Celebrating technical communicators in New Zealand and Australia
Technical communicators keep the wheels turning with clear communications. Now’s your time to shine! | Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash
Accomplished technical communicators are often the unsung heroes of their organisation. They produce the content that makes the wheels go round — sometimes literally!
If this feels like a familiar scenario, or you’ve produced technical information you’re particularly proud of, now is your time to shine. Enter the award for Best Plain Language Technical Communicator — the judges are very keen to hear from you!
As Louise Eades, a previous category winner, said on winning Best Technical Communicator:
Technical communication is a job where less is more and simpler is better. If your reader has to search the internet for the meaning of a word, or read a sentence three times to understand it, you’ve failed.
Technical communication is finally getting the recognition it deserves as a skilled and valuable profession. Anyone can write, but not everyone can clearly communicate technical stuff to the people who need to understand it.
With that approach in mind, here are some ideas to get you thinking about what you could include in your entry.
Tell us about your clear procedures
Tell us about the new procedures you’ve written, so that essential work can continue. Those procedures and operating instructions are so clear and easy to use that your colleagues can carry out complex activities without missing a beat.
Tell us about your user-friendly online help
Tell us about the chunks of online help files you’ve rewritten, so that customers can find answers to their questions easily. You’ve created them using clear structure and language to support your whole customer base, with its diverse language and educational backgrounds.
Tell us about your new technical specifications
Tell us about the new technical specifications or instructions that you’ve developed in double-quick time for your company’s new products. Maybe you wrote them while grappling with MadCap Flare or FrameMaker, and collaborating in Confluence too!
Show us what you’ve done as an expert technical communicator
The judges are keen to see a representative portfolio of your work, so you can send in up to five samples. Tell us the context of your documents, including their purpose and audience. The judges also recommend you showcase your plain language skills by including samples that highlight excellent structure and layout.
Read more about the Best Plain Language Technical Communicator category
Need more encouragement to enter?
Check out this fun video!
TechCommNZ’s 10 reasons to enter the 2022 Plain Language Awards
Meet the category sponsor for Best Plain Language Technical Communicator
We’re delighted that once again our long-term sponsor TechCommNZ is getting behind this award. Thanks TechCommNZ — we couldn’t do it without you!
Find out more about TechCommNZ
Posted In: 2022 Plain Language Awards, Best Technical Communicator
Tags: Best Plain Language Technical Communicator, Best Technical Communicator, Industry awards, technical communicator, technical writing
