New to SQL Saturday? Read on.

I came to SQL Saturday Denver  this year as an attendee and a speaker, and not (as with most events) as an attendee + speaker + sponsor. So I had a lot more time to just, you know, ATTEND the conference.

First, of course, the Denver gang does a great job. No doubt.

But I really wanted to talk about the experience of these events, for those who’ve never been to a SQL Saturday before.

SQL Saturday – “Free, high quality, 1-day, SQL Server Training events.”

So first, you find your local SQL Saturday, and register. For free. No problem. You’ll get a couple of emails before the event, which will give you reminders and updates.

Showing up

Day of, you show up at the event and check in. Usually you’ll get a map, schedule, and/or bag o swag (loot). Maybe there’s a keynote to start the day, or some welcome remarks. Or, maybe the event will just jump right into sessions.

Look over the schedule. Sometimes, you’ll have a hard time choosing between two or more really good sessions. While I will say “good luck with that”, lots of speakers will upload their slide deck and/or example code to the SQL Saturday’s schedule page. Plus, pretty much all of them (us) are on social media or blogs, so you can see when they’ll be presenting again.

On choosing sessions

It really can be tough to choose your sessions wisely. There are great speakers, decent speakers, speakers that just don’t teach the way you like, speakers that will reveal the truths of the universe to you with a single phrase…it’s all over the board, and that’s the way it should be.

You can do yourself some real good by reading the session abstracts before you choose. With any luck, the presenter will have done a good job communicating the course in those few words. But of course, this isn’t a foolproof method.

The best way to get a sense of what sessions will work for you, frankly, is to attend a lot of sessions! Over time, you develop a feel for what works for you, who your favorite speakers are, and so on. Until then, rely on abstracts and recommendations from others…including the SQL Saturday volunteers and speakers themselves!

More than just presentations

Sometimes, you won’t see any session that interests you during a time slot. No big deal, you have options!

• Hang out in the registration area and talk to people.
• Visit the vendors to find out what they do, and drop in your raffle tickets.
• Duck into a session or two, just to see if your expectations were wrong. It’s not a bad idea to get some exposure to topics outside your usual interests.
• Hang around for lunch, maybe, and talk to other attendees. “What’ve you seen that’s good today?” and so on.

There’s often an after-party, which is usually announced in email, and in the opening and/or closing ceremonies. If you don’t hear about it, just ask the registration desk.

Community, and etiquette

If you haven’t been to user group meetings, virtual meetings, or hung out much on Twitter in the SQL-sphere, you might not know what to expect from people. In fact, you might be surprised.

Speakers. Love. Talking.

Most speakers, volunteers, and sponsors are absolutely delighted to answer questions, point you to people and resources, whatever. Don’t be shy about talking to people at SQL Saturdays.

In exchange, you can do a few things that’ll make the experience better for everybody:

• Put your phone on vibrate. Please.
• Respect the speaker’s time during sessions. If your speaker is open to comments and questions, they’ll usually say so. A few folk don’t like to be interrupted during their session, or have a lot of material to get through, so just pay attention to the mood if you have more than a few questions in a session.
• Fill out evaluation forms. Speakers LOVE getting feedback, and so do event organizers…as long as it’s on topic and constructive. Examples of things that aren’t helpful to speakers include “the room was too warm” (talk to the organizers), “you should smile more” (come on, I didn’t ask you to shake hands with the folks next to you or anything), and “this session sucked” (okay fine, but in what way, attendee?).

So the major takeaways from all of this are, these events are free, and very worthwhile to attend. Any questions?