A near and dear relative of mine-let's call her Lori--loves watching QVC, one of the cable shopping channels. To Lori, each of these hosts is a friend. She knows that Mary Beth Roe used to live in Minneapolis and wears her hair in a Turbie Twist. She also knows Lisa Robertson was Miss Tennessee in 1989 and is a trained classical violinist.

As these hosts display different products and interact with guests, they share part of their lives with their viewing audience-their likes, dislikes, their plans for the weekend. As you watch, you feel as though you become part of their lives even though you have never met them. When Mary Beth, Lisa and the others say something, Lori takes it to heart.

In my role as wordsmith extraordinaire at The Bob Pike Group, it's been my privilege to participate in many of the workshops and conferences we offer. While the content is good, it's the facilitators-or the hosts-that make the difference.

Priscilla Shumway is a little wild and crazy and not afraid to try anything-once. Rich Meiss always is smiling-and I can attest to that because I've known him for at least 33 years. Doug "Waffleman" McCallum can expertly flip 30 waffle irons and make 300 waffles an hour and has helped non-profit groups raise over half a million dollars in just eight years. (Watch a news clip on Doug here.)

We recently video recorded our training consultants so you can have a chance to know your training hosts before the training. While here is a link to all of the videos we've created and uploaded to YouTube, I've described a couple of my favorites below. The first one introduces Bob Pike, my dad, as he shares how his passion and appreciation for participant-centered teaching and learning was awakened. Then, following, are three videos that highlight sessions at our 2011 conference.   

·         Meet Rich Meiss, senior training consultant, as he explains it is possible to facilitate coaching.

·         Priscilla Shumway shares that having no prep time is no problem.

·         Becky Pluth explains that simple object lessons can really resonate with any audience-virtual or classroom-for increased retention.

While our trainers may not be professional actors, with all the miles they travel, they more than likely stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

To open a PDF version of our 2011 conference brochure, click here.