Upcoming speaking engagements (as of 10/26/2021) #ProfessionalDevelopment #PASSDataCommunitySummit #PASSSummit @SWEtalk #WELocal #Networking #SQLFamily

Since my last speaker's update, two of my conferences are in the books, one is upcoming in just a couple of weeks (!!!), and a couple of potential new conferences may be upcoming for me. First, I'll talk about the two conferences I did. Data Saturday #13, Minnesota: I spoke for this group last year, …

User testing is important — for documentation

Any application developer will (and should) tell you how important end user testing is for their product development. It's an important part of the development lifecycle. Developers need to know if their applications actually work, if they work the way they're intended, and if their interfaces can actually be used. Without user testing, developers put …

Keeping documentation simple

In my presentations, I preach that keeping it simple is key to effective technical communication. It takes effort to read (you can write this on my gravestone: reading is work!), and the less you make someone work, the more effective the document will be. However, keeping things simple is easier said than done. Taking a …

Lack of language command doesn’t have to be an impediment to presenting

As someone who is a child of immigrants, I understand and appreciate the travails of anyone who is new to this country and struggles with the English language. Indeed, English can be a very screwy language, with a plethora of archaic rules such as "i before e" and so on. I remember my Korean mother …

Reminder: I’m speaking on Wednesday, October 20 #TechCon2021

I will be speaking at the Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage TechCon 2021 on Wednesdauy, October 20, at 3:45 pm EDT. I will do my session about how to talk the language of technology to those who don't understand it, called "Whacha just say?!?" This is the same presentation that I gave this past Saturday at Data …

Reminder: I’m speaking tomorrow! #DataSaturday #SQLSaturday #Networking

I will be speaking at Data Saturday #13, Minnesota tomorrow (Saturday, October 16)! I will do my presentation on talking the language of technology to non-techies! I am scheduled to speak at 4:30 pm EDT. Hope to see you there!

The myth that technical communication is a soft skill

I've said many times -- and I still continue to preach this -- that technical communication is likely the least respected of technical professions. There are very few things that piss me off more than any technical manager or developer who says, "we're all done with the code. We have ten minutes left. Let's write …

Upcoming speaking engagements (as of 10/4/2021) #ProfessionalDevelopment #TechCon21 #PASSDataCommunitySummit #DataSaturday #SQLSaturday #Networking #SQLFamily

I've had quite a bit of movement in my speaking engagements list in the past few months! Here are my scheduled speaking engagements that are coming up. And I'll admit that I'm posting this as a reminder to myself as much as anything else! Confirmed I am confirmed to be speaking at the following events. …

October CASSUG Monthly Meeting #Networking @CASSUG_Albany #SQLServer #UserGroups

Greetings, data enthusiasts! Our October meeting will again be online. NOTE: you MUST RSVP to this Meetup at https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Area-SQL-Server-User-Group/events/281203246/ to view the Zoom URL! Our October speaker is Josephine Bush! Topic: SQL Auditing Our online meeting schedule is as follows: 6:00: General chat, discussion, and announcements6:30: Presentation We usually wrap up between 7:30 PM and …