At first I thought it was a talk about hierarchies I wonder if you could make it a bit more obvious within the first few words? Id change it to: "You will be introduced to methods for protecting data at rest, from unauthorized users, and while in transport." (Flexible, vertical as well as horizontal scale.) Adam. Level: 100-200 These questions and more will be answered, with stories, with humor, and with experience (both good and bad)." I really liked the idea of crafting a great story with a positive beat in the abstract. Attend this talk to learn how to use Integration Services in SQL Server 2012 to help with common ETL tasks. To begin with, what is a session description? How about putting them together into a single sentence? But it never hurts to get a second check done. Ive reminded them of their problem. Otoh, now I selfishly want to request that you do a special 500-level version of this article entitled "Capturing Microsofts Attention: Writing Session Descriptions Specifically for TechEd". Start by reaffirming that the reader is the correct reader. But dont count on it. @Fatherjack: Looks like its fixed now. You must first sell it to the organizers. I feel lucky people even showed up to my sessions. You are selling a product: your session. And when I read your title, thats who I think its for. First of all, Im not sure I love the idea of mentioning "management" in two sentences in a row. I think the goals should be shown to attendees as well, when theyre perusing abstracts online. Your Session Description and the Relative Importance of its Component Parts. Now Ive answered several questions for the reader: In addition to answering these questions, Ive kept most of the tone active. Can you clarify? Thanks for the comments Adam. You probably write in English a lot better than I can write in your language, and I have massive respect for you, but youre still out of luck if your work cant be properly understood by English language audiences. Getting Service Broker and Event Notifications working for you will mean you can track changes and spot performance problems easily. Adam, What a great article for those of us who are just getting started, thank you so much! Dont leave me hanging. Thank you for helping out. @denise: Thanks I think the issue in the original sentence is the "you create." Youve set attendee expectations; make sure your actual session will live up to them. Are you sure most SSIS developers need to create hundreds or thousands of packages? Remember that most readers only look at a very small part of the story, the title, so make sure to spend plenty of time there. The sentence also runs on (I think its at least two sentences). Adam. Are these two sets of topics somehow different from each other? Make SQL Server Management Studio bark like a dog! To sell to the organizers, try to understand the mission of the event and fill appropriate gaps. Easy: In other words, relate to your audience, and let your audience know that you relate to them. If you dont, youre not looking hard enough. Now youve introduced a topic from the first sentence. But you wont attract them with pure geekery. You will learn why the SQL Service is a popular target on your network and how to defend against basic attacks. The tone, again, needs a bit of tweaking. The majority of attendees decide where to go based on the little printout or booklet they receive when they show up. Keep it short and sweet, and rewrite your title several times until you get that great one. After that, paste the abstract into the web form, hit Submit, and wait. It reads a bit awkwardly in my opinion. Very nice article!!! What do you think? And I havent used any jargon; remember, its a beginner-level talk. My goal is to talk less "at" the audience and more "with" them, but Im still learning how to make that happen. Title: Encrypt All the Things: A Walk Through Protecting Your Data with Encryption Likewise, for those of you who have questions I may not have covered above. You find the position of your dreams and decide to go for it but are unsure where to start. Adam, this post just became a must read and was saved in my favourite list already! The title is a side reference to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Moreover, its easy to miss something while creating these packages, and source/target metadata could change requiring you to recreate them (more months). Attendees will use your session description to decide whether they want to attend your session. Youll learn how to use parameters to change the layout of the data, as well as other exciting uses of these highly flexible controls. Select the right level with corresponding pre-reqs. "Back in the office on Monday morning youll find yourself armed with the knowledge and tools to start performance tuning right away! First off, great read, thanks for the post. Tell me about time savings, better and more reliable deployments, how much easier my life will be something! Ive been tossing this about in my brain for several months, submitted it to a couple SQL Saturdays with a different abstract, but only given it once. Adam, very