Public Speaking

A great post on the how’s, why’s, etc., of presenting by Paul Randal. I found it because of Database Weekly. Some of the discussion are things I’ve read about in other places with more more or less detail. But please, don’t think I’m knocking it in any way. It’s a unique look at presenting from someone who does quite a lot of it. There were a number of topics and ideas that I hope I can apply going forward.

I understand that PASS is going to open the gates for abstracts soon. I think I’ve got three ready this year, although one of them is a bit rocky. Still, armed with a more knowledge than I had, thanks to Paul Randal’s help, I think I can do better.

34 thoughts on “Public Speaking

  • Andy Warren is trying to get me to submit as well. So if, and its a big if, I’m going to I’ll have to start paying attention.

    I hope that put something in the PASS Community Connector when they do open it up.

    • scarydba

      I’m pretty sure it’s in the Connector, but I don’t remember from last year. When I hear about it, I’ll post it, even if it’s in the Connector.

      Yeah, those related posts things are weird sometimes.

  • Too early.

    I have to think about stuff for TechEd too. Planning for that’s starting next month and I’ll need a couple proposals if I’m to have any chance of speaking there.

    I’m pretty much blank on ideas though. 🙁

  • scarydba

    I can’t go to Tech-Ed this year (data center move during that time frame and it’s all hands on deck) but I’m curious, when and where did they put up a request for proposals. Not that I thought I’d get in, but I wanted to see what the submission process looked like. I’m planning on trying for it next year.

    As for ideas… I’m a little bereft as well. I’ve got two presentations that I did at the New England Data Camp that I was going to submit, but they’re just refinements and adjustments for the two I submitted to PASS last year. I’m putting them back in, but I really need at least one new idea and I’m frankly stuck. It feels like everything is already done.

  • OK, here’s the ones that I am planning to use:

    1) The Top Ten Reason’s You Aren’t Already Using Service Broker (And What To Do about It) **

    2) There Must Be 15 Ways To Leave Your Cursors… **

    3) Injection Rejection: Using Dynamic SQL Safely

    4) Negotiating Better Terms and Contracts For Yourself: What You Need To Know

    ** – These two have already been delivered one or more times, and the presentation kits are on my blog site (MovingSQL.com). IF accepted, I would probably spruce them up some more.

  • Actually, I get new ideas for presentations and articles all the time, I just forget them all the time too (ADD is a b####). That’s actually why I started my Blog. So I could use it as a place to quickly drop the fragments of complete ideas that I have before I forget them again. You might have noticed how disjointed and incomplete my blog articles are, well that’s the reason why.

    One of the things that I have noticed is that many people who have no trouble with this at the local level, can’t seem to find anything worthwhile for a big time convention. Apparently they are worried about impressing the reviewers and/or crowd at this higher level, so they feel compelled to come up with more difficult, sophisticated and/or original stuff.

    The irony is that not only does this make it harder to come up with “acceptable” ideas, but it also narrows their potential audience. All of the convention organizers that I have talked to, big and small, have told me that aside from the big names (Delaney, IBG, etc.), the sell-out sessions are usually the 100 & 200 level stuff: Basic “How-To’s”, etc.

    Also, I have found that SQL Server is so BIG, that virtually every DBA and SQL developer has a list of things that they would like to know or get into, but they just can’t seem to get started. So that’s where I try to focus, and just not worry about impressing anyone (of course, *I* am not an MVP, or have a couple of books, or am well-known anywhere outside of SSC, 🙂 ).

    Anyway, here are some of this ideas that I came up with recently, that I am not planning to use. Any of you folks are welcome to them:

    XML: Basic XPath addressing (no good guides that I know of)
    XML: What it’s good for, why you should know it & use it
    XML: Stupid XQuery/flowr tricks

    Table-Valued Parameters(TVPs):
    – Table transform functions: TVFs that take TVPs and manipulate them

    Emulating Oracle Transportable Tablespaces in SQL Server

    Using the Default Trace For Fun & Profit

    Investigating Server-wide Performance Problems in SS2Kx.

