Celebrating with Values to Nourish Your Podcast – Year End Break – Episode 71

[MUSIC IN // INTRO]

<< Ghosthood Featuring Sara Azriel “Let’s Go” BEGINS >>

MARY: Welcome to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

MARY: Reveal and define your voice to speak your truth through the power of podcasting. And I’m your host, Mary Chan.

<< WOMAN SINGS: So so so so let’s go >>

MARY: Well, hello there. This is episode number 71, Celebrating with Values to Nourish Your Podcast.

[INTRO MUSIC FADES // NEW MUSIC IN]

It is the end of the year. 2023 is coming to a close as I record this, and like many a times I’ve heard people have said having a podcast is like having a business. So by the end of the year, like having a business, you start thinking about reviewing and planning for the next year. So having a podcast is kind of like having a business. It’s true to a point. There are lots of moving parts you need to market and promote it differently. And often, having a team can definitely help to support all the aspects of creating your episodes and running your business. Right? But unlike a business, podcasting is very, very niche. And there might be some different questions that you’d ask about your podcast than asking about your business. So for this episode, we’re not going to talk about the technical side of things about a podcast, but what about having values for your podcast? You know, in episode 69, I talked about having values that were intangible, and now I want to talk about the values for your podcast. So, like in this business analogy, the business might have a mission statement, values or vision. You want to create those same things. A vision for your podcast. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

Taking a cue from the year end reviews. And yes, I also review for my business, one of my clients talked about doing family values on her podcast, which intrigued me a lot because I know what my family values are. We talk about it around the kitchen table, but we’ve never actually laid them out on paper. So this holiday season, I plan on doing that during our year end break. I want to grab a big old sheet of paper, colored markers and pens, and brainstorm with the fam. And I think that’ll be fun, just because my daughter’s eight and you know, she’s arts and crafty like me. So we’re going to have a lot of fun, coloured markers and doodle and just make some fun out of it. So all of that planning got me thinking, what else can you have values for? And a lot of my personal values align with my business and my family. They are not 100% identical for all of those aspects. But why should a podcast be any different? Why don’t we have values for our podcasts? 

[MUSIC IN]

So if you already create values for other parts of your life, this will just be an extension of that. So you don’t have to think of this as, oh no, another thing I have to do on the to do list, right, of all the tasks. But you can use the exact same process or a shorter version of the process that you already use and just use that for your podcast. Or if you’re new to values, sit with this, take your time and feel into it. I’m going to take you through a very simple process that I’ve taken from my own work. So, you can always come back to this episode, make some new notes, hit pause, hit play when you need to, and then tweak along the way. And then maybe listen to the episode again to go through the questions that I’m going to prompt you with. So open up your favorite note taking app or a Google Doc or actually, my favorite is a notebook and pen. You know how much I love the tactile experience. 

And I actually have my yearly review and reflection in a physical agenda that I create every year. I customize it so that I can transfer my weekly schedule from my Google calendar because I can’t live without my digital calendar as well. And then I also plan for my podcast. In this physical planner, I update my grocery list, all the personal and business side of things, and also I check in with my values every year at the front of my agenda and planner. So actually, if you want to create your own, I’d recommend Agendio. That is where I create mine every single year. And I’m very, very particular with my format. I like the weekly with lots of space for notes spread over two pages and minimal weekend planner sections. So when I found Agendio and that they have all these different formats, and then within those formats, each one is also customizable. Uh, music to my ears. Or a friend of mine actually. She creates her own Agendio, but not a planner. She uses it for a notebook. She creates her own notebook just for reviewing each quarter of her business. So it’s not just for creating planners, but you can do insert pages if you already have your own little binder that you like. It really is such a flexible system. So if you’d like one, you can also get $10 off your first purchase, and I’ll get $10 in credit off of my next planner. You can go to visiblevoicepodcast.com/offers and then scroll to find Agendio. I’ll link to that as well in my show notes. So if you want to record some of these prompts for every year, they will be there in the beginning of your planner each and every year. Like magic. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

All right, let’s do a quick walkthrough of finding your values for your podcast. First of all, lists of values that would be handy to draw from, right? We’re looking for specific words and so you can just do a quick search and list values for you to choose from. A handy starter list is actually from Brené Brown and her “Dare to Lead” book. She has a list of them on her website. And also when I started my business, I found the list from “Being Boss” quite helpful as well. They have a podcast and book, and so I’ll just link to those lists in the show notes. Or you can also just look up your own values and you can choose from those. 

So once you have your values out and handy for you, you can start reviewing the episodes that you publish this past year. You know, look back on your favorite podcast listening app, or if you have a podcast production planner like I do with Trello, look back at the past year. Maybe you also want to look at your website. Do you put your podcast on your website, look back there and start thinking about the themes. What is similar? So I’m not talking about, you know, what are the amount of episodes you published? How many downloads did you get. I’m talking about the feelings with them. What do you see as an overarching theme? What happened behind the scenes when you were planning each and every episode? Was there something that you were proud of when you produced a certain episode? What made you proud? Or what would you improve for next episode, if you weren’t as proud of a specific one? What happened in that moment when you were creating that specific episode? Jot these notes down, especially your feelings around them. And what made you proud of this work that you accomplished this year. Look for that pattern, and then think about, how do those line up with your values. 

