Student Symposium on Clear Communication

October 23, 2024 
10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
VIrtual Meeting

Royce Cook - Keynote Speaker

Royce Cook is an accomplished technical communicator with a distinguished academic background and a track record of impactful leadership in the field. She holds an M.S. in Technical Communication with Distinction and a B.S. in Technical Communication (UX) summa cum laude from Arizona State University. Currently, Royce serves as a Technical Writer at Docusign, where she leverages her expertise to create clear, user-centered documentation that enhances product accessibility and user experience.

As the President of the South-Central Texas chapter of the Society for Technical Communication, Royce has been instrumental in advancing the profession. Her leadership has fostered collaboration among members and elevated the chapter’s role in mentoring emerging talent in the technical communication field. Royce’s influence extends beyond her chapter leadership through her role as a Newsletter Writer for Write the Docs, where she shares valuable insights and trends with a global audience of professionals.

Royce’s work reflects a deep commitment to excellence and innovation in technical communication. She is known for her ability to articulate complex concepts with clarity and precision, making her an expert writer and a respected voice in the industry. Through her contributions to both her professional community and her workplace, Royce continues to shape the future of technical communication, ensuring that high standards of clarity and user focus are maintained across all mediums.

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What is the purpose of the event? 

The purpose of the Student Symposium on Clear Communication (SSCC) is to offer you, the student, an opportunity to share your work related to clear communication as it applies to your disciplines. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student, you can showcase your research and creative activities related to clear communication and improve your presentation skills for academic and career success. Only competitively selected projects will appear in the symposium. The symposium is organized and sponsored by the Institute of Plain English Research and Study (IPERS) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at UHD.

What is clear communication?

Clear communication is defined as communication that is understood on the first reading by the general public.
Effective Communicators:

• adapt communication to the needs of a specific audience to achieve different strategic goals,
• create readable, accurate, usable, and accessible products,
• use various concepts and theories of clear communication to maximize understanding, and
• clearly present results of research and creative projects that report findings on the efficacy of clear communication strategies.

Who can participate?

Individual students or a team of students from any discipline can present their research and creative works during the symposium. The symposium is open to both UHD students and those from other colleges and universities.

Information for Student Presenters

Information for conference paper submissions, deadlines, and preliminary schedule.

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Acknowledgments: The symposium is organized and sponsored by the Institute of Plain English Research and Study (IPERS) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Houston-Downtown.

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Symposium Chairs:

Dr. Ashleigh Petts, Assistant Professor, Technical Communication, Department of English
Dr. John Rountree, Assistant Professor, Communication Studies, Department of Arts and Communication
Dr. Natalia Matveeva, Professor, Communication Studies, Department of Arts and Communication

Sponsors and Contributors:

This program is made possible by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute for Plain English Research and Study at UHD. ;