Speaking

Consider this the outtakes from my previous post about speaking at SQL Saturday.

It took a while for me to build up the courage to finally get up in the front of a room at SQL Saturday. As I mentioned in my prior post, I did quite a bit of studying of other peoples’ sessions, read peoples’ studies of other peoples’ sessions (Grant Fritchey’s “Speaker of the Month” series) and talked to a few people at the speakers’ dinner. Here are a few of the key things I learned which put me more at ease.

That is the first and last Katy Perry reference you will find on this blog or anywhere else in my life.

Last weekend I spoke at the 4th edition of my “home” SQL Saturday, SQL Saturday #383. This was the end of a path that started four years ago, and the beginning of an exciting new one.

About four years ago, I was introduced to PASS. It didn’t take long for people to start talking to me about public speaking. I went to my first-ever SQL Saturday, and kept thinking to myself “I could never do that.” Then I was given the opportunity to attend PASS Summit 2012 and was hooked on the PASS community - SQL Family. I stepped onto the floor at the convention center and felt comfortable immediately. I think my exact words when I called home that evening were “I’m home. I found my people.” Mid-Summit, in a 10-minute conversation with a chapter leader, I was told “you should speak at one of my user group meetings.”

Slides & demos from my SQL Saturday Rochester presentation “Easing into Scripting with Windows PowerShell” have been posted on the SQL Saturday site.

Thank you to everyone who came out for my session and all of SQL Saturday!

On Thursday, February 26th I presented “Easing Into Windows PowerShell” to a packed house at the Rochester SQL Server User Group meeting. Thanks to Matt Slocum (blog | twitter) for being my semi-official photographer.

Presenting Easing Into Windows PowerShell at the Rochester SQL Server User Group February 26, 2015

We set a chapter attendance record! I had a lot of fun presenting this (my first time speaking outside my company) and we had some great conversations during and after the meeting.

On Thursday, February 26th at 6:00 PM EST I will be speaking at the Rochester PASS chapter meeting. The topic is “Easing Into PowerShell - What’s It All About?”.

You’ve been hearing a lot about Windows PowerShell, but you’re wondering if it’s something you should be looking into. In this introductory session, we’ll talk about what PowerShell is, where it came from, how it works, and what it can do for you. Whether you’re a junior DBA or seasoned veteran, you’ll find something that PowerShell can help you do easier.