nice job on writing this up I appreciate the experience, time, and effort you put into it. Can I still use it? Sure you can. The best defense is a good offence. Each database is made up of a lot of objects in different environments. Aside from that, looking good. Full rules here (link to blog). @Fatherjack: Audience participation and sharing of experiences is highly encouraged. Oftentimes the answer is nothing more than a yes or a no. Its okay to ask for an explanation if youve been rejected, but its also okay for the event to tell you that they dont have time to provide one. A good abstract should, in my opinion, be at least five or six sentences long. I think you should introduce BIML earlier in the abstract, as well as more directly call out problems that it will solve. A closer. These usually contain a schedule in a grid format, with only room enough for session titles. Use appropriate language for your audience target. .Net experience helpful. @Adam some great information here already. Title: The past selections should be models on future submissions. Do you feel alone, afraid, and in the dark when it comes to the servers in your environment? Your presentation should cover everything you said you were going to cover and, if your session description was properly worded, not much that you didnt mention. Audience participation Im actually delivering it the first time next weekend at SQLSat. Do you have a conclusion sentence? I hope that many, no, not many all speakers out there will realise that they are selling a product, as you said and are not "just presenting", because there is a lot of things that needs to be done before your presentation actually happens(especially true in large events, as you also pointed out!). YMMV I did listen and I replaced Tablix with the three controls that are based on the tablix. During your day, you are pushing database code for a release to some database server in some environment, the deployment does not work. T-SQL Throwdown: Is Your Team Ready to Take On Other Teams in a Game of SQL? The book that you wrote and we bought in 2007 is still on our desks, and in use. These are not necessarily conflicting purposes, but you should weigh each of them carefully before writing. Abstract: First sentence. Because it sounds like youre going to punch me in the face when I attend the session, and I dont like being punched in the face. Thanks for your post Adam. I just grabbed a real SQL Saturday abstract (on a different topic) and changed the words around. The problem this talk would helping the audience solve is how to make sure that databases and their data are available whenever users need them. Thank you for that insight and your time very much appreciated. Title : How to Automatically Generate Hundreds of SSIS Packages in a Very Short Time Thats how it currently reads; if these are separate topics you need to rewords. This session focuses primarily on SQL Server Reporting Services 2012, although some concepts may apply to other BI tools as well. I like to think that Ive done pretty well in this area, so in the interest of reading much better descriptions at upcoming shows, Id like to share what Ive learned over time: what matters, and what doesnt, when it comes to describing your sessions. And if you oversell you will end up creating promises that you cant keep or risk attracting an audience that may not appreciate your work. All of the rules already described apply here. When you create an object like a table or stored procedure, you need to get this object deployed into each environment. You will be able to deploy from Source Control to any database in any environment, consistently. C) "do you use it to its fullest" > "do you use it to ITS fullest" And I might add another clause here, something like "or are you wasting valuable time?" This means helping all of the normal people. "will mean you can" would be better phrased as "will enable you to" D) "Well cover everything from hotkey secrets, to configuring your toolbars." Perhaps reframing it as "Converting Unreliable Deployments Into Consistent Releases" would be better? But I wont be able to do so unless my session abstract gets selected. Where is the Golden code for the database objects, Production or Source Control? Want to quickly roll out ultra flexible reports that will wow your end users? SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), first introduced in SQL Server 2005, is a comprehensive tool designed to help ease all of your data loading headaches. And in any case, you shouldnt have a comma after the word "you" in that sentence. @Mickey: You could make that sentence significantly more powerful, something like: "The session will conclude with a discussion on how to attain ultimate flexibility by building your own ad-ins from scratch." Now its time to write the biggest portion of the session description: the paragraph-long abstract. But YMMV. It tells the reader that there is value to be had here, that this will actually impact his job and his bottom line, and that he shouldnt expect to attend and sit there, mouth agape, drooling and waiting