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My SQL Saturday Firsts

In October 2011, after working with SQL Server since 1998, I discovered something called SQL Saturday and PASS. For those unaware, these are local events, setup and run by volunteers. Speakers come in from all parts of the country to share, for free, their knowledge of SQL Server and other topics of interest to data professionals. These events also draw sponsors of various types. Without this symbiosis, the events would not work.

My First SQL Saturday  

At this first event, held on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, I got to meet and learn from some of the big names in the community, referred to as SQL Family. Thomas LaRock (t/b) kicked off the morning with a keynote. Afterwards, I found Tom is a HUGE bacon aficionado. This was my first realization these folks were approachable and not “full of themselves.” Very different from other professions I’ve been around. After the keynote, it was off to learn from the likes of Jim Murphy (t/b),  Wes Brown (t), Joe Celko, and many others.

I was hooked. I started traveling the country to attend these events as an attendee, usually at my own expense. Thanks to SQL Saturday, I’ve been to Portland ME, Atlanta, Louisville, Omaha, San Diego, Houston, Salt Lake City, and countless others.

One Road Leads to Many Paths

In October 2013, while at a CodeCamp in Austin, I met John Sterrett (t/b). He had decided it was time for Austin to host a SQL Saturday, the first since October 2011. It was a big hit and repeated in 2015. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find a suitable venue since; but hope to be able to bring SQL Saturday back in 2019. I tell this part of the story because John is responsible for the next part.

It used to be a standing joke that we saw each other more away from Austin than in Austin. One frequent topic of conversation was, “Hey Jay, you come to these events, why don’t you speak at them?” My answer was always, “I don’t know anything these people don’t already know.” He kept telling me the same thing I had heard other speakers say: At least one person doesn’t know what you know, or you have a different take on something others speak about.

Diving in to Become a Speaker

It took several years of prodding, but I did my first SQL User Group presentation to the Austin community in June 2017. It had been years since I was up in front of a non-work group, but it went well, except for the demos of course. Now I was hooked again, I went to work on my next presentation idea, which was delivered late in 2017. It went well enough I decided, OK, I was coerced into submitting to a couple of SQL Saturday events, Wheeling and Albuquerque. I was selected to speak at Wheeling but unfortunately had to withdraw from Albuquerque.

Fast forward, OK, not really fast, but I’m getting there. I tried very hard not to fall into the trap I heard all speakers talking about: don’t change your presentation last minute, have an extra laptop so you can deal with hardware failures, make sure you have plenty of cables, etc. I made it to Wheeling with extra laptop and redundant cables but found myself updating the presentation on Saturday Morning to include a new item I had seen earlier in the week.

Whew, I did it!

Even with last minute changes, everything went well with my first SQL Saturday presentation. Feedback was helpful even though it was limited. Based on the input, I’ve updated the presentation and been accepted to speak at SQL Saturday events in Los Angeles and Houston. I will also be co-presenting with John Sterrett at SQL Saturday Dallas. I admit to a bit of nervousness as I expect both to be bigger, but I think I’m up to the challenge.

I’m looking forward to preparing new presentations and being a speaker and volunteer at many of the locations I’ve just been attending to this point.

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Growing New Speakers T-SQL Tuesday #84

What is the best way to start a new career?  Simple, jump in with both feet and start running as soon as you hit the pavement!  Well, that is how I have kicked off my new DBA career!  I was fortunate enough to attend Microsoft PASS Summit in Seattle, Washington in October, 2016.  I met a lot of fantastic #SQLFamily members who had a wealth of information to share.  The advice I received most was to network, blog, and GIVE PRESENTATIONS.

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Give a presentation?  ME?  What can I talk about?  What do I have to offer?  Well, I am not sure; however, perhaps through a series of blog posts and continued education, I can find my way.  My awesome boss, John Sterrett (b/t) (not contractually obligated to make that statement) has a blog post on his thoughts when he first started speaking that I have found helps me allay those fears.  I have to remember that I don’t have to be an expert to speak!

So here I am, taking the first step through the T- SQL Tuesday #84 Blog Challenge.  This month is all about growing new speakers.

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Ten things I learned while watching PASS Summit speakers that I plan to implement during my first presentation are:

  1. FONTS FONTS FONTS! Make sure your presentation materials CAN BE SEEN! Small fonts are a killer.
  2. Engage with your audience. Welcome them into your world, they are here to know you!
  3. Be interested and excited about what you are saying. Nothing loses the audience faster than a presenter who seems FORCED to be there or bored with the subject.
  4. Speak up and don’t read directly from a script.
  5. Practice, practice, practice until it becomes more of a conversation and less of a “speech”.
  6. Take note of the colors in your presentation and be mindful of those who are blue/green colorblind (I had never considered that!).
  7. Know your audience. When speaking to a diverse group your jokes, quips, and puns may fall short. (Not everyone gets the Three Stooges kind of humor like I do)
  8. BE PREPARED (Y’all, make sure your mouse and other presentation tools are charged.)
  9. Some people are rude; they will take phone calls during your session and not leave the room. (I so wanted to see the speaker go to that person and take over the phone call!)
  10. Be careful not to let your session be hijacked, no matter how excited your audience is about the subject matter, this is still YOUR session.  There are ways to quickly and politely get your audience back on track and plugged into your session.

I graduated college with a degree in Fine Arts.  Admittedly I have a leg up on the performance skills.  Am I still terrified to do my first session?  INDEED, I will be speaking my words, not the brilliance of Shakespeare!  I am afraid, since I am new, that I won’t be interesting and that I will have nothing to offer.

However, I must not be afraid, I must be brave! As Malvolio prosed in Shakespeare’s Twelfth-Night; or, What You Will, Act II, Scene V.:

“…be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

Thanks for reading! -Angela

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