By: 2021 TCA Board | April 10, 2021
SpeedCon 2021 will be held on Saturday, April 24th. The event coordinators, the Technical Communication Association’s (TCA) board members, answer some questions about the conference.
What is SpeedCon?
“SpeedCon is an annual conference where technical communicators are given a platform to discuss their relevant works in SpeedTalks or Workshops. For the second year in a row, SpeedCon will be held online, allowing academics and industry professionals – no longer limited to the Triangle area – to connect and engage in discussions in a virtual space.” – Adrienne Nip, Social Media Coordinator
“SpeedCon is an opportunity for practitioners, students, and potential new technical communication writers to learn about developments in the field, as well as the MSTC program, and meet each other. Topics range from research to practical tools, giving attendees insight into new conversations, and new skills to learn.” – Elizabeth Knowles, Secretary
“SpeedCon is a great place to talk about new ideas. Joining SpeedCon will allow you to hear from industry and academic professionals in the Technical Communication field about how they currently do their work and how they see the field shifting. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions and discuss topics of interest to our field.” -Allison Fisk, Vice President
“SpeedCon is a fantastic networking opportunity for technical communication students and practitioners as well as students and practitioners of other disciplines interested in learning more about communication in academia and industry. The conference always has speakers relevant to current conversations in technical communications and workshops that help students and practitioners navigate new, innovative ideas.” – Olivia Payne, Treasurer
What is the theme this year?
“This year’s theme is Communication during the Pandemic. Speakers will talk about how their work has changed and what skills they’ve developed. This year has changed many of the rules by which we live our lives. From the effects of ‘fake news’ to conducting most of our work remotely, our field- like many others- has been reshaped. This year, we have a space to discuss those changes and what we have learned.” – Elizabeth, Secretary
“Since last one year we have observed a major shift in the way we communicate and absorb information- be it science writing, journalism, technical writing at the workplace, environmental communication, academic communication, and so on. This year’s theme will include the shifts we made to communicate, be effective and collaborative in working from home environments, and adapt to the pandemic-related changes.” – Sayee, President
“Communicating during a pandemic has been difficult for all of us. Changing the way we communicate at the drop of a hat has been hard for everyone, especially technical communicators since it is our job. There are areas that were impacted more than others. The theme this year will give us space as technical communicators to discuss some areas that were difficult for us and how we overcame those obstacles.” – Olivia, Treasurer
What kinds of events will be held at SpeedCon?
“There will be capstone presentations by the M.S. in Technical Communication students which will include climate and environmental science communication projects. Dr. Stacy Pigg will also be presenting information about capstone projects.” – Allison Fisk, Vice President
“We’ll have a panel led by a Red Hat technical writing team that will help students learn how to break into the field of technical writing, and a day in the life of a Red Hatter. We’ll also have a session on developing inclusive and accessible technical documentation.” – Sayee, President
Where can I go to sign up for SpeedCon 2021? How do I become a speaker?
Sign up to become a SpeedCon speaker at this link. The form is for both speaker proposals and attendees. You can give either a 15-minute “speedtalk” or a 45-minute presentation or workshop. Please sign up by April 16th.
For more information and updates on SpeedCon, visit our website here. Connect with us on social media @NCStateTechComm on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest updates. We will see you there!