for the bell to ring. When I read an abstract I look for organization, flow, and depth. In about that order. Can you give management bad news and make them smile while youre doing it? " These two things are not at all independent of one another. Thank you. How do availability groups work, and what general architectural choices should be made? These questions and more will be answered, with stories, with humor, and with experience (both good and bad). Title: I might change "But Keeping" to "While Ensuring." TITLE Im still trying to deal with the fact that Im probably geekier than my students, but ive met those "normal" people so i know they exist. And attendees will make this decision based upon an all-important document, the session description. Thanks for the post, lots of great points! "First youll learn about XXX: everything from hotkey secrets to configuring your toolbars. Both the session description and the talk could reference listeners, quorums, replicas, and so on, without any need for explanation. F) After that current final sentence you need a REAL final sentence. Tell me why I want to do use PowerShell and deploy. What are the pros and cons of synchronous vs. asynchronous commit modes? Youll learn how to have multiple layouts for the same data on the same report. Excellent points. This session will review monitoring from a high level, providing a roadmap to attendees for ensuring the critical safety of their operations, planning a monitoring strategy from the ground up, and tools that are available for implementing their approach. Accomplish that and audiences wont be able to stay away from your presentation. Event Notifications is a very light-weight, asynchronous mechanism for identifying SQL Server events and taking actions. As for the description: So yeah, this is essentially real, and every time I see it I cry a little bit, because no one should have so little enthusiasm about his topic and an expectation that hes going to make any audience care. targeting people whore familiar with and use SSIS on a regular basis Unreliable Deployment: Consistent Database Release This abstract probably wont fly at SQL Saturday, and it definitely wont fly at a conference. This what? I want to state the problem in the first line. Writing a great session description is hard work. Read it yourself. I truly wish I had read this back when you initially wrote it as I had to learn some of your wisdom the hard way! Is there something you can do to spice it up a bit? "Tablix: The Key to Flexible, Scalable SSRS Reports" "Want to create columner reports that scale vertically as well as horizontally? So youve decided that you want to do a talk on the brand new, supercool, game changing feature thats going to be released next month. Level 200 Best of luck with PASS. 
@Maria: Thanks, and you generally dont need the native writer youre quite proficient in English. Title: Capture Change and Apply It with Change Data Capture & SSIS Change Data Capture (CDC) has been around since SQL Server 2008, but has been underused because it was difficult to fully implement. @Sam Thanks for your comments. This, for example, feels like part of another sentence I dont understand how it fits in: "Get the database code for Source Control, deploy in object order with PowerShell." See you in Seattle 2015! Learn how to practice hacking without going to jail or getting fired. In reality thats not what happens. Session levels dont have to be completely useless. Nice job! Whats your ACTUAL target audience? @Aaron It might help to use a numbered structure. Im gonna have a much better resolve in submission this year. Its still not powerfully (actively) worded. This session will define what CDC is and with live demos show how it is setup on your databases. @Andrew Why? The solution, in this case? Not too long, mind youyoure not trying to write a bookbut long enough to thoroughly set expectations. Ill do what I can, but Im actually hoping some other people will jump in and help too. Want to quickly roll out ultra flexible reports that will wow your end users?" And its certainly not for me (or the royal we). However, I dont know what it means to automate a design pattern. Session levels are, on the best of days: stressful, vexing, misinterpreted, mostly worthless, improperly used, and entirely subjective. Capitalize "through" in the title. Dont get me wrong; these may be very technical people who are advanced technology users. Description: I like the audience focus. Ive read countless single-sentence abstracts, especially those submitted to small community events. First sentence: Whoa! Thats because its an abstract for an audience that hasnt used SSIS, and those are jargon terms. Are you targeting someone just getting started (thats level 100/200 for you) or someone who has some experience already and wants to get to the next level? Next we get into the hook, the section designed to make readers interested in your solution for their problem. It should stand out above all the rest. Are your backups like a stack of cash free for the taking, or a hardened ATM that can withstand an assault? Naturally, writing