So now we’re either going to get that list of values out next to you, have it handy, or you don’t have a list, and you’re like, okay, but what are values? What kind of words am I looking for? Well, values are the beliefs and principles that you believe in, and they are important to you in the way that you live and work. So this way, for your podcast, what do you believe are so important to share with your ideal listener? What action do you want your ideal listener to take after listening to each and every episode? These are the values that you are looking for. So start brainstorming. If you have a few that are already popping up into your head, write them down. It doesn’t matter if you think they’re the right ones or the wrong ones. We’re not talking good or bad, right or wrong right now. We’re just brainstorming, getting that creative flow. Look on your list. Does a word jump out at you right away? Write that one down. And you don’t have to choose a certain number, just a random amount, just free flow, until you’re like, you know what? I think I got a good amount here. Or if you do need a number, like ten to twelve, a dozen, what words resonate with you? 

The next step now is to cut it down to half. You got to go with your gut. You got to be brutal. So question, how do you want to feel? Do any of these words bring up those actions and priorities that you want for your podcast listener? Another way is to define exactly what those words are. Say each of them out loud. We are podcasters, after all, so verbalizing can give a different meaning to the word. You know, you could say creativity. Or you can say creativity. Yeah, that one really jumped out the way I said it, so you might want to highlight that one as a keeper. Or if you’re just like, yeah, creativity. If you’ve got that feeling in you, cross that one off. Go with your gut feeling. And when you narrow it down, see if you can narrow it down to a top three, top five. If you’re really like, I don’t know, I don’t know, top three, top five. So what’s still resonating? I want you to give meaning to these words. And when I say meaning, I mean your own definition, not a dictionary definition, not something that you think society has defined for you. This is what you believe the word is, because this is for you. It’s not for anyone else. So it doesn’t matter what the word means for someone else. What does the word mean for you? For example, one word that I’ve seen popping up was like, lazy girl jobs. People are calling this a thing because they don’t want to do the hustle and bustle and the grind of nine to five. They want to be quote unquote lazy, which I use from time to time, too. I’m like, oh, I had a really lazy day yesterday. All I did was watch home renovation shows all weekend. And if you coin it that way and say, oh, it was lazy, and use that tone of voice, then you might think, oh, that’s a bad thing. That was so bad. But you know what? For me, when I have a lazy weekend, it’s awesome because it means I get to rejuvenate myself. I am relaxing. I am not stressed out. A lazy weekend is an amazing weekend. So say the words out loud and give your words meaning for yourself. 

But maybe you’re still thinking, I have way too many words here. I don’t know how to narrow it down. Maybe one word is similar to another, so maybe hone in on that. Which word is more powerful to the other one? And like I said, if you give your words meaning, your own meanings, you’ll figure out, oh, yeah, no, this one versus the other one. You can choose between one over the other. I remember when I was doing this, I kept using the word flexible. It’s like, oh, yeah, I’m pretty flexible. My schedule can be adjusted, like it’s okay for me to change things now and then. And when I was saying it out loud, I was like, flexible really isn’t the word. And I look and I’m like, oh, adaptable. That’s my word. I’m very adaptable to situations. It’s like, what do they say? Uh, water off a duck’s back? LIke, I don’t mind to adjust when I need to, but being adaptable doesn’t mean someone can walk all over me. I still have my boundaries. So there are different values that really shine through more than others. I’m like, adaptable versus flexible. I am adaptable. I like the adaptability versus the flexibility. 

And if you are still having trouble to narrowing it down to a top three or top five, I know it can be hard, but that’s why you’re doing the work. Go back to my original question. Of all the things that I do for podcasting, how do you want your listener to feel? If you want your listener to feel inspired, maybe the word is empowering. Inspiring. What’s the difference between those two? What does that word feel like? What does inspiring feel like? What does empowering feel like? What is the difference for you? 

[MUSIC IN]

So, at this point, you’ve narrowed it down. Congratulations. You’ve got your podcast values. One way to really solidify it. To be like, yes, this is it is by answering the question, how does your value feel when you add the words I am or my listener is before it? So if we go back to that inspiring or empowering example, I am inspiring or I am empowering, does that change anything for you in your core? You know, how do you feel about that, really, on the inside? Uh, how does that support you to embody those values that should really solidify it for you? So at this point, don’t just close your doc or you’re like, yay, I’m done. I’m going to put my notebook away and never look at these again. No, have these values out where you can see them. You know, do you have like a vision board? Do people still do vision boards? Put it on there. What I like to do is actually put it in my Agendio. I have a box on the top of every week and I fill in every time my values. So every week when I write it down, it’s another reminder. Another great place for you might be where you produce your podcast, meaning your planning of each and every episode or the management of your production. I use Trello, which is an online management platform, and there’s a spot on my Trello board for my values. It’s a card that I put up so I remind myself of them each and every time I see it when I plan for my podcast. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

So there you go. What are your values? What did you come up with? And if you haven’t come up with anything yet and, like you haven’t narrowed it down, that’s okay. You can always come back to this, right? This episode will be here for you when you need it. And so since I’m recording this before the end of the year, I’m still going to have to go through this exercise myself during my year end break and fill in my Agendio for 2024. Be the first thing I do when I come back to the beginning of the year. So I’d be curious what came up for you when you did this? I’ll share with you in the next episode when I’ve done it. I’d love to know what does your values feel like? 

Share your values with me on a voice note. You can leave your feedback by recording it on my website. There is always the purple send voicemail button. You can head to visiblevoicepodcast.com to find that, or emails, as always, are welcome. I’d love to hear from you there, too visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com so once you have your values for your podcast, you can now act the way you want to feel with each and every episode coming your way in 2024. So with that, rest up, relax, and we’ll chat again in February.

[MUSIC ENDS // PAUSE A BEAT // OUTRO – SHOW CLOSE]

<< Ghosthood Featuring Sara Azriel “Let’s Go” BEGINS >>

MARY: Thank you so much for listening to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you shared it with a podcasting friend. And to reveal more voicing and podcasting tips, click on over to visiblevoicepodcast.com.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

[MUSIC ENDS]