Your story is yours to share and it can serve a bigger purpose greater for your listener – it could change their whole world. Getting personal about your stories and experiences can make your listeners feel included, seen, and heard. Even if you prefer to avoid the spotlight, keep in mind that your podcast isn’t about you. It’s about what you can bring to the table through your lived experience. Being vulnerable enough to share a glimpse into what has made you, you, helps build a real connection with your listeners. What will you say today that will help someone else tomorrow?

Share Your Story By:

  • Understanding why getting outside of yourself and your worries will broaden your reliability
  • Knowing what level of intimacy to share in your stories
  • Creating awareness around how even the smallest story could have a real impact on your listener.

Links to Explore From This Episode:

Connect with Mary!

Podcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co.

Transcript with audio description:

[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: Hey there. Welcome to episode number 64, share your story to help others.

[MUSIC FADES // MUSIC IN]

Before we get into the episode, just a little note for you. This is the last episode before I go on my yearly summer break. And I know there’s a lot of info out there about creating content and having it show up weekly to your audience. But my whole thing is if you don’t have enough gas in your gas tank, you know, your personal energy levels, you’re just going to grind out that content and then it becomes work, rather than fun or inspiring. So that’s why I always plan in a little summer hiatus. And it’s also because there’s things to do outside in the outdoors, away from the microphone. So this is the time of year for me to do that and I hope you can take a little inspiration from that as well. Because what’s life without a little playtime, especially in the summer, okay? And if you’re listening on the other side of the world, well, I hope you take a really well-deserved winter break for yourself then. So even if it’s a week or what have you, brains need time to recharge for that creativity to spark. And podcasting is definitely a creative endeavour. So enjoy the break because you deserve it. 

[MUSIC OUT]

So as we get into this episode, it is all about stories and the impact they make to anyone who is listening. By sharing your story and getting outside of yourself or maybe having the platform to share other people’s stories, you get to make the listener the focus so your stories can help your listener feel less alone. In this day and age of text messages, social media, and zoom calls, yeah, those video chats, we’re connected now more than ever. It’s so easy to just log on or send a text and we’re connected, right? But most of that is so superficial or on a time constraint, there’s no real human-to-human real-life connection that you can get that other person’s energy from. The beauty of a podcast, though, although it is, you know, on the Internet, digital, it’s long-form, there’s time to clearly share your message, your thoughts, to create emotions and compassion with your listeners. Creating that empathy and that real connection that we’re all looking for. You know, a short little text message can really be construed to something different. So use your voice and share it on a podcast so that your stories drive the conversation, which is the heart of podcasting. 

[MUSIC IN]

So I want you to think about this as when you share, you are providing an opportunity for your listener. What will you say today that can help someone else? That’s the opportunity right there. When I hear stories, there is usually some little nugget that I resonate with. It could be a personal one, work-related, ideas in your mind, opinions, they can translate into big ideas for someone else. So no story really is small or not important because it’s how the listener interprets that for themselves. You might be thinking, oh man, I don’t like being in the spotlight or I hate talking about myself. But remember, it’s not about you when you share this story. So I’m not talking just about sharing your job title or what you do for a living. You know, those informal little networking things, ugh, those can be really boring conversations. But what it is that you are experiencing right now that can contribute to this conversation and grow it, that’s the relationship that you’re building. Even if it’s a stranger or like I said before, those awkward networking meetings where you might never see the person again so it doesn’t really matter what you say, but it can still matter. You could say your job title for sure and um, then get to that point faster or answer their question directly and especially in those networking things. But expand on that and share your story of why, if you have the time for it, throw that in, so you can take what could be a boring introduction. I’ll have to talk about myself and then share a little something about what you love. That way it drives the relationship and conversation. 

So, for example, you could start with the hi, your title. So, for example, if you’re an executive director for a nonprofit, you say those things. Yes, hi, my name is and I’m the executive director for insert nonprofit here. But what I love about my job is seeing my community come together to support each other and you can name an example event such as, last week we raised so much money for our local food bank with the XYZ event. That’s different people pay attention to different. Now sometimes people are like, oh well, it’s about how they’re going to respond, what are they going to say? Well, you can start thinking about all of that and oh my God, how are they going to react? But you can’t control that. You can only control the present. Stop, uh, thinking about the what if the future. I know it’s easier said than done because I’m always a but what if type of person. 