the session is an entirely different topic for an entirely different blog post. Conclude, re-stating the problem and re-affirming the hypothetical solution. Something to end with a bang, in any case. But remember that there are different learning styles; some people learn better from books, and others learn better from spoken media, so youre targeting different audiences with various content. @Mike: @Jason Carter The attendees? If I read "Why your resume is an instant turn-off," I am immediately on the defensive. What about your direct reports? Is this any better? Regarding 400 level: there is a lot of things to describe, so I would just mention things like "adding an index can slow down a select" or "adding an index can cause deadlocks" or "triggers do not ensure 100% integrity of data". Whether you are trying to setup a new data warehouse, keep it updated, audit changes to your databases or quickly load changes to another database Change Data Capture (CDC) is a solution for all the above and can now be setup and supported easily with SQL Server & SSIS 2012. If your abstract is disorganized, doesnt convey a starting and end point, or isnt at the right level, its going to translate into the audience thinking the same about your talk. Ok, I guess I will have to take a raincheck on that back rub then. Are your database connections scrambled and safe or are you sending data over the party line for anybody to hear? Once youve figured all this out how do you communicate your skills out to the world? Very nice advice. "Once youve figured all this out how do you communicate your skills out to the world? I struggled with this one a bit; I wanted to talk about abstracts, titles, and levels all in one go. It doesnt really drive home the desire to attend. If that person cant grasp the key points, chances are good that your core audience wont, either. E) The final sentence is yet another item that seems like it can go on a list. If you have a moment maybe you could let me know if you think its improved at all please? Only the uber geeks care about the underlying template. Adam, here is mine after reading your article which was great. It doesnt have to be that way" End Your session description is, first and foremost, a piece of marketing collateral. All the best! Sparks my interest. First, you will see how automated tests eliminate miscommunications, dramatically reducing number of fixes. Oh, and youre doing it totally wrong. Possible to make these things positive rather than negative? But Ill pass. Your audience touches SSMS every single day. Abstract: We will expand on a little known but widely modified feature of SQL Server. Copyright 2017 Data Education. Here is the rewrite. If it doesnt flow, its not going to read well either. Im writing this abstract for a very specific group of people I want to help. But your conclusion sentence is now incredibly confusing. And the sentence after seems like another list. SSIS 2012 now provides support for CDC with new components that make consuming the captured data very easy to apply. Tell the reader. At Level 2, deeper and more in-depth language would be used. Title- Tracking server activity without slowing it down. Other random things: Especially liked "normal" people definition for people who have a life In theory each of the component parts would be digested together by your audience (attendees, organizers, and/or you) and considered as a single piece of work. Great post, Adam. Fill Factor is something to look into tuning after all the low hanging fruit has been addressed. Level 200 @Fatherjack: But do you do it well? ", @Steve: "After attending " maybe referencing work-life balance, getting the weekend back, or whatever. As for the other post, well, given that this one took me 10 months to write, please dont start holding your breath quite yet! WHY do I want to get the most out of the controls? Make people thirst for your content! Attendees will gain an understanding of how they can monitor many servers and stay in control. We will be looking into why changing this could be either good or bad for your environments. Ive been speaking publicly and running events for just shy of 10 years now, and in that time Ive read thousands of session descriptions. Create your team for a SQL-off against other teams. I think thats the exception and not the rule (based on my own personal experiences). So, if we concentrate on speaking, we fail to communicate with lots of people. In this session you will learn the basics around how SSIS is designed and how to manipulate both the logic and flow of data in your load processes. Youre going to teach me how to create "Unreliable" deployments? Third sentence, youve used "the royal we." Or if they do need to be in two sentences, maybe call that out. Hi Adam, @Sam: Its looking good but I think you want to reconsider that final sentence. Anyone who is knowledgeable in SSIS is going to read this abstract and immediately know that this talk isnt for them. Title is good in my opinion. Hope that helps. @KKline: Thanks, would be awesome to have it linked from SQL Saturday! Most people