2024W16: Lessons from a Third Podcast

My podcast team (Louis) and I wrapped Season 1 of Instructor Notes podcast just over a week ago. In retrospect, I can’t believe we pulled it off (8 episodes in 9 weeks). But we did, and now we take a breath and a break.

We’ve had a few debrief conversations to gather our lessons learned. Here are a few of mine…

At-bats really do matter, and so do systems.

I knew from the prior two podcasts that the brain work of planning this new podcast would make all the difference in the world. We set up systems for file and asset management, and knowing the 3-part format of each episode minimized the “debugging” of systems once we started using them. When we recorded various interviews, solo audio, and co-hosting sessions out of order, the systems helped keep everything in the correct place, most of the time. And the systems helped us diagnose where we needed to improve our communication and workflow, and kept us on track. The planning phase is often difficult for me because I see the system arise but can’t yet see the end product at all. This experience reminds me that good planning is worth the investment.

Setting expectations is important for every member of the team.

Obviously I’m referring to my co-producer / sound engineer / audio editor. But also, every co-host and guest was flattered to participate and also at least a little uncertain — especially the early guests, who may not have had a completed episode to listen to yet. Creating brief but informative invitations, scheduling an orientation call before each recording session, and writing thorough and easy-to-scan follow-up documents were all an investment in each team members’ comfort and confidence. And it all paid off in the ease and richness of each conversation.

People are everything.

We were SO LUCKY to have people on the podcast who wanted to be involved. Everyone was willing to push past their uncertainty and take the risk of being involved in something new to them. Without the co-hosts, guests, and voice mail callers, we would not have had a season! The people involved were everything. This is true for the podcast and it is true in life. People first.

Rich content has a longer shelf life than we think.

It still feels weird to promote my projects, since I’m usually very spontaneous and casual about my social media presence. But with so many people pitching in to create each episode, it felt like a part of the thank-you to tag each person and thank them for their contribution in that public way. I was late with some promotional posts, and I dropped a couple of platforms when they seemed like a drag to use. The good news is: I can keep promoting every episode — I can promote each episode multiple times! The episodes are that good! And so I will continue to promote each episode, multiple times.

Take action, then take the next action. Let your confidence grow to match the action.

Although Instructor Notes is my third podcast, it is my first non-hobby podcast and so was a tiny bit intimidating to me. I have a lot to learn to be a great podcast interviewer. But while I see many areas of improvement, I am also proud of this small body of work and feel more confident about doing additional seasons of the podcast. In fact, I’m riding the wave of confidence right on into video content! Whole new ballgame, super brand new to me, and super intimidated.

But we are doing it anyway.

Join us over on YouTube — subscribe to get a notification when we go live. :)

2024W10: On Community, And Leading From The Edge

I’ve always maintained that when we lead a workshop, we are leading people. Each workshop is a test of our ability to make a team from the folks who happen to be in the room, for each team member to contribute, and for all of us to grow from our work together. And maybe the end result, after 24 years of leading workshops, is that you find yourself having accidentally led a community, too.

This KWU AmBASSador Award was a huge surprise for someone who hasn’t been in the direct center of things for many years. I’m still documenting the lessons I am learning from this experience.

This year is full of creative output. Contrary to popular opinion, I usually have more curiosity, energy, and ambition than actual confidence about the programs, media, and other things I am putting out in the world right now. I guess I am learning that that is also leadership. That a community is watching, and probably waiting for someone else to move first and pave the way.

On that note, about Instructor Notes podcast… on Friday we published our fourth episode, which means we are halfway through our first season. It’s super gratifying to be part of creating something for us, the KW trainer community, with us. Even if you have not listened, please contribute to the community by calling in with a training question, maybe a training tip, a request for a future episode, whatever: 210-570-5858. It’s for us!!!

2024W7: Popular Storytelling Models

Breaking news: The first episode of Instructor Notes podcast is live!!! I’ve loved the conversations I’ve had so far. Connecting with people is THE BEST!!! For this first episode, I am so proud to interview one of the most compelling and successful leaders I know, Colette Ching! Her energy is just <chef’s kiss> — it will keep you going for days! And my co-host, the stupendous Lisa Teichner, helps me to introduce Colette. Please give the episode a listen and let me know what you think!

I’m one day late posting this weekly blog update, but that’s OK. Seven weekly posts is more than I’ve been able to sustain before, and it’s feeling habitual so that is very, very positive. I outlined a 20-minute presentation at the Keller Williams Family Reunion convention later this month. The topic: Storytelling.

I’ll post the outline and maybe some resources from the final presentation as it gets closer to finished. For now though, I took stock of storytelling models I’ve learned over the years and want to share them here:

• The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell
  This storytelling model itself is mythologized IMO! It’s way too complex for my needs, but people who use it love it.

