It’s Thursday morning, and I’m still riding the wave after a fantastic SQL Saturday in Madison, WI. Of course, it was my very first time presenting a session, which made it all the more memorable.
We were in a new facility this year – American Family Insurance has a training facility as part of their larger campus, and it did not disappoint. The facility was beautiful! Loved the classrooms and the on-site equipment was nice and reliable.
For my own presentation, I wasn’t terribly many people, since I was up against Brent Ozar. Truth be told, I was perfectly okay with this. But I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that as fellow Speakers learned that it was my first time speaking, they committed to attending. In some regards, their presence and subsequent feedback was more valuable to me as a first-timer. On the other hand, maybe 10 or so people did come out to see me – yes, see ME! What a funny feeling that is!
I’m happy to say that my presentation went very well. I did my best to watch my pacing and not speak too fast as I am sometimes apt to do.
I did have one minor demo goof-up, when querying a DMV and getting 4 records back unexpectedly instead of one. I rolled with it and 30 seconds later realized my mistake – I was still in the Master DB! Oops! Some of the other more seasoned speakers commended me on handling that like a pro.
One other funny anecdote, was when Jim Drame asked if I was going to bring up Page Splitting after my Data Page segement. Why yes Jim, in fact it’s coming up in another two modules! Score! 🙂
In the end, I got some fantastic feedback. What made me feel really good though, were feedback sheets from normal participants who said they’d be taking some of my tips & tricks back with them to work. I’m actually excited to tweak the presentation and give it again – that’s how much fun I had!
So yeah, I’m addicted. 🙂
Gushing aside, I cannot thank the organizers of SQL Saturday Madison enough, for giving me this opportunity to try my hand at speaking. They put together a fantastic event and I look forward to attending more in years to come!
Every Byte Counts 