realize that they can be better, and would therefore be more interested. Finally, you will use this knowledge to refactor a large live OLTP table without any downtime for users or overtime for developers. Consider a talk on SQL Server AlwaysOn. On to the abstract: Again, Id flip around that first sentence, same reason as above. For example, "Tracking Activity Without Slowing the Server to a Crawl" says the same thing but uses slightly more active phrasing. The organizers will judge you on the title and level (based on what they need for the event) and if sufficiently interested will take some time to read the abstract. Add to that the system changes as simple as a column rename that force you to make modifications to packages and it takes even more time, potentially delaying your project deliverables. Sick of not developing anything new let alone having a proper social life? Tell the reader. Thanks again for taking the time much appreciated! At Level 3, focused and specialized language is applied. Im going to review some of my session descriptions this weekend! The abstract is the next most important, and the level the least important. I hope you like my latest rendition. Ive also seen a lot of potential speakersmany of whom had extremely interesting topics and contentget rejected by events because they made basic mistakes in their session descriptions. Finally, you need a closing sentence. Now to apply these concepts as I write abstracts for the PASS Summit. This enables each component part to communicate something about the level to the readerwithout the reader ever having to actually read some arbitrary number. Virtually every speaking engagement, no matter how large or small, has something in common: attendees want to know, in advance, what is youre going to be talking about. Its not clear to me how letting people fix a problem has anything to do with communication. And then read it again. Thanks for the 2nd review Adam, glad I made it better. Another definition is also in order, and thats for the word great, which Ive used in the title of this post. I like the second sentence, but as an aside Im not a huge fan of the "thatll" contraction. Im sure many of you have opinions that differ from what Ive expressed here. Interesting title! They want to solve problems at work so that they can collect a nice paycheck and enjoy life outside of work. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. B) "Chances are you" Remove "chances are." @Russ: Is that a level 100 person? Abstract: Thanks for doing this Adam. Also, I highly recommend adding a final sentence to bring things together. If youre going to do that you need to introduce the personality first and then revisit it later. It feels a bit rushed with only two things. Possibly you like the idea of knowing what code will need re-factoring before you upgrade? An abstract is a paragraph that is supposed to describe what youre going to talk about in your session. Join me, and well see how to use BIML. Dont worry. "You," the reader of the abstract, should be doing some learning. The story is a tale about technological advances and how easy it can be to keep the data flowing, even in the face of disaster. Here is my revision: Abstract: I dont know if I like your lead in; it feels a bit wishy-washy. So Im going to ask you: who are you *really* targeting here? Deployments can cause you trouble but we will provide a reliable deployment process. During this pre-con, you will establish a solid base that will allow you to identify and isolate problems within your SQL environment. Well cover everything from hotkey secrets, to configuring your toolbars. Im in for review! How do you let them fix the problem without being so involved in it that you hinder them in their solution? "Developing Rock Solid Databases and Enjoying Your Life Uninterrupted by Troubleshooting" (No pun intended.). Next, Im obviously late to the party, but would you mind shredding my entry?
@Maria: Thanks, and you generally dont need the native writer youre quite proficient in English. Title: Capture Change and Apply It with Change Data Capture & SSIS Change Data Capture (CDC) has been around since SQL Server 2008, but has been underused because it was difficult to fully implement. @Sam Thanks for your comments. This, for example, feels like part of another sentence I dont understand how it fits in: "Get the database code for Source Control, deploy in object order with PowerShell." See you in Seattle 2015! Learn how to practice hacking without going to jail or getting fired. In reality thats not what happens. Session levels dont have to be completely useless. Nice job! Whats your ACTUAL target audience? @Aaron It might help to use a numbered structure. Im gonna have a much better resolve in submission this year. Its still not powerfully (actively) worded. This session will define what CDC is and with live demos show how it is setup on your databases. @Andrew Why? The solution, in this case? Not too long, mind youyoure not trying to write a bookbut long enough to thoroughly set expectations. Ill do what I can, but Im actually hoping some