Photo credit: Jenny Nelson
There were, once again, many new faces at the September Victoria Tech Comm Café on a lovely rooftop patio in downtown Victoria. Organizing through a Meetup group has gotten the word out about STC Canada West Coast and made life easier for our organizers. With passion and enthusiasm discussion flowed as smoothly as the pints.
Managing: While we enjoyed our drinks, Jenny Nelson, Principal Technical Writer at Haemonetics, gave a presentation about moving into a managerial role in technical writing. She discussed how she transitioned from a peer to a boss and the struggles that brought with it. Jenny also brought in the book she found the most helpful; “Managing for People Who Hate Managing: Be a Success by Being Yourself.” This book really allowed her to understand how she could use her own strengths to become a great boss and now she feels she’s really hit her stride. Many people jotted down the name of the book and we expect to see a few sales for Amazon with no commission for Jenny.
Relationship Tables: Two very experienced technical writers had a stimulating discussion about the complexity and strength of using relationship tables to assign related content. It got pretty animated. The passion for relationship tables was obvious and the rest of the table listened intently to the discussion.
MadWorld: One member had just returned from a trip to MadWorld in Prague. The noted fatigue by the member brought no sympathy from the others at the table. He discussed what the speakers presented and how important it is to go to professional conferences to spark new enthusiasm and ideas.
Certification: We have one member who is just about to complete Simon Fraser University’s online Technical Communication Certificate and we are all very excited for him!
Next Meetings
- Online Tech Comm Café: Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. RSVP for login information.
- Vancouver Tech Comm Café: Tuesday, November 13, 6:30 p.m.
- Victoria Tech Comm Café: Wednesday, November 7, 6:30 p.m., Breakwater Tasting Room, 199 Dallas Road
- Subscribe to receive email announcements of future meetings.
Jennifer Murphy is the Knowledge Base Lead for Maximus Canada. Her background is in QA, training, and professional writing. She’s currently taking Technical Communication Certification through Simon Fraser University.