Society Highlights

STC Chapters Work to Increase Meeting Attendance

By Margaret Garcia-Nokes

Meeting Formats

In the March issue of the STC Tieline, Kathy Legg, president of the Manitoba chapter, describes two meeting formats that the chapter has used to attract more members: progressions and panel discussions.

At progression meetings, several speakers present simultaneously, at different tables or booths. Attendees divide themselves into small groups, and "progress" from one presentation to the next in fifteen to twenty minute intervals. This meeting style has been used at past STC conferences, and even at our own Boston chapter. The Manitoba chapter uses this format every January, when the bitter cold makes it difficult to attract members.

Panel discussions involve a moderator and two or more speakers with varying perspectives on the same topic. Each speaker talks for five to ten minutes. After each presentation, the moderator opens the floor to questions from the audience. The Manitoba chapter has invited documentation managers to discuss hiring and working with technical writers. To celebrate STC's 50th anniversary, the chapter invited recently awarded STC fellows to share experiences.

Networking Tips

The TransAlpine Chapter (TAC) has members from the neighboring countries of Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Italy. Despite this chapter's geographic disparity, its members are known throughout STC as creating one of the society's most active networks. Chapter president Victoria Koster-Lenhardt presents some tips in the March Tieline, useful for member groups spread near and far.

  1. Organize fun activities, such as dancing, wine tasting, or even Tai Chi. Koster-Lenhardt suggests asking members what they enjoy and combining those activities with meetings.
  2. Eat together. TAC meeting members prepare dinners to demonstrate dishes and wines of their varying cultures.
  3. Discover ways to have members share something of themselves. Continuing on the food theme, the TAC chapter has a chocolate raffle, where members donate unique versions of this delicacy from their home countries. Each chapter will differ in what it has to share, but finding a common theme can strengthen networking bonds.
  4. Celebrate together at the end of every meeting. Koster-Lenhardt suggests that this format encourages members to stay through the end of a presentation. Wine or champagne receptions are the European way; Boston members might agree.
  5. Arrange some type of overnight stay, if possible. The goal here is to get people to stop looking at their watches, so ideas can flow more freely.
  6. Involve new members immediately. TAC asks their new members to write a story about their experiences. The Boston chapter held a reception for new members back in January, where all were asked to volunteer for chapter duties.
  7. Network with other chapters by sending a member from your group to present at another meeting.
  8. Encourage informal meetings, whether there is a speaker or not, if members are geographically distant. This may not seem to apply to us in Boston, but the New England region is very broad, and Maine and Rhode Island do not have STC chapters of their own.

These networking strategies can help chapters learn more from their members, and have fun in the process.

Membership Point System

The Piedmont chapter in North Carolina uses a points system to reward member activity. Members earn points by attending meetings or engaging in other chapter activities, such as helping to set up a meeting, presenting, bringing a guest, or writing an article for the chapter newsletter.

Any chapter interested in beginning a points program can set their own goals. The Piedmont chapter awards the most points (four) for attending a national STC conference, two points for attending a local conference or seminar, and one for writing a newsletter article or assisting a chapter officer.

Points are awarded at the last meeting of the year in the form of door prizes, such as software programs or $50 gift certificates to area restaurants.

The system is meant to not only award members for their contributions, but, when tracked, chapter officers learn who is most interested in events. In turn, these members become candidates for chapter offices.

Margaret Garcia-Nokes is an instructional designer and associate editor of the Boston Broadside. You can reach her at margaret@cordoba.cncdsl.com.