Have you been considering presenting at STC’s Technical Communication Summit? If so, the Call for Proposals for the 65th STC Summit is now open! The Summit fosters industry-leading technical communication by stimulating information exchange, cultivating research, and serving as the primary source of education for professional technical communicators.
“Speaking at the STC Summit” is one of a series of blog posts, curated or new, discussing key takeaways by individuals and STC Communities to Keep the Edge gained at Summit 2017. If you would like to contribute a post, please drop a note to the series editor, Ben.woelk@gmail.com.
Attending Summit was the culmination of several years’ worth of effort to move into the tech comm field, and was confirmation that I had arrived as an “official” technical communications professional. As a first-time attendee, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Summit (I was hoping to get a more comprehensive overview of the Tech Comm field–if such a thing exists).
I was interested in meeting people from across the country who practiced different aspects of technical communication and learning more about the variety of opportunities available. I was looking forward to the many educational sessions at Summit, because I was hoping to discover my specific area of interest. Although I’ve successfully entered the tech comm field, I am still trying to find my niche. I hope to specialize in a specific area of technical communication, but I need to learn about these areas of specialization. I was also looking forward to meeting other attendees.
There were many opportunities between presentations to take a break in the halls and have more in-depth conversations about the newly gleaned information or get some more background on new connections. I even braved the Speed Networking event and, despite my hesitations, really enjoyed myself. I found it interesting to meet so many people in various aspects of the field, and I was really relieved to find out that Speed Networking was nothing like my single days of Speed Dating, which was a disaster!
The presentations were extremely informative and I walked away with new things to research and much bigger understanding of many topics about which I was clueless beforehand. The session “Breaking Down Silos: Combining Marketing and Technical Content to Deliver a Consistent Customer Experience” by Dustin Vaughn from Adobe beefed up my understanding of merging the two fields, as I’m doing at my new position. I found Dustin’s session helpful in giving me a head start.
I am excited about the sessions in this year’s Career & Leadership track for the STC Summit. The reviewers sorted through more than 50 session proposals in this track alone to bring amazing presenters and topics so you can Gain the Edge to Get Results!
The STC CAC invites all leaders past, present and future to join us for a morning of connecting and learning. Please join us for the #STC16 Leadership Program on Sunday May 15, 2016 from 8:00 am – 12:30 pm PDT at the Anaheim Marriott Platinum 3 & 4.
David is the VP of Global Creative and Content Marketing for Marriott International and his Closing Keynote at the Summit is titled “Publish or Perish — How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Wallets of Next-Generation Consumers with Content Marketing.”
Can’t make it to Anaheim? You can still participate in the Summit live with the Virtual Track option! The Virtual Track (16 and 17 May) offers a way to attend part of the Summit from the comfort of your own home or office and includes 10 carefully selected sessions from a cross-section of the overall Summit education program. During the breaks, you’ll also have a chance to hear from STC about the latest news and programs, and discover technology trends from a selection of exhibitors.
STC is pleased to announce David Beebe as the closing Keynote speaker for the 2016 Summit. Round out your time at the Summit with a forward-looking talk on the dovetail between content marketing and technical communication, titled Publish or Perish: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Wallets of Next Generation Consumers with Content Marketing.
Are you interested in sharing your knowledge at the industry-leading technical communication conference? Now is your chance! The 2016 STC Summit will be held 15-18 May in Anaheim, California, USA, and we’re inviting you to contribute your ideas, studies, experience, and expertise via our call for proposals.