I’ve previously blogged about why Speaker Idol is such a great opportunity: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/robv/archive/2015/09/28/pass-speaker-idol-2015.aspx

…and have shared my notes and feedback from the first time I’ve participated: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/robv/archive/2015/10/24/notes-from-speaker-idol-2014.aspx

…and my good friend Shabnam wrote about her experience in 2016: https://shabnamwatson.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/pass-summit-speaker-idol-2016/

…and for those interested you can see the Speaker Idol 2015 presentations on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLoGAcXKPcRvbJ5ge4J2DHSleRy4OjSlJw&v=Koz-2S3sPso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLoGAcXKPcRvbJ5ge4J2DHSleRy4OjSlJw&v=83sj1ZMp6vs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLoGAcXKPcRvbJ5ge4J2DHSleRy4OjSlJw&v=SpYTZ2GCVWI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLoGAcXKPcRvbJ5ge4J2DHSleRy4OjSlJw&v=q5cDX_eHa-I

The 2016 Speaker Idol videos are available on the PASS Summit recordings package for purchase or download from PASS. If you attended Summit that year you should be able to view them. Also check with your local SQL user group, if they are a PASS Chapter they probably have the videos available.

Denny Cherry has a video chat for contestants with a lot of great advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZRqn9V9JSQ

...and there's also this really helpful commentary by some previous judges: https://youtu.be/Lz_4BTsI3i4

If all of this seems overwhelming, don’t be alarmed! There’s a few key things I’d recommend focusing on that have helped me and others:

• The 5 minute time frame is the killer feature of Speaker Idol. The more attention you pay to meeting this limit the better you’ll do
• Aim your rehearsal to hit between 4:30 – 5:00, 4:45 is best. This leaves some buffer time for you to handle unforeseen circumstances or technical difficulties.
• Don’t go below 4:30 when you actually present, you can add a summary or a simple item to fill the remaining time instead.

As a rehearsal aid, or even as your presentation method, consider the Ignite Talk format:  http://www.ignitetalks.io/

Ignite talks are 5 minutes (the length for Speaker Idol presentations) but the slides automatically advance every 15 seconds (20 slides total). It’s a great format to help with timing, and it keeps the presentation flowing. You can always tweak your timing (either duplicate a slide you need more time for, or simply adjust as needed as long as you end at 5 minutes). If nothing else it’s a good starting point if you’re adjusting a longer presentation or starting fresh with new material.

• Zoomit!

If you really dig into the advice and videos you’ll think that using ZoomIt or similar tools is clichéd and taken for granted. It’s not. Slide visibility is a consistent complaint at PASS Summit and you DO NOT want to be the lone Speaker Idol contestant with small fonts. I prefer NOT using ZoomIt. I increase the PowerPoint font sizes, and install SSMS 2016 or higher which has built-in zooming and presentation modes. I also avoid using laser pointers, instead using some underlining, color highlights or basic animation to emphasize something on the slides. Shabnam’s blog has some advice on font sizes that you should follow.

• Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse!

Like the old saying “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”, practice makes perfect. If you read my blog notes from 2014, I did much better in my 2nd round because I took a few hours to run through my presentation entirely for timing (and just before the final round too!) If you’re worried that the presentation may become rote or stale from multiple deliveries, I’m confident that it won’t, because you’ll have an audience and you will react differently in their presence. The rehearsal is there to make you comfortable with the material and the timing. It also protects you against technical difficulties, because:

• Handling and recovering gracefully from mishaps counts in your favor

I had microphone difficulties in 2015 but I moved forward through the presentation despite them, and the judges were complimentary about it. The winner for Speaker Idol 2016, Peter Kral, had a serious technical issue crop up in his first round. He modified his presentation in the Final round to avoid the problem, and he won!

Handling problems is an important skill to have in all facets of life. This is where rehearsal comes in; you should actually rehearse UNTIL you encounter a technical difficulty, so you learn how to deal with it.

Also, if you can present at a user group or SQL Saturday event that offers Lightning Talks, do so! SQL Saturday Oregon is scheduled the weekend prior to PASS Summit, and they offer a Lightning Talk slot for speakers. This is a great way to shake out any last bugs in front of an audience and to get feedback from them.

