Interviewing skills used to liven corporations' training seminars

By Alana Quartuccio
Of Suburbanite
ENGLEWOOD - Several years ago Edward Smith had no idea that he had the ability to make a career out of asking questions. Much to his surprise he has. By using his interview or question and answer format he has created a unique new way to increase job training for corporations with his seminars, as his cable access TV show which started it all continues to air. Bright Moment, the TV show, and Bright Moment Seminars are two separate entities, Smith noted, but they both succeed based on his interviewing skills.
The Bright Moment Seminars came about more or less by accident, Smith said. Having already spent time hosting a radio show, he started the cable access TV show on Time Warner Cable in order to give himself practice as he strove for his goal of becoming a TV game show host. However, things went in a direction Smith never expected.
Interviewing guests on various topics of expertise, Smith began receiving phone calls from companies who saw the show and asked him to do the show internally for their companies. "At first I thought people were nuts for wanting me to come in and do this," Smith recalled. "I wanted to recommend that they contact the guests that appeared on my show who were experts in such areas instead of myself." The requests kept coming through and Smith decided to incorporate the "interview" into a seminar.
He explained that the seminars involve himself interviewing someone in the area of expertise required for the job training such as time management or quality materials management. To his surprise, people loved the format. It was different from the "death by lecture" formats of most of these programs, he said. Instead the audience views Smith interviewing the expert and the back and forth interaction. It results in the audience getting much more out of it. Corporations who have done research on the retention levels of employees attending the Bright Moment Seminars found very positive results, Smith added.
Smith also reported that the cable access TV show, which airs on channel 81 Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Time Warner Cable, also continues in its success. It's possible that it may be placed in syndication, he said. "I'm still in shock that people love the show and the seminars," Smith said proudly. He commented that he also can't believe it each time he is recognized by someone when shopping in Shop Rite in Englewood, the city he's lived in for almost 30 years.
In addition to his interview experience, his background as a stand-up comedian and motivation speaker also helps make the programs lively. Smith also holds an MBA and has corporate experience in sales and marketing which helps him to understand the importance of job training. Smith resides in Englewood with his wife Theresa and their cat.