Thursdays @ STC Chicago | November 3

November Chapter Meeting: Write More, Write Less
STC Chicago Tech Comm Competition: Entry Deadline Nears

STC Membership Drive Continues

STC Webinars
Alliance Meeting

2012 Summit News

At-a-Glance Photo Contest

STC Chicago Social Networks

Join fellow technical communicators for lunch on November 3 at the following locations:
 

Caffé Baci at 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

2 N. LaSalle Street (entrance on Madison)

Chicago, IL 60602

Northern Location

Noodles & Company at 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

900 North Milwaukee Ave.

Lincolnshire, IL 60069

We expect to have visiting Tech Communicators from Milan, Italy and Zug, Switzerland.

DuPage Inn at 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

2410 Ogden Ave.

Downers Grove, IL 60515

Panera Bread 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

622 E. Golf Road (between Meacham and Roselle)

Schaumburg, IL 60173

Red Bar at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (New!)

9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue

Rosemont, IL 60018

To help us try to ensure seating for everyone, please email the site contact (listed above for each location) and let him or her know you're coming. Drop-ins always are welcome, but reservations are recommended. Questions? See our "Thursdays" FAQ.

Want to start a group of your own? Contact thursdays@stc-chicago.org to learn how.

On Thursday, November 17, Joe Welinske will discuss how "writing more" by "writing less" can result in better utility for users and can reduce the need and load on the overall documentation development process and content management. Technical communicators of all backgrounds will benefit from this thought-provoking presentation.

The meeting will be held at the Ram Restaurant and Brewhouse in Rosemont (a 10-15 minute walk from the Blue Line, Rosemont stop). For additional details, see our event page. 

To register now, visit our registration page.  

The deadline for accepting entries to the 2011-2012 Technical Communication Competition is Friday, November 4.

The chapter competition is open to everyone who produces technical communication, instructional materials, user support, or promotional materials. Entrants are not required to be members of STC. You may enter work as an individual or on behalf of a colleague or subordinate. For the 2011 competition, students are also invited to participate.

Submission categories include the following:

• Information Materials
• Instructional Materials
• Promotional Materials
• User Support Materials 

Competition entry fees are $75 for professionals and $25 for students. Payments must be made online.

Please ship entries with paperwork to the following address:

Elizabeth Burke

706 New Mexico Trail

Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

More information is available at www.stc-chicago.org.

STC's 2012 Membership Drive continues through December 31, when annual memberships for 2011 will expire. STC dues for 2012 are unchanged from 2010 and 2011, and chapter membership is included by default.

This year's drive includes a Member-Get-a-Member Campaign. If you refer a new member to STC, you get $10 off your dues (when the new member joins) for each member you recruit, up to five members. This could reduce your dues by up to $50 for the year.

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In addition, new members who join from October to December 2011 get the remaining months of 2011 free along with all of 2012. That's up to 15 months for the price of 12.

For information about the benefits of STC membership, or to join or renew your membership online, please visit http://www.stc.org/membership.­

Check out this month's live webinars from STC:

Mobile Content: Single-Sourcing to the Max
Neil Perlin
Thursday, 3 November

Refining the Content Lifecycle
Rahel Anne Bailie
Thursday, 17 November

Technical Communicator in a BPM World
Jackie Damrau
Wednesday, 30 November

Registration Rate: $79 for Members, $149 for Non-members, and $29 for Student Members

>> Additional Details

 Influencing Senior Leaders

The Chicagoland Chapter of the Society for Training & Development (CCASTD) will hold a dinner meeting on Thursday, November 17, to discuss how to influence senior leaders.

As Work Learning Professionals (WLP), one of the keys to our success is our relationship with clients -- from CEOs to line managers. Success requires a variety of communication and influencing behaviors depending on the person and the situation. When do you sell, advise, or consult? That is a key question, and will determine whether you get buy-in and support for your initiatives. Learning when and how to use each of these skills will make you much more effective and successful. Through examples, discussions, cases, and practice, learn the influencing essentials in working with senior leaders. Details are available here.

The 2012 STC Summit blog is now available. Starting in November, Chapter Host Committee members will contribute posts about topics of interest to prospective attendees of the 2012 Tech Comm Summit. Host Committee member Adam Evans is our Summit blog coordinator. He will be able to answer any questions you may have about the blog. If you would like to contribute to the blog by writing posts or suggesting topics of interest, please contact stc2012@stc-chicago.org. We'll put you in touch with Adam.

Are you a member of the 2012 Chapter Host Committee? All members and prospective members of the committee are invited to join us this Thursday, November 3, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. We're holding a "Thursdays @ STC Chicago" networking event at the hotel starting at 6:00 pm. For more information, see Thursdays. If you go, you'll have an opportunity to take a short tour of the venue and learn more about our chapter's role in next year's Summit. We hope to see you there!    

 

 

 

The building featured in the photo above is located along the Des Plaines River in the heart of this city's downtown district. Can you name the city? If so, let us know. The first person to reply with the correct answer will win a $20 gift card from Amazon.com. Please send your replies to contest@stc-chicago.org and check our website for news of a winner. Good luck!

Contestants are eligible to win only one prize within any 12-month period. We will notify the winner via email. Additional information about the photo will be posted on our blog.