TCUK16 Awards

The ISTC held their annual Technical Communication UK Conference at the Wyboston Lakes Executive Centre, Cambridgeshire, from September 13 - 15 this year.  I attended the gala dinner on the evening of the 14th, and whilst I was there the UK Technical Communication Awards winners for 2016 were announced.

I'm honoured and (genuinely) humbled to say that the ISTC have seen fit to award me the 2016 Best Procedural Communication award for the How to Scale Documentation series that I recently wrote on this very blog:

The judges remarks were:

"Really well organised with appropriate and consistent details. The structure aids readability. Great typography choices, used to enhance the content, and to visually chunk information. Great use of space and colour in titles. The entry’s distinct conversational style works extremely well with the chosen subject and audience.

This entry is so effective because it makes everything seem so manageable. The user is guided through the series of articles and can be confident of finding explanations and at the right level."

To say that I was surprised when the ISTC told me I'd won would be a huge understatement.  Up until that point my entire trophy collection consisted of a bronze medal in a judo competition when I was 16 and a plastic cup as a member of a league and cup double winning cribbage team when I was 18.  I didn't need a trophy cabinet so much as a trophy shoebox.  Now I've got a very handsome (and heavy) glass trophy that's got pride of place on the bookshelf in my office.  To say I'm happy doesn't begin to describe it.

Congratulations to all of the winners, especially Peter Anghelides as the winner of the Horace Hockley Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession.  You'll be able to see a list of all the winners and read the winning entries in December's issue of Communicator.  Also, my personal thanks go, in no particular order, to:

• Elaine Cole, for guiding me through the evening with courtesy and commendable patience, as well as for putting me at ease before I had to go on stage in front of a room full of more or less sober peers to collect my award;
• Alison Peck, for making a conference debutant feel so welcome by chatting to me all through dinner, despite everyone in the room wanting to talk to her;
• Galyna Key, who couldn't attend the conference this year, but does such a wonderful job organising, promoting and running the UKTC awards.

And to everyone else I met at the Conference this year, thank you for making me feel so welcome.  It was a pleasure to meet so many dedicated, passionate and skilled technical communicators.  I hope to see you all next year!

UK Tech Comm Awards - Nominate Yourself!

For my UK readers: The UK branch of the ISTC is looking for nominations for the 2016 UK Technical Communications Awards.

There's more information at the link above, but these 2 paragraphs should give you the gist:

"The UK Technical Communication Awards are open to any individual or team, whether employed, self-employed, contracting, volunteering, permanent, temporary, full-time or part-time.  You do NOT have to be a member of the ISTC to nominate someone, and the nominee doesn’t have to be to a member of the ISTC either.  You can nominate yourself if you wish; the judges’ decisions will be made solely on the merits of the entries, not on who nominated the entries.

We encourage entries of product/process documentation and technical innovation – the “traditional” entries – as well as entries such as blog posts, books, training material, e-learning and anything that displays, encourages or helps the production of high-quality technical communication.

There are some rules to follow, so take a quick look at them before you start nominating.  Check out the 9 categories that will be awarded and to nominate someone, or to nominate yourself, go here.  Go on, you and your team deserve it!"

I'll echo the last 2 lines - technical communicators don't always get the credit they deserve, and these awards are a great way of showing off your achievements.  I know it's not the British way, but it is genuinely OK to nominate yourself!  No-one cares as much about your documentation as you do, and if anyone deserves an award it's the unsung heroes like you who do so much to make life easier for your users.

If you've got any questions you can fill in the form here and the ISTC Awards team will get back to you very quickly.

Nominations close on July 15th 2016 - 5 days from the date of this post - so don't delay, nominate today!