STC Rochester Chapter 55th Annual Conference
Communicating to Understanding:
Core Competency, Core Value
April 13-15, 2014
Call for Proposals deadline extended to December 31, 2013.
Help make Spectrum 2014 the best Spectrum yet! Our keynote speaker, Marcia Riefer Johnston, will explore this year’s timeless theme—Communicating to Understanding: Core Competency, Core Value—in her address. We urge you to do the same in your proposals.
Communicating to understanding, though simple to say, can be difficult to do. Bringing others (and ourselves) to a point of understanding—and avoiding the many pitfalls we encounter along the way—takes skill and commitment. That’s what we mean by “core competency, core value.” The skill and commitment we’re talking about underlie the basic mission of the technical communicator.
As professional communicators, we strive to understand our audiences, including our colleagues and our customers. And we speak, write, design, present, and train to be understood by those audiences.
Communication efforts create understanding (or don’t) in various ways.
- What good is a presentation or blog post that fails to transmit a compelling message?
- What good is a training module that leaves important questions unanswered?
- What good is a manual, quick reference card, or Help topic that no one finds helpful?
- What good is a resume that obscures the job-seeker’s strengths?
- What good is a website that misrepresents a company’s brand?
- What good is a Delight the Customer campaign if team members miscommunicate?
Our employers and clients rely on us to communicate to understanding. When we do, we meet our audiences where they are and deliver what they need when they need it. We explore new tools, strategies, and media to conform to customer workflows. We improve product usability. We enrich users’ experiences with the information we deliver. We strengthen our relationships.
When we communicate to understanding, we help our companies, ourselves, and each other thrive.
What have you learned in your career about the pains and payoffs of communicating to understanding? What stories, insights, or inspirations might you pass along to help fellow professionals thrive? No matter what your title—writer, editor, manager, teacher, course developer, graphic designer, information architect, student, retiree—you have something valuable to share. We invite you to submit a proposal for STC Rochester’s 55th Annual Conference.
Proposal deadline is now December 31, 2013.