[MUSIC OUT] 

I mean, if you really break it down, people can respond in two ways. One, that they don’t say much, they ignore you, or two, they really resonate with what you have to say, right? So, the ignoring you, could be positive as well. Maybe they are in their own heads and they’re busy with something else, so they’re just not focused and not paying attention. Well, they’re just not the person for you in the room at that moment. They might be caught up in their own drama. Or maybe they’re just so nervous themselves too, because they don’t like talking to strangers as well. And so there could be that aspect. Or maybe they have a sore throat, they’re not feeling well that day, yet they are here and present, but they just don’t respond. There could be so many reasons why people don’t respond. So you can make up all the reasons you want, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that connection that you do make with someone. So when they do resonate with what you have to say, you know, they, they can say something like, oh, I went to that event. That’s the starting point. They can start bringing up how they support local food movement or something like that. And so the door has been open for an honest conversation about what you both value. And that’s the genuine connection that was made. And you can go deeper on that story because it’s just begun. You can share different opinions and test things out about what you saw, what you loved, what you didn’t like about certain things. And you guys can go back and forth and that is the connection that’s sharing your emotions, sharing your stories, and sharing what is deep inside you that you value, because it resonates with that other person. 

So, see, it’s not really about you. It’s about your listener. It’s about how it makes you feel on the inside to be able to share that inside feeling to the outside with your listener. By using your voice so many times, we just get swirling in our heads about, oh, maybe I should think about that more. But really, it’s until you speak it out loud that those inside thoughts can help others to make a connection with another human being and being able to build on that relationship. No matter how small, your story serves a purpose for someone else. You are a helper. When you share your experiences, maybe your story will help someone overcome their fear. Maybe you can start generating ideas with someone else. Ah, that’s something I so, so miss in this digital world is working in person in a group and just like, hanging out at the water cooler, right? Do people still do that? Maybe your words will get someone else to take action on something. They’ve been holding themselves back for years and now they’re like, oh, representation, you can do it, so why can’t I do it? Or, you had the same fear I did. So if you could overcome it, I could overcome it. You never know. Your story can change someone else’s world completely. You never know when or how a story will help someone else, because stories stay with people long after they’ve been told. That’s why movies are so popular. 

[MUSIC IN]

So what is possible when you hear a story? What is it that motivates you? I’ve been digging deeper into my heritage, my past. You know, my parents are getting older. My dad passed away last year. I have a little daughter where I want to teach her a lot of the same things that I grew up with. But breaking some of those cycles that doesn’t really serve us anymore, because it affected me in a big way, you know, negatively, positively, whatever that may be. So just trying to figure out now what was that initial spark of changing my perspective on things and realizing there’s a bigger world out there. And like I mentioned very quickly, earlier, representation, right? You hear a story from someone else, and I’m like, wow, that could be me. 

So I remember when I was in elementary school, grade five or six, there was a book coming out called The Diary of Evelyn Lau. Evelyn Lau is the author. She, uh, compiled her diaries and completed this book. She grew up in the same community as me, an inner city school in Vancouver. I thought her story was quite interesting, being someone of such a young age, living on the streets and leaving home. Because even in my fantasy mind and imagination, I thought I could do that one day, just weave, be on my own. But hearing her story in person when she came to our school kind of changed that. I never read the book. I was never big on book reading. But seeing her story on TV is what changed everything. The movie version of “the Diary of Evelyn Lau” was called “Runaway”, and it was Sandra Oh’s first big role. And to this day, I will watch anything with Sandra Oh in it. I mean, I even watch Grey’s Anatomy, and I normally don’t even like medical dramas and those romance-type shows, but I was like, oh, Sandra Oh’s in it. I know who she is, I loved watching her in all those Asian Canadian movies. So I watched Grey’s Anatomy. She was the representation I saw of me. You know, there was this blend of seeing women in my community, in media, which gave me that permission, that small little piece of permission, maybe like, five or so years later, to pursue a career in radio, realizing Asian women can be in the media. Asian women do have important stories to tell. And that changed my whole life. You know, a 20 year career, and then now working in podcasting and meeting so many people along the way who didn’t look like me, that affected me, that affected who I am today and why I do what I do. 

