Back in 2017, at my first Intercom Editorial Advisory Committee (EAC), I worked with the group to get input on my proposed themes for the upcoming 2018 editorial calendar. I wanted to wrap up the year with a report on the state of the industry, and Saul Carliner stepped into the breach with his PhD student, Yuan Chen, and designed a study, collected and analyzed the results, and presented the findings and analysis in the December 2018 issue.
When that issue was complete, Saul suggested a similar study from a different perspective—that of our customers, the people who pay us (or don’t). He suggested waiting until December 2020 to publish an issue of Intercom with the results of that study, and here it is: A view from outside the technical communication industry.
If you aren’t familiar with Saul, he is a professor of educational technology at Concordia University in Montreal, and a Fellow and Past President of STC. He was president of STC when I took on my first Society-level volunteer role, so we go back a long time (yes, decades).
As with the December 2018 census, for this issue Saul and Yuan designed and administered the survey, analyzed the results, created the tables and figures from the data, and wrote the articles that explain the data. Saul also draws some interesting conclusions, and I think you will find the results very beneficial for considering your—and your team’s—role in the organization, especially as it makes clear many perceptions of us. Thank you, Saul and Yuan, for your hard work in devising the study and for uncovering the insights from it!
American political strategist, Lee Atwater, famously said, “Perception is reality.” While I find this idea both profoundly right and profoundly wrong, there’s no question that there is great benefit in understanding others’ perceptions and, usually, managing those perceptions. This issue will give you some insights into perceptions about technical communicators and our value that are held by the people with whom we work most. I encourage you to use this as a jumping-off point, not a destination, so that you can dig into the perceptions in your own work environment and discover what attention you might want to pay to them.
As always, we have a great column lineup for you.
- In “Ethics,” Russell Willerton discusses the use of plain language to communicate more ethically, in particular about COVID-19.
- The pandemic theme continues in “Ask a Manager,” where Kit Brown-Hoekstra and Cindy Currie address struggles around focus and overwork. On a more positive note, they also provide advice for novice conference speakers to get started!
- In “Meet the Change Agents,” Scott Abel interviews Mark Hellinger of Videate, and they discuss the application of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation in the creation of videos from software product documentation.
Don’t miss all the latest STC news in the Society Pages, and be sure to engage with us! Your experience with the great information in this issue is enhanced by discussing it with the columnists, Saul and Yuan, and me! Reach out online, by email, or on social media.
As this is my last issue as Executive Editor of Intercom, I hope you will indulge me while I acknowledge all of those who provided this opportunity and made it a delight and an inspiration over the past three years.
For the opportunity: Liz Pohland, STC CEO; Saul Carliner, Intercom EAC chair; and the 2017-2018 Board of Directors.
For the delight: All of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 guest editors, authors, and columnists—the talented folks who have made the last 24 issues of Intercom exceptional and who have made my job as executive editor a joyful and rewarding experience. And my assistant, Sarah Bonneville, who has so skillfully and with great patience managed the administrative aspects of the editorial process with me and all of the guest editors, authors, columnists!
For the inspiration: You, dear reader. You inspired me to always want to show up and provide the very best themes, columns, and feature articles to educate and inform—and I hope, to inspire and delight—you.
Until we meet again: To your wild success!
— Andrea L. Ames
