Upcoming Webinar: Designing Quick Reference Guides

I’m giving an STC webinar this week on designing quick reference guides. Here are the details:

Designing Quick Reference Guides
Date: Wednesday, 25 January | 1:00–2:00 PM EST (GMT-5)

Condensing a manual into an attractive quick reference guide requires a poet’s precision with language, but it also requires you to exercise skill with visual design and page layout. These short guides blend marketing with instruction, allowing you to combine text with images to pull readers into the content. Long manuals are outdated, ineffective ways to teach people software.

The quick reference guide (usually 2 to 6 pages), with strong visuals and a magazine-like layout, is something that end-users, project managers, and just about everyone absolutely loves. Quick reference guides should be a standard deliverable that technical communicators emphasize and prioritize in their work.

By the way, if you can’t make the webinar but you’re still interested in the topic of quick reference guides, see this page of quick reference guide resources on my blog.

Feb 19, 2012 update: You can access a recording of the webinar here.

6 thoughts on “Upcoming Webinar: Designing Quick Reference Guides”

Lynda Shindley January 24, 2012 at 10:28 pm

HI Tom,
I registered for this Webinar, but I have not received instructions for connecting. Does STC send out that information? Can you please advise?

Thanks,
Lynda Shindley

Tom Johnson Post authorJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:33 pm

They were a bit late in sending that invite out, I think. But I’m glad you were able to attend.

Brandon January 25, 2012 at 2:27 pm

Tom-

Enjoyed the webinar. You’ve got me really motivated to make some quick references guides!

Thanks for improving the lives of so many technical communicators through your efforts. You may take it for granted, but few people are willing to go thorough the effort you do to run a blog that educates, encourages, and inspires technical communicators.

VR- Brandon

Tom Johnson Post authorJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:33 pm

Brandon, thanks for the kind words about my blog. I appreciate the note.

Vinish February 14, 2012 at 11:06 pm

Tom

I missed your post and hence the webinar also. However, I skimmed through your posts at: http://idratherbewriting.com/quickreferenceguides/, and loved the directions that you share. I recall doing such Quick Guides or Reference Guides 3 years back when I worked with Basware Corporation; that was really interesting experience and your post helped me relived those days.

Thanks for the wonderful directions and tips on writing great Quick Guides.

Tom Johnson Post authorFebruary 19, 2012 at 1:26 pm

Vinish, I posted the recording here: Webinar Recording of Quick Reference Guides presentation.

Comments are closed.

Lynda Shindley January 24, 2012 at 10:28 pm

HI Tom,
I registered for this Webinar, but I have not received instructions for connecting. Does STC send out that information? Can you please advise?

Thanks,
Lynda Shindley
1. Tom Johnson Post authorJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:33 pm
  
  They were a bit late in sending that invite out, I think. But I’m glad you were able to attend.
Brandon January 25, 2012 at 2:27 pm

Tom-

Enjoyed the webinar. You’ve got me really motivated to make some quick references guides!

Thanks for improving the lives of so many technical communicators through your efforts. You may take it for granted, but few people are willing to go thorough the effort you do to run a blog that educates, encourages, and inspires technical communicators.

VR- Brandon
1. Tom Johnson Post authorJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:33 pm
  
  Brandon, thanks for the kind words about my blog. I appreciate the note.
Vinish February 14, 2012 at 11:06 pm

Tom

I missed your post and hence the webinar also. However, I skimmed through your posts at: http://idratherbewriting.com/quickreferenceguides/, and loved the directions that you share. I recall doing such Quick Guides or Reference Guides 3 years back when I worked with Basware Corporation; that was really interesting experience and your post helped me relived those days.

Thanks for the wonderful directions and tips on writing great Quick Guides.
1. Tom Johnson Post authorFebruary 19, 2012 at 1:26 pm
  
  Vinish, I posted the recording here: Webinar Recording of Quick Reference Guides presentation.

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