SQLAuthority News – TechED 2011 – Bangalore – An Unforgettable Experience – Day 0

Read my complete experience series of TechEd 2011, Bangalore

TechED 2011 – Bangalore – An Unforgettable Experience – Day 0
TechED 2011 – Bangalore – An Unforgettable Experience – Day 1
TechED 2011 – Bangalore – An Unforgettable Experience – Day 2
TechED 2011 – Bangalore – An Unforgettable Experience – Day 3
TechED 2011 – Bangalore – An Unforgettable Experience – Day Next

TechEd India is one of the best technology events in India. The venue was Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bangalore. The three-day event ran from March 23 to March 25, 2011, and it was my third TechEd.

My First TechEd in 2009

I presented on SQL Server Management Studio Tricks and Tips.

My Second TechEd in 2010

I presented three topics: 1) MDS, 2) Spatial Database, and 3) Database Myths, and I also took part in a panel discussion on Blogging.

My Third TechEd in 2011

This time, I presented two level 400 sessions: 1) Extended Events and 2) Wait Types and Queues.

Instead of writing about what happened at TechEd, I am going to write about what I did there. I am sure you will enjoy reading it.

Session Selections and Preparation

Every speaker knew their sessions several months in advance, and I started preparing from that day on. I will write a separate post on how I prepared them. Here were the major milestones in my preparation:

• Two long discussions about my two sessions with Database Technology Evangelist Vinod Kumar (he is currently the Technology Specialist at the Microsoft Technology Center).
• Vinod and I went through 3-4 revisions of the session outlines.
• I studied Extended Events for more than a month to understand the whole technology.
• I wrote a month-long series on wait types and queues and learned the subject in depth.
• I spent hours creating slides. Each deck had more than 40 slides: 15 for the presentation and 25 kept as backup reference.
• I did not rehearse my speech word for word, but I tested my scripts 2-3 times a day until the last moment.
• These people helped me prepare the sessions in many ways:
  • Vinod Kumar helped me at every single level: session reviews, flow reviews, additional resources, pre-session feedback, post-session feedback and much more.
  • Govind Kanshi gave me key input for the presentations and the opportunity to work with a real client for extra insight.
  • Jacob Sebastian took my sessions and studied them diligently. If something unavoidable had kept me from presenting, he was ready to step in as the backup speaker.

I also created one more presentation, on T-SQL Tricks and Tips, just in case of an emergency. So I was ready with three sessions in total.

Day 0 – March 22, 2011

I went to the hotel at 12.00 PM and checked all the locations and the stage where the database track was going to happen. I joined Vinod Kumar and learned so many things about the preparation that happens the day before. We tested all the audio and video, as well as the stage locations, and we were there until late evening. I ran all my demos one more time on Day 0. When I reached home, it was already 10.00 PM, and I practiced my session demos yet again. By the time I went to bed, it was around 2.00 AM. I set three alarms to wake up at 5.00 AM, as I had to leave home at 6.00 AM to reach the venue.

Published by Pinal Dave on SQLAuthority. More of my work at pinaldave.com.