The STC UK chapter hosted this year's Trans-European Technical Communication Awards event in London on Saturday, January 21st. With 33 attendees, the event was an overwhelming success - thanks in large part to Tina Hoffman's superb organising efforts.

The event was an historic occasion in the chapter's history, being the first STC UK event attended by three prominent delegates from abroad:

• Paula Berger, the Society's first vice-president
• Cindy Currie, region 1 director-sponsor
• Vici Koster-Lenhardt, region 2 director-sponsor.

In addition, Stuart Culshaw, chapter president from France and Christel Dehaes, chapter president from Belgium were present.

The day's event included three "mini-workshops", and for those of you who weren't present, here are some of the highlights.

First, Ellis Pratt from Cherryleaf discussed the challenges of marketing ourselves - not in terms of looking for new work, but in targeting the services we offer so they're in line with the client's needs. Too often, we writers barge ahead by offering solutions (manuals, online help, presentations) without first figuring out whether they are what the customer really needs. What needs are we trying to fill? The customer's needs might include getting work done on time and on budget, cutting costs, streamlining operations, retaining customers, providing training, etc.

Ellis recommended using the principles of "niche marketing" to identify the customer's needs - and the benefits that we can offer them. If we don't do that, how can we prove we provide any value? Ellis had us work through two exercises on market positioning - techniques that anyone can use to determine whether the work they're doing has any value. Another outcome of this exercise is the "technical author's elevator speech" - a succinct sales pitch that summarises who you're working for, what their need is, what product or service you offer and the benefits it provides - and how those benefits are better than your nearest competitor.

Alice Jane Emanuel from Amsterdam then presented the results of her wide-ranging research into documentation quality. She covered such concerns as working in multiple languages, quality processes and standards, and work currently being done by STC, W3C and ISO. Paula Berger gave a short talk on what's happening at STC HQ, and Mark Clifford introduced his campaign to run for second vice-president, to which we all vowed our unqualified support.

Jennifer O'Neill, manager of the Trans-European Technical Communication Competition, then explained the processes used by entrants and judges in this annual event. This year's competition attracted 22 entries from seven countries. The award certificates were given out at a fabulous Indian dinner in Covent Garden, which was preceded by a ride on the London Eye. Another nice touch was a chance for selected competition winners to talk about their work. All in all, this year's event (the third such trans-European get-together) was a great success, and started 2006 on a real high note for our chapter.

Video Report

Stuart Culshaw made a short video clip of the day. Click to start.

Note:Windows Media Player must be installed on your computer to view this video. Click here to download.