My true appreciation for STC began during a casual conversation with a friend many years ago, after which we agreed that our discussion would make a great topic for our chapter conference, Spectrum. The experience of being a presenter helped me to get to know what a talented, energetic, and friendly community our chapter was. I accepted a volunteer role on our chapter council shortly afterwards, and have never looked back!

When I lost my job, I was once again reminded of the blessing of a strong and supportive professional community — a community that never failed to let me know that even though I was unemployed, I was no less a professional than I was when I still had a job. The opportunity to volunteer enabled me to continue feeling connected to the profession, build leadership skills, and form lasting friendships.

Today, I live 3,000 miles away from Rochester, but I’m still with them as a virtual volunteer — and still treasuring all of the benefits of being part of a professional community that believes in the value of our work and appreciates the contributions of its members. And I’ve been fortunate to enjoy those same benefits in several other communities in the U.S. and Canada.

Like so many members, I have been challenged by the ravages of the economic downturn over the years — and I can truly appreciate the increasing difficulty of justifying the cost of membership dues. I believe, though, that the expense is a worthwhile investment several times over. No matter what my career fortunes, my STC membership reminds me that I am a valuable part of a profession in which we can be proud. It is in that spirit that I will be saying “Yes” to my membership for the twenty-ninth year.

I’ll pass along your kind words to John, Ken, and Tommy. Let’s hope we can play once again at next year’s conference in Sacramento.
Rich

The citations you seek, in no particular order, all from STC’s publication, Technical Communication:

1. The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Slides Are Not All Evil, by Jean-luc Dumont; Volume 52, Number 1, February 2005, page 64.

2. Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: A Case for Sentence Headlines and Visual Evidence, by Michael Alley and Kathryn A Neeley; Volume 52, Number 4, November 2005, page 417.

3. Creating Marketing Slides for Engineering Presentations, by Ann Jennings; Volume 56, Number 1, February 2009, page 14.

4. Perceptions of Clarity and Attractiveness in PowerPoint Graph Slides, Jo Mackeiwicz; Volume 54, Number 2, May 2007, page 145.

5. Managing Three Mediation Effects that Influence PowerPoint Deck Authoring, by David K Farkas; Volume 56, Number 1, February 2009, page 28.

6. How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention, by Michael Alley, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo; Volume 53, Number 2, May 2006, page 225.

Enjoy them!
Rich

You say, “‘What’s wrong with bullet lists?’ They wanted to know. I pointed to six articles from Technical Communication to support my position with valid research, as well as a number of articles from Intercom.” Citations, please! I’d like to be able to point to these articles myself. (I’d guess right on one of them for sure, but I don’t know about the others.)

P.S. I’m in the middle of your May 2010 video interview with Tom Johnson from the STC conference in Dallas. Super way to keep people engaged.

Marcia Johnston

It seems like you are a beautiful and talented soul who indeed has had many wonderful experiences through your technical writing career and you have enjoyed your STC events and connections. I, too, have made many wonderful connections with members of my STC Philadelphia Metro chapter. I will always cherish these connections. I had a dear friend and STC colleague help me to obtain my last-five-week assignment. I am very grateful for her assistance, but this wasn’t a career move. I knew before I signed the contract papers that this was to be a dead-end assignment. And it was in spite of the consulting firm fighting to get an extension for me and for them. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. The client company is in a state of pure chaos and the owner is extremely tight and doesn’t want to invest in infrastructure.

I know that there are others out there who are struggling as I am and we can’t afford to pay the price increase or we can afford to pay it, but don’t feel that we are able to use the information we gain from the meetings, seminars or connections to progress sufficiently in our careers. I think that the members who have benefited the most from STC membership have been the technical communication graduates (entry level) and the senior technical writing members who have many years experience in the field.
For those of us who have minimal years experience with limited skill sets and diverse industry experience, it’s a different reality; it’s a different story.

I have been unemployed for quite awhile now, money is tight, and I’m not feeling very confident in my abilities to get that next truly viable “career” position. I feel that the only jobs I can get right now are these little five-week, two-month jobs that offer no hope of career development along the way. I get it that I need to make an investment on some level in the way of time, education and money, but I have to be certain that I’m making an investment that will truly translate into a viable long-term “career” opportunity. I think I have to join a professional organization or two, but I’m not sure that it will serve my best interests to join one from my own field. I’m seeing evidence of at least two – three of my colleagues who have joined other organizations as a way to network with potential hiring managers. More often than not, the hiring managers are NOT other technical writers or Publications department managers. Most technical writers who are in positions do not have the clout to bring in a colleague for interview consideration. Many typical hiring managers of technical writers are IT Directors, Product Development Managers, Client Services Managers, QA Directors, etc. So for these reasons other reasons sited, I am very much on the fence about joining STC.

But I sincerely wish you the best of luck in all that you do. I love the music band idea. Love it truly. Take care.

Sheryl Sankey
Prior STC member – Philadelphia Metro Chapter

Since then, I’ve become very active in STC. I’m a member of two chapters (Boston and Puget Sound) and volunteer in each. I also attend other chapter meetings when I’m traveling in those areas. On the national level, I’ve helped with special SIG projects, which can be done from anywhere. I’ve met a lot of people throughout the U.S., Canada, and a few overseas, and many have become close friends.

This has been a tough year for me financially as a freelancer, and I can’t afford to renew my STC dues. On the other hand, I can’t afford NOT TO renew. STC is an investment in my career as a technical communicator and in my future.

Recently I landed a steady contract after a dry spell of eight months. It came through a referral from a fellow colleague and friend, another STC member.

My grandparents said that “life is what you make of it.” The same holds true with memberships in professional development organizations like STC. We can sit back and be lurkers, hoping something will come our way, or we can become active and make it happen. The rewards don’t always come immediately, but they come. And the wait is worth it.

Cheryl Landes
STC Associate Fellow
Senior Member, Puget Sound and Boston Chapters