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I have been to four STC conferences and have volunteered as an
evaluator at each conference. It's an opportunity I wouldn't
miss for the world and the feedback I have received as an
evaluator has been positive.
It has been my experience that those who sign up to be evaluated
either need hand-holding or have a specific problem they're trying
to solve.
I remember my first evaluee fondly. She'd done a wonderfully
innovative manual for a software app targeted to artists. It broke
my heart to tell her that the font size was too small for maximum
readability at that line length -- but that was the *only* thing I
could find wrong.
I had a great time talking about air conditioning brochures that
were written in Italian. The writer needed to brainstorm a strategy
on transitioning to a new company name and logo while milking the
existing logo's good-will as much as possible. He also needed some
advice on colors to make the brochure more faxable. As luck would have
it, I studied Italian in college, so we had an interesting discussion
about serial commas as well.<g>
I got double-sessioned by a couple of guys who were presenting legal,
government stuff on a web site. They couldn't change the text, they
could only present and organize the information -- how can they
improve...
I talked with a girl from Japan who, after she'd already obtained a
seat at the session, found out that her company would not let her
take a draft out of the country. We talked about her strategy for
the American market.
From what I know of my fellow evaluators, we are none of us into
humiliation as a sport. And the sessions are strictly one-on-one --
you and me alone at a banquet table in a large hotel ballroom and
not every table is taken, so there's no _public_ about any of it.
Please note that this is a real challenge for an evaluator. We have
twenty minutes to mentor you. That means from the time you walk up
to me in the banquet room and hand me your stuff, I have twenty
minutes to evaluate your work, understand what your question is,
help you, and send you on your way.
In general, if you have a specific question or a problem that you
need help with, sign up for a manual evaluation session. If you
just want an overall "how'm I doin'???", submit something to a pubs
competition. Pubs judges (and yes, I've been both) get to take your
stuff home and take their time with it. You'll get back comments from
several judges.
Anyone here have any experience with the Manuals Evaluation that goes
on at the STC Conference? Is it helpful or merely a public humiliation
opportunity? I've not been to an STC Conference before & am wondering
if the manual evals. in particular are worth the expense & time, etc.
(And what are the chances of even getting one of the very limited
slots for such?)
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