Finally, you should especially take time to rehearse at PASS Summit in the session room where Speaker Idol will be held. If you get to Seattle before Wednesday you should be able to check the room out, and possibly rehearse or at least walk around the stage to get the feel of it. This has been an invaluable help to me and I’ve done it every time I’ve participated. At the very least you should do a technical check of your laptop with the video and audio connections.  This is the last “unknown” factor in your presentation, and the easiest and last way you have to fix it before the big event. As long as security doesn’t throw you out, stay there and practice as long as you can!

• Attend as many Speaker Idol sessions as you can

Even if it’s not your turn, you’ll get preliminary feedback from the judges and can tweak your presentation beforehand, because you should:

• Incorporate all feedback you get from the judges

I can personally vouch for this as it got me to second place in 2014. You can also see its effect in David Maxwell’s presentation in 2015, which contributed to his ultimately winning that year. Which brings me to:

• Wildcard candidates have the same chance as first-round winners!

The 2015 Speaker Idol winner was a wildcard, and I placed 2nd as a wildcard in 2014. There have also been dropouts each year Speaker Idol has been held (and some last-minute replacements for 2017), so your chances of advancing are much better than would first appear. Don’t accept lack of placement after the first rounds as a failure; you never know what might happen, and even if you don’t advance:

• You spoke at PASS Summit. Congratulations!

This is the most important aspect of Speaker Idol, regardless of who wins. 400-500 people submitted to speak at PASS Summit in 2017, less than 200 were chosen, and probably only 100 if you exclude Microsoft speakers. At least 6 non-finalists have spoken or will be speaking at PASS Summit since presenting at Speaker Idol.

As I said previously, it’s a no-lose situation. Congratulations and good luck to all Speaker Idol 2017 contestants!

-Rob

Below is a tale that occurs somewhat frequently (in my humble experience anyway), I’ve changed some of the details so as not to embarrass anyone besides myself. Any resemblance to actual data models, living or dead, is really unfortunate.

(Yes, the excessive code is deliberate)

I really love ice cream!

I decided to open my own ice cream parlor and design the database I'd need to support it:

CREATE TABLE IceCream(IceCreamID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, IceCreamName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

Naturally we need to support some accessories:

CREATE TABLE IceCreamToppings(IceCreamToppingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, IceCreamToppingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

And of course we need data:

INSERT IceCream(IceCreamName) VALUES ('vanilla'),('chocolate'),('strawberry'),('Neopolitano'),('pistachio'),('mint chocolate chip');
INSERT IceCreamToppings(IceCreamToppingName) VALUES ('chocolate sprinkles'),('candy sprinkles'),('chocolate chips'),
('blueberry sauce'),('whipped cream'),('butterscotch'),('m&ms'),('oreo crumbles');

Business took off into the stratosphere!

My customers also love putting ice cream on breakfast foods, so I offered pancakes and waffles!

CREATE TABLE Pancakes(PancakeID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, PancakeName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE PancakeToppings(PancakeToppingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, PancakeToppingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE Waffles(WaffleID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, WaffleName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE WaffleToppings(WaffleToppingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, WaffleToppingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

INSERT Pancakes(PancakeName) VALUES ('Homemade'),('frozen');
INSERT Waffles(WaffleName) VALUES ('Belgian'),('Eggo round'),('Eggo Square');
INSERT PancakeToppings(PancakeToppingName) VALUES ('chocolate chips'),('blueberries'),('blueberry sauce'),('maple syrup'),('apples'),('cinnamon sugar'),('powdered sugar');
INSERT WaffleToppings(WaffleToppingName) VALUES ('chocolate chips'),('blueberries'),('blueberry sauce'),('maple syrup'),('apples'),('cinnamon sugar'),('powdered sugar');

WOW!