other people will jump in and help too. Want to quickly roll out ultra flexible reports that will wow your end users?" And its certainly not for me (or the royal we). However, I dont know what it means to automate a design pattern. Session levels are, on the best of days: stressful, vexing, misinterpreted, mostly worthless, improperly used, and entirely subjective. Capitalize "through" in the title. Dont get me wrong; these may be very technical people who are advanced technology users. Description: I like the audience focus. Ive read countless single-sentence abstracts, especially those submitted to small community events. First sentence: Whoa! Thats because its an abstract for an audience that hasnt used SSIS, and those are jargon terms. Are you targeting someone just getting started (thats level 100/200 for you) or someone who has some experience already and wants to get to the next level? Next we get into the hook, the section designed to make readers interested in your solution for their problem. It should stand out above all the rest. Are your backups like a stack of cash free for the taking, or a hardened ATM that can withstand an assault? Naturally, writing the session is an entirely different topic for an entirely different blog post. Conclude, re-stating the problem and re-affirming the hypothetical solution. Something to end with a bang, in any case. But remember that there are different learning styles; some people learn better from books, and others learn better from spoken media, so youre targeting different audiences with various content. @Mike: @Jason Carter The attendees? If I read "Why your resume is an instant turn-off," I am immediately on the defensive. What about your direct reports? Is this any better? Regarding 400 level: there is a lot of things to describe, so I would just mention things like "adding an index can slow down a select" or "adding an index can cause deadlocks" or "triggers do not ensure 100% integrity of data". Whether you are trying to setup a new data warehouse, keep it updated, audit changes to your databases or quickly load changes to another database Change Data Capture (CDC) is a solution for all the above and can now be setup and supported easily with SQL Server & SSIS 2012. If your abstract is disorganized, doesnt convey a starting and end point, or isnt at the right level, its going to translate into the audience thinking the same about your talk. Ok, I guess I will have to take a raincheck on that back rub then. Are your database connections scrambled and safe or are you sending data over the party line for anybody to hear? Once youve figured all this out how do you communicate your skills out to the world? Very nice advice. "Once youve figured all this out how do you communicate your skills out to the world? I struggled with this one a bit; I wanted to talk about abstracts, titles, and levels all in one go. It doesnt really drive home the desire to attend. If that person cant grasp the key points, chances are good that your core audience wont, either. E) The final sentence is yet another item that seems like it can go on a list. If you have a moment maybe you could let me know if you think its improved at all please? Only the uber geeks care about the underlying template. Adam, here is mine after reading your article which was great. It doesnt have to be that way" End Your session description is, first and foremost, a piece of marketing collateral. All the best! Sparks my interest. First, you will see how automated tests eliminate miscommunications, dramatically reducing number of fixes. Oh, and youre doing it totally wrong. Possible to make these things positive rather than negative? But Ill pass. Your audience touches SSMS every single day. Abstract: We will expand on a little known but widely modified feature of SQL Server. Copyright 2017 Data Education. Here is the rewrite. If it doesnt flow, its not going to read well either. Im writing this abstract for a very specific group of people I want to help. But your conclusion sentence is now incredibly confusing. And the sentence after seems like another list. SSIS 2012 now provides support for CDC with new components that make consuming the captured data very easy to apply. Tell the reader. At Level 2, deeper and more in-depth language would be used. Title- Tracking server activity without slowing it down. Other random things: Especially liked "normal" people definition for people who have a life In theory each of the component parts would be digested together by your audience (attendees, organizers, and/or you) and considered as a single piece of work. Great post, Adam. Fill Factor is something to look into tuning after all the low hanging fruit has been addressed. Level 200 @Fatherjack: But do you do it well? ", @Steve: "After attending " maybe referencing work-life balance, getting the weekend back, or whatever. As for the other post, well, given that this one took me 10 months to write, please dont start holding your breath quite yet! WHY do I want to get the most out of the controls? Make people thirst for your content! Attendees will gain an