• The Story Spine by Kenn Adams, re-popularized by Pixar, as included in Pixar’s 22 Rules for Storytelling
  I have found this model useful when planning a story that serves as a through-line in a presentation, from start to finish.

• Public Narrative by Marshall Ganz
  You might recognize parts of this (the story of self, the story of us, the story of now) but all of them together are known as Public Narrative.

• Three-Act Structure by Syd Field
  This is taught in probably every single screenwriting class out there!

The model that works best for me for storytelling in training and presentations is the Three-Act Structure. It’s simple, it’s recognizable, it’s the best choice for me 95% of the time. Stay tuned — I’ll share more of the presentation itself soon!

2024W6: New podcast or nah?

My short answer is… it depends.

I don’t think a podcast is a quick way to fame and riches. It’s a notoriously “slow burn” for most hoping to monetize their podcasts.

But if you want to add a content-rich social media element to your business or personal brand — especially if you are a podcast listener yourself — I don’t see any reason not to try.

I am working on my third podcast at the moment. The first two were definitely “hobby” podcasts, so the new one is the only one to cover territory that I’m immersed in professionally, day in and day out: workshop facilitation (aka training, instructing, presenting, speaking, adult learning).

Look at the new artwork for my Instructor Notes podcast 👀 Won’t hurt my feelings if you follow / subscribe…

Despite the fact that my first two podcasts were mainly done out of about my need for personal expression and my desire to learn how to produce a podcast — and never about subscriber numbers and monetization — I am asked for a fair amount of advice about podcasting. So here’s some of the advice I share:

1. Know why you want to podcast.
   

   If you want to get rich and famous, skip the podcast and hire an agent and a publicist. But podcasting is probably better for expanding your reach and influence, establishing credibility, exploring new ideas and approaches, finding like-minded or similarly-interested individuals, and expressing yourself. Not to mention that if you love your work and you want to podcast about work stuff, your passion will show, and people connect to passion.

   For my Instructor Notes podcast, my main goal is to build a community of facilitators. I love working with facilitators, but my work often means leading a workshop and then flying home. Staying in community with those folks takes effort, and the podcast is one way to reach a lot of people I meet that I might not otherwise see in between workshops. Also, no one loses when surrounding themselves with enthusiastic, positive, growth-oriented individuals as facilitators usually are. Win-win-win.

2. Find out what other podcasts cover the topic you want to cover.
   

   Listen to them. Understand the gaps: Do current podcasts miss specific perspectives, so you immediately know an angle to present that is new and fresh? Do current podcasters all go for an interview format, whereas you have a strong and distinct point of view and can podcast solo, as The Expert? Do all the current podcasts on your topic run over an hour in length per episode, so you can add an entry that comes in bite-size pieces instead of entire meals each time?

   There is still probably plenty of room for you to fill a niche in the podcasting world, so a little competitive research can go a long way.

   In the facilitator podcasting space, there are many resources geared toward public speakers, generally those who aim to keynote at conferences. Instructor Notes podcast will center workshop facilitation first and foremost, and other types of public speaking only tangentially.

3. Consider what kind of investment you want to make in your podcast.

   If you self-produce your entire podcast, you will invest a lot of time. You’ll probably end up doing things you don’t like to do, or aren’t skilled / confident at doing (for me, that would be typing up show notes haha). But there are also reputable services out there that can do some or all of the pre-production, production, and post-production for you. This will require less time of you, but more money.

   My first two podcasts were entirely self-produced, though the first was co-produced with a partner. That was nice because we agreed on division of labor and each of us took on tasks we were naturally more comfortable with. My second podcast was a solo effort and I did it all. I was glad to learn all the pieces, and grateful for the experience of setting up a system that ran smoothly over the course of the season. Also, I was glad when it was over because it was a lot of work!

There are so many free resources out there if you feel like you’re ready to take the next step. The resources that help me are easily 3-5 years old now, and I’m sure there are more recent and relevant sources out there. One company that produces a lot of free content for aspiring podcasters is Buzzsprout, who we chose to host my first podcast. They are still big in the podcasting space and just updated their “How to Start a Podcast” guide on 1/1/24. So go check it out! And let me know if you decide to start a podcast so I can give it a follow!

Modern Love Podcast

My "learning style," if you believe in those, is primarily visual. Which makes podcasts, heaven for auditory learners, really tough for me. I fall asleep! I tune out! It can be a mess. 

I've been trying out different types of podcasts, at different times of the day, to see what sticks. At the moment, listening to a short podcast during my morning writing time has worked well, and when I saw that The New York Times' Modern Love column was getting its own podcast, I was elated. Modern Love has been proof of the power of a well-crafted essay, for all the naysayers who criticize essays for gratuitous navel-gazing. I've been challenged to think differently after reading some of these essays.

The essay featured during this week's podcast, called "Open Adoption: Not So Simple Math," written by Amy Seek, is poignant, and even more powerful as read by the actor Sarah Paulson.