They loved this so much I started offering other breakfast options:

CREATE TABLE Omelettes(OmeletteID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, OmeletteName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE OmeletteStuffings(OmeletteStuffingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, OmeletteStuffingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

INSERT Omelettes(OmeletteName) VALUES ('whole eggs'),('egg whites');
INSERT OmeletteStuffings(OmeletteStuffingName) VALUES ('sausage'),('mushrooms'),('green peppers'),('ham'),('spinach'),('feta cheese'),('onion'),('red peppers');

And then lunch offerings soon followed:

CREATE TABLE Pizza(PizzaID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, PizzaName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE PizzaToppings(PizzaToppingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, PizzaToppingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

CREATE TABLE Burgers(BurgerID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, BurgerName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE BurgerToppings(BurgerToppingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, BurgerToppingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

CREATE TABLE Sandwiches(SandwichID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, SandwichName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE SandwichToppings(SandwichToppingID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, SandwichToppingName nvarchar(255) NOT NULL);

INSERT Pizza(PizzaName) VALUES ('deep dish'),('sicilian'),('regular');
INSERT PizzaToppings(PizzaToppingName) VALUES ('pepperoni'),('sausage'),('mushrooms'),('green peppers'),('ham'),('spinach'),('feta cheese'),('onion'),('pineapple');
INSERT Burgers(BurgerName) VALUES ('beef'),('kobe'),('angus'),('turkey'),('chicken');
INSERT BurgerToppings(BurgerToppingName) VALUES ('bacon'),('mayo'),('mustard'),('lettuce'),('tomato'),('red onion'),('white onion'),('sauteed onion'),('mushrooms'),('sauteed mushrooms'),('pickles');
INSERT Sandwiches(SandwichName) VALUES ('roast beef'),('ham'),('turkey'),('pastrami'),('baloney');
INSERT SandwichToppings(SandwichToppingName) VALUES ('bacon'),('mayo'),('mustard'),('lettuce'),('tomato'),('red onion'),('white onion'),('sauteed onion'),('mushrooms'),('sauteed mushrooms'),('pickles');

And then, my business went international!

People wanted my food, but didn't speak English, so I offered translations for everything:

CREATE TABLE IceCreamToppingsTranslation(LanguageID int NOT NULL, IceCreamToppingID int NOT NULL, TranslatedText nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE WaffleToppingsTranslation(LanguageID int NOT NULL, WaffleToppingID int NOT NULL, TranslatedText nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE PancakeToppingsTranslation(LanguageID int NOT NULL, PancakeToppingID int NOT NULL, TranslatedText nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE PizzaToppingsTranslation(LanguageID int NOT NULL, PizzaToppingID int NOT NULL, TranslatedText nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL);
CREATE TABLE BurgerToppingsTranslation(LanguageID int NOT NULL, BurgerToppingID int NOT NULL, TranslatedText nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL);
-- repeat ad nauseum

And then...

"This design is ridiculous! And it will only get worse as time goes on! No one in their right mind 
would ever do such a thing!" (edited to remove excessive but totally justified profanity) 

Well, they would. They did. **

"Bull----! How did it get like this?" 

Well, that's kinda the thing. I started small, and added stuff. It's easy and natural, and fairly sensible as long as things stay small. Unfortunately as things grew I never went back to look at what's there and question whether this is the "right" way or if there's a better way. This became technical debt and the effort needed to change it was insurmountable.

"Here's a good take on technical debt:" https://medium.com/@MostlyHarmlessD/on-technical-debt-7bac65edf349 

It describes the reasoning/mentality around these decisions, with much of it focused on time constraints. Portia calls this "5 minute/5 second design" and curses everyone's lack of foresight (when she's in a bad mood). ***

Well Portia, how would you fix it?

"Like this:" 

CREATE TABLE FoodTypes(FoodTypeID int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, FoodType nvarchar(64) NOT NULL);
INSERT FoodTypes(FoodType) VALUES(N'Ice Cream'),(N'Pancakes'),(N'Waffles'),(N'Omelettes'),(N'Pizza'),(N'Burgers'),(N'Sandwiches');

CREATE TABLE Foods(FoodID int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, FoodTypeID int NOT NULL, Food nvarchar(64) NOT NULL);
INSERT Foods(FoodTypeID,Food) 
VALUES(1,N'Vanilla'),(1,N'Chocolate'),(1,N'Strawberry') -- Ice cream
,(2,N'Homemade'),(2,N'Frozen') -- Pancakes
,(3,N'Belgian'),(3,N'Eggo Round'),(3,N'Eggo Square') -- Waffles
,(4,N'Whole Eggs'),(4,N'Egg Whites') -- Omelettes
,(5,N'Deep Dish'),(5,N'Sicilian'),(5,N'Regular');  -- Pizza

