So, you must be at least pondering on sharing something about your creative avenue. Good news - if the thought of speaking to the public has your inner artist shuddering, there's more than one colour to this rainbow!
If you're already familiar with the podcast, you'll know the mission is to hear from as many Southampton locals as possible. That means you're on the unofficial list.
I don't buy into the idea that there's a certain definition of creativity or "proper artists" - it can manifest itself in so many different ways to different people, and we should be celebrating that. In fact, this segués smoothly into my first point so let's dive in!
1. You, are knowledgeable.
I recently posted a poll to the IA Instagram, and I was a little sad to reveal that a lack of belief in knowledge or the quality and quantity of it, is one of the things stopping some the current community from getting involved.
As you may know, the podcast is specifically to raise the voice of locals - that means around 70% or more of the guests will have no experience speaking publicly, let alone on a podcast. Featuring as a guest is intended to be fun, and challenge you a little as a growing and changing human, but never to test you.
It can be very easy to overthink the process, obviously we want to sound good, but it's worth trying to step outside of yourself for a sec. Just think, 'would past me have found what I know now, useful'? It might seem like an obvious yes, but at our core, we're probably all working on being a bit kinder to ourselves... right?
(If you're thinking "I don't know anything", stop talking down to yourself).
As captain(ess?) and podcast host, my 'job' is to help you squeeze all the juicy details out, not only because we can go into a blind panic when we try to rehearse and plan every word of a speech (and usually forget them as a beginner speech-maker) but also because it's a conversation, not a performance. A great way to think of it is just like any other creative collaboration!
The INNER AVENUE conversations can be as much about your journey to where you are now as they might include little tips and tricks etc, there are no hard and fast rules. It's so easy to think what you know isn't enough, but I promise you there are so many people who want to hear what you have the know-how, experience and guts to share.
2. You, are probably not a professional speaker... and you don't need to be.
Okokokok [in the voice of Tyler the creator]. I need to tell you a short story.
Last month, I think, I went out on what felt like a real limb and shared the Facebook page for Inner Avenue with my circle. Firstly, no, you probably shouldn't bother following or checking it out over Instagram, and secondly, it only exists because I got free ads credit. Anyway...
Long story short, my dad began a sentence over the phone with "can I brutally honest?". Are we ever ready for criticism from our family? I don't know, so obviously I was hesitant and expecting the worst...
I hate to be the burst-er of any optimism bubbles, but I was right!
My dad commented on my presentation, aka my speech, commenting "I think you need to write your points down because you hesitate a lot". Now, I'm not saying my dad is wrong by any means and this isn't intended to be a rant, but my dad has absolutely no idea what it's like to host a podcast or time questions, so much that a guest has the opportunity to speak without being interrupted. Listening is totally an art not all have mastered (including my dad), so my feathers were certainly ruffled by his comment because it felt like it lacked consideration.
Why am I sharing this story?
Because I want to prove to you that I'm not a perfect speaker. I mess up. I get nervous and exit my body too, and that's okay!
I honestly believe since starting the podcast, that people need vulnerability in their lives - we're sick of the facade. The beauty of a podcast is it's not live! I spend hours of my time outside my 9-5 editing episodes so guests feel proud of our conversation rather than reminded of a horrible, anxiety-ridden experience they ultimately regret. I've completed 10 episodes now and I can tell you from that, people leave either saying "that was really fun", or "thank you". I'm going to guess that this is because I lured them out of their comfort zone, and ultimately into creativity and personal growth.
As I said in the above point, it's not a performance.
3. You, are valuable and valued in and outside your community.
If you didn't already know, my 9-5 is as a Digital Marketer. I work for a charity right now, and I know a thing or two about the sacred cup that is 'digital presence'.
Whether you're looking to make a job out of your creativity or not, featuring on a podcast like this can really boost your profile. Using INNER AVENUE as an example; not only do our conversations make their way onto social media (with your permission of course) but they all go onto this here website. If this sounds like jargon forming, this essentially means there is more of you on the internet! That's good - especially if you want to be known.
Aside from 'digital presence', Southampton as a city really needs to find new and innovative ways to amplify local creativity. From both podcast and in-person conversation I know that the fire is there, so let it out y'all!
If you've gone full Dora The Explorer on us, you might have seen this isn't just a podcast. I actually have ambitions to feature various creative spaces, and I've just created a form for written features if you really don't like the idea of speaking or you just are more fluent in writing. I'm definitely working this out in terms of process, but I would absolutely love to try this out, so get in touch here if you're interested in a different avenue.
At the end of the day this really isn't about me, it's an ambition for my hometown, my birthplace, my endz. I truly believe we are stronger together, and I really hope this long ass piece of writing helps you get a better sense of the brand and the lil' lady behind it.
If you made it this far I would love to thank you. Please do pop a 🧡 below if so!
Would you be interested in a monthly meet-up, or live stream with Daisy and the IA community?
Livestream
Meet-up
Maybe a combination?
You can vote for more than one answer.
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