SQL Server Sleuth

My rehearsal this morning went really well. Not in terms of my delivery, but rather in the great feedback that I received and my own ideas for improvement that it generated.

I want to thank Patrick LeBlanc (blog, Twitter) again for helping me to pull off the rehearsal on such short notice! I look forward to returning as a SQL Lunch presenter in the not-too-distant future.

When I gave the SQLDiag presentation on the 21st, there was good response to the recently added case study and it was suggested that I increase its role in the talk. Mike McKinney also made a great observation: I’m spending too much time describing the configuration of SQLDiag (overall, but especially before showing the end result of using it). In other words, I need to firmly establish the value of these tools before delving into the mechanics of their usage. His point made so much sense and I’m grateful for the insight.

I made a lot of changes based on those suggestions, which were put into play for the first time this morning. They made a huge difference, but it did lead to some continuity issues and glitches.

Another friend from the user group, David Stein (blog, Twitter), provided some very detailed and helpful constructive criticism. I also received emails with good ideas from Steve Jones (blog, Twitter), Tim Mitchell (blog, Twitter), and Vic Prabhu (Twitter). The following points, which ring true, were raised by one or more of them:

• I need to work on my demeanor. Apparently it takes five to ten minutes for me to warm up and start to seem comfortable and confident
• I should significantly cut back the introduction section
• I’m switching between windows too often, giving a choppy feel to the talk
• I need to speed up/cut back on the content. I’m still running out of time long before I cover everything
• I’m spending too long on the troubleshooting methodology at the expense of demonstrating the tools and techniques
• I need more practice

I have blocked out at least an hour for each of the next three days for solo rehearsals. I am also making the following adjustments (some based on audience feedback, others based on my own evaluation):

• I’m reducing the introduction section considerably. People can read the slides and check out this blog to learn more about me. Also, my credibility will be established by the presentation’s content (I don’t need to sell myself based on the number of instances I help support in Terremark’s Highly Managed Hosting environment). Besides, when somebody chooses to attend my session it is because they already have the presumption that my information is reliable and will hold value for them
• I’m trimming down the coverage on troubleshooting methodology quite a bit. I did classify this session as being at the "intermediate" skill level—the audience members should already understand the importance of having a formal process and it will take less for them to adapt mine to their needs
• The PAL demonstration will now precede working with SQL Nexus. It will flow better, plus this is actually the order I follow when applying these techniques in the field
• I will work the demonstration of the RML Utilities back in and explain the way that this tool and SQL Nexus complement each other
• I plan to move the "’Strategies’ to Avoid" slide to the end of the presentation. If I run out of time, it is the best material to sacrifice
• I have several improvements for the case study
• I am considering printing out (and distributing to the audience before the session) the three Microsoft Word documents: "Troubleshooting Methodologies," "Troubleshooting Checklist," and "Case Study"

I feel really good about giving this at PASS!