[MUSIC OUT]

So that very short story has significance. It doesn’t need to be on the big screen or highly publicized. It’s your story that you’re sharing on your own time and space that can help someone. I never met Sandra Oh. I mean, Evelyn Lau probably does not remember who the heck I am. Just some other Asian kid in a class full of Asians in Chinatown, you know? But both of their stories had so much significance on the decisions that I made in my life. And so even today, sharing those stories with my daughter about when I was a little girl or what can help someone like you on this very podcast. She loves hearing stories, and I’m so happy that I can be able to share stories with her, because stories are a way of connection. Being a parent has really changed the way I view stories. When I was a kid, my family didn’t share much, especially in the emotional range of things, unless it was anger. We had a lot of that. Yet I remember asking my parents lots of questions about their families, how they grew up, being a curious little girl. But that’s when I kept getting shut down. You would ask about something like, nope, that was a bad time in my life. I don’t want to talk about it. Or it already happened. Why bring it up again? It’s hard to dig up my family’s past. It’s not easy. 

So now I hear from my daughter, you know, my own little voice as when I was a child, those questions coming from her. And as you can tell, I like to talk. So I share my stories with her. That’s a cycle that I’m breaking. Any question that she asked, I shared something. Whether I know it or not, I’m sharing a story. And she’s learning from that. Especially if it was a similar experience that she’s going through, something that I witnessed. Or even if the answer is I don’t know, I still explain with a story somehow. These stories ground her, and she knew this was a safe space to share and be fully ourselves in this moment. When you share these stories, we’re being vulnerable. And I mean, she is my daughter, so I’m going to be extra vulnerable. But you don’t have to be 100% vulnerable every time you share a story. What’s the point of the story? Share those facts. Share those pieces that help facilitate your point and to drive that point home. By sharing, we can also help calm other people’s nerves. You know, I was just thinking back to my daughter gets anxious sometimes and I share a story and she’s like, oh, I get it. You know, her shoulders go down, body feels lighter. 

So what story will you share today? And I know on a podcast again, I was saying you didn’t have to be like, 100% vulnerable, and you don’t need to always be that way on a podcast. But remember that it doesn’t matter if it’s interesting. It’s still important. It is important to share. You might not find it personally interesting, but it is an opportunity for that listener to learn something from your story. The story you share has the potential to help someone. Stories are opportunities. Or maybe you have a story that you shared on a podcast before that really resonated. I would love for you to share that impact. Share that story with me. I know this might be a, uh, tough ask, but in fact, most people might say, oh, I don’t know, or I’ve got nothing to share that was that impactful or significant, right? We always downplay our stories, but I bet you can come up with at least one. So share that with me. Or okay, let’s make it a little easier if you need to. What story have you heard that made you feel less alone? Maybe that’s a story you want to share. So leave me a voice note. Head to my website. You can record it from your phone. Just click on the purple button, Send voicemail, or you send me a nice long email as well. How about that? So either go to my website@visiblevoicepodcast.com or the email visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com. 

[MUSIC IN] 

So with that, I’m going to wrap it up here. I’m going to be off on my summer break, but I’ll also be recording and planning for the next series which will publish in mid-September. So that’s when I’ll be back. I hope you have a fantastic time away, whatever you’ll be doing. We’re going to take the kiddo to Disneyland for the first time. She is a huge, huge, Star Wars fan and I haven’t been since I was like eight or nine or ten or something like that. So this is going to be an adventure because I can’t do the rides. I used to, had a concussion, can’t do the rides anymore. So I don’t really know what I’m going to be doing in Disneyland except for maybe holding everybody’s bags? I don’t know if you’ve been recently. I’d love some tips. Send them my way. Yeah, I’m all for opinions about Disneyland if you’ve been recently. So anyway, have a great time off and I will chat with you again in mid-September.

[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]