CREATE TABLE FoodExtras(FoodExtraID int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, FoodTypeID int NOT NULL, FoodExtraName nvarchar(64) NOT NULL);
INSERT FoodExtras(FoodTypeID,FoodExtraName) 
VALUES(1,N'Chocolate sprinkles'),(1,N'Candy sprinkles'),(1,N'Chocolate chips'),(1,N'Blueberry sauce') -- Ice cream toppings
,(2,N'Chocolate chips'),(2,N'Blueberries'),(2,N'Blueberry sauce'),(2,N'Maple syrup') -- Pancake toppings
,(3,N'Chocolate chips'),(3,N'Blueberries'),(3,N'Blueberry sauce'),(3,N'Maple syrup') -- Waffle toppings
,(4,N'Sausage'),(4,N'Mushrooms'),(4,N'Green Peppers'),(4,N'Ham') -- Omelette stuffings
,(5,N'Pepperoni'),(5,N'Sausage'),(5,N'Mushrooms'),(5,N'Green Peppers'),(5,N'Ham'); -- Pizza toppings

CREATE TABLE FoodExtraTranslations(FoodExtraID int NOT NULL, LanguageID int NOT NULL, TranslatedText nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL);
INSERT FoodExtraTranslations(FoodExtraID,LanguageID,TranslatedText)
VALUES(1,1031,N'German Chocolate Sprinkles'),(1,1036,N'French Chocolate Sprinkles')
,(2,1031,N'German Candy Sprinkles'),(1,1036,N'French Candy Sprinkles')
,(13,1031,N'Sausage auf Deutsch'),(13,1036,N'Sausage au français');

She continued:

"If this looks suspiciously like the dreaded Entity-Attribute-Value model, that's because it is. 
There are definite disadvantages to EAV, but for this particular case it's a reasonable option to support 
this data. The biggest advantage is that no new structure is required; your data becomes row-based rather than 
table-based. If you get a new type of food, you just add a row to the FoodTypes table, then the associated rows 
for extras and their translations. You'll probably wonder why Food and FoodExtras are separate, and they really 
don't have to be. I'll leave that redesign for you to figure out, you're not paying me enough for that." 

But I can't rewrite all my application code! They're expecting tables named Waffles, Pancakes, etc. and it's too much work to change it!

"Oh give me a ------- break! Just create views with the same name that only SELECT those rows:" 

CREATE VIEW Pancakes(PancakeID,PancakeName) AS SELECT FoodID, Food FROM Foods WHERE FoodTypeID=2 WITH CHECK OPTION; -- Pancakes
GO
CREATE VIEW Waffles(WaffleID,WaffleName) AS SELECT FoodID, Food FROM Foods WHERE FoodTypeID=3 WITH CHECK OPTION; -- Waffles
GO
CREATE VIEW Pizza(PizzaID,PizzaName) AS SELECT FoodID, Food FROM Foods WHERE FoodTypeID=5 WITH CHECK OPTION; -- Pizza
GO

"And if you're doing things correctly, you're calling a stored procedure to do all your INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE operations, 
those can be modified easily:" 

CREATE PROCEDURE AddFood @foodType int, @foodName nvarchar(64) AS
INSERT Foods(FoodTypeID,Food) VALUES(@foodType,@foodName);
GO

ALTER PROCEDURE AddPizza @pizzaName nvarchar(64) AS
EXEC AddFood 5, @pizzaName;
-- original AddPizza code commented out now...
GO

Portia continued:

"BTW, you shouldn't hard-code your IDs either, but I'll let you fix that. And if you're doing it with ad-hoc SQL, 
or an ORM of some kind, you can still use the views if you add an INSTEAD OF trigger to handle INSERTs and UPDATEs. You're 
not paying me enough to do that either, but it's easy enough to write a code generator to do all that." 

Lessons Learned

If you can’t make or take the time to design them up front, take time every few months to review your table designs. If you see a lot of similar or identical tables, look to consolidate them. See if a row-based approach can be done. Also make sure to test performance, sometimes it may not improve with a new design.

But more importantly, TAKE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES to consider your database designs! It's too easy to "get it done right now" and leave it to someone else to fix later, if ever. Technical debt compounds faster than credit card debt.

** This is based on a model I've seen in my career, with about 130 "types" of things that all have an associated translation table attached.

