Christchurch Branch Event: Technically not technical writing

There are so many things we do as technical writers that are technically not technical writing. And I don’t think we are a unique profession in this regard ‒ plenty of lawyers do non-lawyery things and teachers do non-teachery things. That our profession is sometimes ill-defined as a result, especially by those who want to hire us, is not a new assertion.

We've been a bit mysterious for years, slowly morphing from traditional manual writers and document creators to producing online help, instructional videos, to UI writing, UX, microcopy, mobile interactions, to commitment of content through code. That’s been a natural progression of our skills based on technology changes, and there's even been an upswing in demand for our skills as a result.

In this presentation I want to talk more about our sideways growth as a profession; our relationship to content strategy, knowledge management, technical storytelling, content curation, and content management. I’ve worked in most of these roles (one way or another) and I’d like to share how being a traditional technical writer laid the foundations for being able to succeed in these peripheral fields.

I'd like to contextualise technical writing more generously, and give the audience a new perspective on their foundation skills.

Where and when

Streamliners, 4 Acton Street, Christchurch Central map

Wednesday 18 July. 5:30 pm networking. Meeting from 6:00 pm until 7:00 pm.

Cost

The cost includes nibbles and drinks.

People who register via the website:

  • Members $11.50 incl GST.
  • Non-members $17.25 incl GST
  • Student members free of charge.

People who pay at the door:

  • Members 15.00 incl GST
  • Non-members $20.00 incl GST
  • Student members free of charge.

Note: Members = members of TechCommNZ and affiliated organisations: NZATD, TWIA, PRINZ

About the speaker

Claire Mahoney

Claire Mahoney is a seasoned communicator with over 12 years' varied experience as a technical writer, communication consultant, UX writer, content curator, technical storyteller, and all-round word fetcher and wrangler.

Passionate about content strategy and the importance of thinking before writing (eyeroll emoji), Claire wishes that people would treat content at least as well as a beloved pet ‒ with lots of respect, a healthy amount of discipline, and plenty of love and belly rubs.

Event Registration