    DBA’s Guide to Getting Starting with Analysis Services
    (or SQL Developer’s Guide)

    DBA’s Guide to Getting Starting with Integration Services
    (or SQL Developer’s Guide)

    DBA’s Guide to Getting Starting with Reporting Services
    (or SQL Developer’s Guide)

  • If I do submit I will probably submit my Getting Started With Profiler session I have already done a couple of times and then do a follow up on server side tracing which would include some information on the Default Trace.

    I wish I knew XPath/Xquery better so I could do something on that.

    I know that on my blog the most frequently viewed posts are about SSIS about which I know just enough to be dangerous.

  • scarydba

    Yeah, I’d like to give one on XML too, but it aint’ going to happen. The two I have are execution plans, of course, and VSTS:DB. I gave the VSTS :DB one last year, but I’ve completely updated it since then, tossing all the non-GDR slides now that the GDR is out and fully functional.

    The one I’m working through in my head… I almost don’t want to share it, but I’m going to submit one on query tuning and monitoring through DMV/DMF’s. It’s not going to be a general one on DMV’s but instead focus on what you can do to capture information for tuning.

    Now, no MVP’s had better steal this idea. I’m not called Scary for nothing.

  • Jack, I think that YOU should look at the Default Trace topic. It’s an incredibly useful facility that at least half of the DBA’s out there don’t even realize exists. Just look at the kind of questions on SSC that you can answer with it, “If it was running”, otherwise you have to say “It can’t be done.”
    Who dropped this table?
    What happened to the trigger that I wrote yesterday?
    How can I find out what happened during the security breach?
    What was going on just before the server crashed?

    It’s a gold mine of emergency information, so long as the DBA just does not turn it off. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about it. If only I knew someone who did… 🙂

  • Grant: “I can’t go to Tech-Ed this year but I’m curious, when and where did they put up a request for proposals.”

    They don’t. At least SA and Europe don’t. You get invited to speak at TechEd, you don’t apply.
    I don’t know the full details, even of the local one, but from what I gather, MS has a list of ‘qualified speakers’ and they invite off that, plus MVPs plus internal MS staff.
    It may be different in the US, that’s for the South African one.

  • scarydba

    Well that sure explains why, when I tried to find the application forms I couldn’t. Oh well. It’s not like I’d get in anyway, but I wanted to try nonetheless.

  • “The one I’m working through in my head… I almost don’t want to share it, but I’m going to submit one on query tuning and monitoring through DMV/DMF’s.
    Now, no MVP’s had better steal this idea. I’m not called Scary for nothing.”

    🙁 Scratch that idea…

    Barry: Good point on the 100 and 200. That’s exactly what I’m planning for TechEd (If I’m asked to speak there), two sessions, one 100, one 200 on indexing, starting right from “What is an index”

  • scarydba

    Ah, and while sitting in Jack’s session at PASS in November I can irritate every person in sight saying, “I was there when he decided to do this.”

  • “You Gail, you can steal it if you want to. You’ll do it more justice than I will anyway”

    I can probably do a different slant on the topic. If you’re going to focus on using the plan cache to get info for tuning, I can focus more on using the cache to see how the server as a whole is running. More monitoring than tuning and high level rather than detailed.

  • I think that’s the one I worked with the most.

    The presentation I had in mind was mostly around Query_Stats, Cached_Plans, Query_Memory_Grants and a couple more related ones.

  • scarydba

    You should go for it. I think we’re going to cross-over some. I was looking at query_stats, cached_plans, missing indexes, and index usage. You’re looking at monitoring and tuning the server, I’m looking at monitoring and tuning procedures. I think they’re different enough we could literally run back to back and put on a heck of a show.

    No chainsaws… too messy & slow anyway.

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