*** And if you think that technical debt is unavoidable, or not that bad, consider working at Facebook: http://www.darkcoding.net/software/facebooks-code-quality-problem/

• Need a story about how (your presentation topic) saved you time or improved your job
• Mentioned great benefits (of presentation topic) without providing evidence or comparison
• Too much information for a 5 minute presentation
• Don't condense a 1 hour presentation to 5 minutes
• The faster you need to go, the slower you should talk (don't rush through explanation)
• Voice cut out when turning head away from microphone, turn whole body instead
• Test demos, make sure they don't fail
• Use scripts only, DO NOT TYPE CODE (typing is not the same as a demo)
• No bullets on slide template (plain formatting)
• Too many bullet points on slides
• Avoid using periods at end of bullet points (they aren't sentences)
• Small graphics on slides
• Good to paste code on slides to avoid needing SSMS, also good font and color for code
• Great time management with 23 seconds left (should finish between 4:30 and 5:00 minutes)
• Not sure what topic was about, need to make clear in beginning; not much meat in first 2 minutes
• Good to engage audience at beginning of 5 minute presentation ("ballsy" according to 1 judge, but not generally recommended)
• If asking question, be sure to answer/respond, repeat question for audio/audience, and repeat show of hands to audience
• Make sure images on your slides have proper attribution (author/source and license type), also for quotations/citations (several contestants were missing these)
• Good recovery from technical problems (projector, mouse/remote, audio, demo issues; 3 speakers were commended for this)
• Presentation felt like "Books Online"
• Presented on floor rather than podium
• ZoomIT use mostly poor (only 2 speakers had favorable comments, 3 had negative)
• Never really explained/defined the topic, rushed to demo after long intro, could have explained better within time limit
• Font and background color on slides hard to read (it was noted that slides were templates and presenter may not be able to change)
• Allow enough time for audience to read slides
• Don't repeat slides verbatim
• Good eye contact and gestures (not too big, not too small), good energy and enthusiasm
• Make sure to move with purpose, avoid moving without purpose
• Careful of posture and foot placement, don't rock on feet, don't lean against objects; don't put hands in pockets
• Presentation agenda was disjointed (should follow logical flow)
• Too much code on one slide, hard to read
• Wait for answers to questions (asked audience question and moved on too quickly)
• Laser pointer discipline, do not move it excessively, use as little as possible (more comments from me in future post)
• Engage audience before presentation if possible (say hello, ask questions)
• Inconsistent capitalization on slides
• Set up Top 5/Countdown but didn't emphasize during presentation
• Use SmartArt in Powerpoint for arrows and symbols on slides, rather than raster graphics
• Do not grip lectern, do not hold hands behind back, keep hands loose, use gestures, don't stand in one place
• Include quotations in quotation marks (make sure to include attribution)
• Do not wear anything that covers your face or a hat can cast shadows
• If you do an "About Me" slide, keep it short, include at end and have some contact info (email, Twitter)
• For a 5 minute presentation, don't have as much breadth, go into more depth on fewer items/topics (e.g. mention 3 utilities rather than 7 utilities)
• Including cost/benefit analysis was good touch
• Do not look at slides on projection screen, maintain eye contact with audience (know your slide sequence)
• Spell out term before using its acronym (TDE, PLE, etc.)
• Check text visibility especially when using predetermined slide template
• Do not repeat slides verbatim
• Be sure of technical details/facts (one slide had incorrect information) and level (including regedit was too deep for 5 mins)
• Command prompt font and background colors (default B&W not visible)

• Improved timing for several contestants
• Improved body movement & gestures
• Zoomit still needs work for some folks
• Still some ums/uhs
• Improved slides (fewer words, fewer bullets)

• Ran out of time, had several slides of material I didn't cover
• Um, uh in speech
• Stood in one spot
• Needs more humor
• Stood in front of PA speaker, caused muddy audio
• Wore microphone on lanyard, picked up fabric/jingly sounds
• Looked back at slides on projection screen too often

• To provide an opportunity for community speakers
• Who haven't yet presented a regular session at PASS Summit
• A chance to present to a panel of judges - like American Idol, but without singing. (Sadly. Or not.)
• For a guaranteed regular session at the next PASS Summit!

• You get a chance to present at Summit, even if you don't get to the final round
• You are getting free feedback from PASS Summit speakers
• Who know exactly how you feel up on the stage
• Who WANT to see you deliver a full session next year

Hope you enjoy it.