understanding of how they can monitor many servers and stay in control. We will be looking into why changing this could be either good or bad for your environments. Ive been speaking publicly and running events for just shy of 10 years now, and in that time Ive read thousands of session descriptions. Create your team for a SQL-off against other teams. I think thats the exception and not the rule (based on my own personal experiences). So, if we concentrate on speaking, we fail to communicate with lots of people. In this session you will learn the basics around how SSIS is designed and how to manipulate both the logic and flow of data in your load processes. Youre going to teach me how to create "Unreliable" deployments? Third sentence, youve used "the royal we." Or if they do need to be in two sentences, maybe call that out. Hi Adam, @Sam: Its looking good but I think you want to reconsider that final sentence. Anyone who is knowledgeable in SSIS is going to read this abstract and immediately know that this talk isnt for them. Title is good in my opinion. Hope that helps. @KKline: Thanks, would be awesome to have it linked from SQL Saturday! Most people realize that they can be better, and would therefore be more interested. Finally, you will use this knowledge to refactor a large live OLTP table without any downtime for users or overtime for developers. Consider a talk on SQL Server AlwaysOn. On to the abstract: Again, Id flip around that first sentence, same reason as above. For example, "Tracking Activity Without Slowing the Server to a Crawl" says the same thing but uses slightly more active phrasing. The organizers will judge you on the title and level (based on what they need for the event) and if sufficiently interested will take some time to read the abstract. Add to that the system changes as simple as a column rename that force you to make modifications to packages and it takes even more time, potentially delaying your project deliverables. Sick of not developing anything new let alone having a proper social life? Tell the reader. Thanks again for taking the time much appreciated! At Level 3, focused and specialized language is applied. Im going to review some of my session descriptions this weekend! The abstract is the next most important, and the level the least important. I hope you like my latest rendition. Ive also seen a lot of potential speakersmany of whom had extremely interesting topics and contentget rejected by events because they made basic mistakes in their session descriptions. Finally, you need a closing sentence. Now to apply these concepts as I write abstracts for the PASS Summit. This enables each component part to communicate something about the level to the readerwithout the reader ever having to actually read some arbitrary number. Virtually every speaking engagement, no matter how large or small, has something in common: attendees want to know, in advance, what is youre going to be talking about. Its not clear to me how letting people fix a problem has anything to do with communication. And then read it again. Thanks for the 2nd review Adam, glad I made it better. Another definition is also in order, and thats for the word great, which Ive used in the title of this post. I like the second sentence, but as an aside Im not a huge fan of the "thatll" contraction. Im sure many of you have opinions that differ from what Ive expressed here. Interesting title! They want to solve problems at work so that they can collect a nice paycheck and enjoy life outside of work. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. B) "Chances are you" Remove "chances are." @Russ: Is that a level 100 person? Abstract: Thanks for doing this Adam. Also, I highly recommend adding a final sentence to bring things together. If youre going to do that you need to introduce the personality first and then revisit it later. It feels a bit rushed with only two things. Possibly you like the idea of knowing what code will need re-factoring before you upgrade? An abstract is a paragraph that is supposed to describe what youre going to talk about in your session. Join me, and well see how to use BIML. Dont worry. "You," the reader of the abstract, should be doing some learning. The story is a tale about technological advances and how easy it can be to keep the data flowing, even in the face of disaster. Here is my revision: Abstract: I dont know if I like your lead in; it feels a bit wishy-washy. So Im going to ask you: who are you *really* targeting here? Deployments can cause you trouble but we will provide a reliable deployment process. During this pre-con, you will establish a solid base that will allow you to identify and isolate problems within your SQL environment. Well cover everything from hotkey secrets, to configuring your toolbars. Im in for review! How do you let them fix the problem without being so involved in it that you hinder them in their solution? "Developing Rock Solid Databases and Enjoying Your Life Uninterrupted by Troubleshooting" (No pun intended.). Next, Im obviously late to the party, but would you mind shredding my entry?