News
April 2023
Australian Society for Technical Communication conference – 12 to 13 October 2023
It’s not a conference year for us, but we recommend checking out the Australian Society for Technical Communication (ASTC) conference instead. We’ve attended a couple of their conference days in the past and recommend taking the time if something in their lineup catches your interest.
TechCommNZ members get discounted rates, and there’s usually an online option.
The conference schedule isn’t out yet, but mark this one in your calendar and keep an eye on their website so you don’t miss out.
Dave Gash presentations coming to New Zealand – October 2023
Great news for those of you familiar with Dave Gash! He’s planning to come New Zealand to deliver 2 workshops in Christchurch around mid October. Watch this space and we’ll fill you in as we firm up the arrangements.
Don’t know Dave? He’s a software professional based in the USA with over 35 years’ experience in development, documentation and training. He’s well known in the technical writing community as an interesting and animated instructor. He has a knack for explaining technical material and making technology accessible and fun.
Changes to the TechCommNZ board
Donna Manuel has stepped down from the board. Donna has done a fantastic job getting our LinkedIn presence up and running again. We thank her so much for her effort and the value she’s added, and wish her well.
In October this year:
- Steph Prince will be stepping down from the shared Vice President role
- Roy McKone will be stepping down from the board and the Business Manager role
- Katie Haggath will be stepping down from the board and the President role.
Is it your time to join the board?
TechCommNZ can't run without volunteers. We need volunteers for the board.
We need to hear from people interested in learning the social media, vice president and president roles. You’ll have full guidance and support from the current board members, even when they’ve stepped down from their current roles.
This is a great opportunity to try out a board position in an industry you love, with good support.
Please email thepresident@techcomm.nz today if you might be interested or would like to know more about what it could involve. Let’s chat!
Plain Language Awards open on 1 May 2023
Get ready for a competitive Plain Language Awards season! Entries open on 1 May 2023 and close on 31 July 2023.
Like last year, we’ll pay the entry fee for a number of our members who enter the Best Plain Language Technical Communicator award category.
Get in quick to let us know if you’re planning to enter.
Email businessmanager@techcomm.nz
You’ll need time to put together a strong entry, so start today. Here are our top tips:
- Check out the category requirements.
Best Plain Language Technical Communicator category - Commit to entering and let us know as soon as possible if you’d like us to pay.
- Start putting your entry together today.
- Sign up to the Plain Language Awards newsletter (through their website), to stay in the loop for key dates and advice on entering.
Need convincing to enter? We sure last year’s short video will get you in the mood!
TechCommNZ’s 10 reasons to enter the Plain Language Awards
New Zealand Sign Language Week – 8 to 14 May 2023
Be sure to check out the official website for great resources and ideas to support New Zealand Sign Language Week in your workplace.
There’s posters, booklets, videos, classes, t-shirts and more. This week can be really fun and is an awesome way to support a beautiful official language of New Zealand and our peers who use it.
New Zealand Sign Language Week website
Global Accessibility Awareness Day – 18 May 2023
There’s an increasing (and very valid) expectation that all of the content we create is accessible. It’s about being human, being fair, and not stopping anyone from being able to access important information.
Find great ideas, resources and events on the official website. Help champion the importance of accessibility in your workplace this May, even if it’s just by starting a conversation with your team.
Global Accessibility Awareness Day website
We've been working on improving our link accessibility in the TechCommWire newsletter lately. We’re doing our best to:
- remove link splatter
- left-align links as close to the left-hand side of the page as possible
- place links on their own line under the related text where possible
- write descriptive link text
- remove the fluff words from links, like ‘click here, find out more, read about’ and so on.
LinkedIn highlights
In case you’ve missed some of the things we’ve been sharing over on LinkedIn, here are a few highlights from the last couple of months. Be sure to follow us so you can catch the cool articles and resources we share in between newsletters.
Five ways to leverage big picture thinking as a technical writer