Proposals for 2016 *STC Silicon Valley Chapter* presentations now accepted
- Now accepting proposals
- What presenting involves
- Why we are inviting proposal submissions
- Build credibility for a larger venue
- How to submit the proposal
Now accepting proposals
Are you interested in presenting to the Silicon Valley STC Chapter this year? We’re now accepting proposals for 2016 speakers.
What presenting involves
Presenting to the STC Silicon Valley Chapter (located in the South Bay of the San Francisco, California) involves the following:
- Preparing a 1-hour presentation relevant to technical writers
- Preparing some slides or other visuals to accompany your presentation
- Creating a short description of your presentation plus a bio
- Committing to the date agreed upon for your presentation
Note that STC Silicon Valley Chapter meetings are always on Monday evenings, usually the third Monday of the month unless there’s a holiday. The location is the Santa Clara IHOP (4200 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, Calif.).
To get a better sense of the topics for the chapter meetings, you can browse the meeting archives.
Why we are inviting proposal submissions
Why are we inviting proposals? Usually STC chapter presenters are informally selected by the program committee based on people they know, or based on people who tend to be visible in the community.
However, this approach tends to miss a lot of people who might have great information to share but who just aren’t very well-known. By allowing people to submit proposals, we open up the speaking pool and give more people a chance to present.
Build credibility for a larger venue
If you’re thinking of submitting a presentation to the STC Summit (which will be held in Anaheim, Calif. this year), presenting locally at an STC chapter helps give you experience and credibility with the topic. ()When you submit proposals to the STC Summit, one of the questions is whether you’ve given the presentation before, or spoken before, to whom and when.)
How to submit the proposal
To submit a presentation proposal for the STC Silicon Valley Chapter, send a short note about the topic to [email protected], along with any other details.
I’m the program manager for the chapter, but I coordinate with other members of the STC Silicon Valley leadership council.
About Tom Johnson
I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.
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