vision shows us how we can effectively reach our audiences. After all, as Prosperi emphasizes, “the heart of Imagineering is effective communication.”