Today’s guest is Lisette Sutherland, host of the Collaboration Superpowers podcast, a show about people doing great things remotely. (And she was also Pilar's first co-host on the 21st Century Work Life podcast, back in 2014!)You can find the full show notes over at https://www.adventuresinpodcasting.com/ep36/If you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

Matt Gilhooly, host of the Life Shift Podcast, shares candid conversations about pivotal moments that changed lives forever. They discuss the impact of podcasting, creating a safe space for guests to share, embracing vulnerability, editing techniques, reflecting on impactful moments, and finding process as a podcast host.

In this episode, Pilar talks to Stephanie Fuccio, seasoned podcaster who now also helps solopreneurs with their own podcasts. They talk about Steph's reasons to podcast, how she approaches edit, why she's set up a global community for podcast editors and her "solopreneur podcasting tips".For the full show notes and links go to https://www.adventuresinpodcasting.com/ep34 As well as podcasting, Steph likes reading and sharing pictures of coffee - you can follow her Instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/stephfuccio/Steph recommends the books "The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It" by Valerie Young and Make Noise: A Creator's Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling by Eric NuzumRemember you can get in touch with Stephanie through her website: www.stephfuccio.com/ If you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

After an unexpected break (due to work getting in the way!), Pilar talks about re-starting Management Café, with a new co-host and how this has changed the format. She also reflects on mixing new guests with returning ones, and her audio experiment. If you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

A different kind of guest for today - Pilar talks to Graham Brown, founder of the podcasting agency Pikkal & co. Graham started podcasting before "podcasting" started (around 2014), recording conversations with guests, directly from the phone. At the time Graham was living in Lanzarote, and was missing having conversations with other people, in particular meeting other entrepreneurs. No matter how beautiful the surroundings, Graham missed the inspiration he got from talking to others. He continued travelling, and eventually connected with other entrepreneurs in Asia, where he started living. Eventually, others started asking him how "how do I do this?" And without realising, it, he was running a podcast agency.Podcast market fit happens when 2/3rds of your audience listen to at least 2/3 of your episode. So, if you look at the data and see for how long your audience listens to your show, you can see what kind of match you have. This can help you decide on your future content.  It's not all about having high download numbers. Graham has seen that there are these "pockets" where there are low audience numbers, but high engagement. This can point to a niche who are really into the subject - and you can let this drive your planning. eg Should you set up a new show about it? Or do a whole series around it? 20.34mins Graham has a specific example of being data driven, that of one of his recent clients who was creating episodes for one podcast in different languages. He also suggests a suitable cadence to help you grow your audience when you first start, but the most important thing is consistency.So how should businesses approach podcasting, to connect as best as possible with their current and potential customers? The value of a podcast lies in "unlocking the human potential inside a company" ie reminding listeners that there are actual human beings within an organisation. And these people have stories, insights and values that are worth sharing. This is the difference between traditional product advertising and true podcasting: unscripted conversations. Regarding formats, that depends on the company and angle. But finding the right team is crucial, as is finding an "anchor", a regular host who is there as much as possible to connect with the audience. The host acts as the guide for the listener, asking the questions we want to know the answers. And talking directly to you, the listener. To end the episode, Graham reminds us of the importance of understanding our intrinsic motivation for starting a podcast. And the fact that podcasting is a great medium to practice having conversations with others, a skill that will serve you for life. To find out more about Graham, check out his website,  grahamdbrown.comIf you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

Michele Ong, is the host of Steam Powered and she joins Pilar all the way from Australia.  She started podcasting because she wanted to get a better idea of what women were doing in the STEAM fields. She knew many women doing incredible things in their work and their lives, and wanted to share their stories with others. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics/ medicine, but Michele talks about STEAM, as it includes “art”, which is key when interacting with technology and engineering.  Michele asks people to guest on her show after reading their research or coming across the work. Sometimes the women don’t accept, but this doesn’t surprise her. What did surprise her were those people who replied saying they didn’t think they would make good guests because their work was boring. This kind of mindset was a surprise to Michele - and to Pilar as she heard Michele's story. With this example we can see the importance of podcasting in giving attention and reassurance to people who think their work is not interesting to anyone. Some people simply don’t want the attention and just want to get on with their work, but others underplay their contribution to the field. Sometimes we need someone else’s perspective to understand the impact and scale of our work.  Apart from getting their ideas out there, there is a benefit to guests by simply creating the space for them to reflect on their work for about an hour, to talk without an agenda, with no KPIs in mind: they’re simply talking about what they love doing. 19.00 minsMichele has a release form for her guests making the copyright clear, after hearing from other podcasters that they’d had problems with some guests. As Michele wants to be able at some point to repurpose her content, she thinks it’s better to be prepared. You can find the Guest Intake Form, with the Release copy at the end here.Michele is in charge of the whole production process from beginning to end, and it’s pretty much self-taught. She’s summarised everything she’s learned and shared it with the world in The Rail Yard section of her website. She has documented everything she’s learned along the way and shared her resources. Do check it out, as well as a space full of resources that might be useful, it’s a great example of how to showcase your podcast. www.micheleong.com/rail-yard/Michele looks for ways to cover the costs of the show by setting up affiliate links, for example, she’s also set up Patreon and Ko-fi, although she hasn’t been active about promoting these links. It’s a fine balance to try to figure out how to support the project without feeling like you’re constantly asking for money for it. (Pilar also forgets, so don’t forget that you can support this show if you sign up to Buzzsprout through this link.)Michele uses the Davinci Resolve to edit video, and she tried to fix the audio there too, but eventually she purchased Isotope RX. (Pilar uses Audacity and Auphonic.)In the end, you need to understand the environment you’re working in and find something that works for you. It’s an iterative process. Michele has some advice for new podcasters: just do it. Three of her favourite podcasts:You HaIf you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

Pilar is back with her own adventures, recording when broadband is glitchy, and discovering the power of podcasting to give people much needed reflection space. Due to some maintenance in her broadband, there were a couple of times when there was about a 1.5 seconds delay in the conversation between Pilar and the other person recording. For one of the shows it wasn’t an issue (and you’ll hear that conversation next week), but it did get some adjusting to. The conversation with guest Michelle Ong was structured, so they made it work. However, when the same issue arose in My Pocket Psych, where the conversation is more fluid and requires more spontaneity, we couldn’t work with it and had to start again. It’s only when something like this happens when you realise how amazing the technology is now, and also how much harder it is to keep a conversation going when the speech from the other person arrives after it has left their mouth. If we understand the nature of the conversations we have on our show we can decide how to deal with technical issues. As she has mentioned before, Pilar struggles to record interviews with guests with the camera on. Even though she’s fully present for the guest most of the times, there are times when her attention needs to go to her notes, or the screen to check everything is still recording, the clock… and she doesn’t like the fact that the guest can see this and might distract them. She was glad to read in the book You’re Not Listening, that there was a journalist who also prefers to talk to his interviewees over the phone for two reasons 1) like Pilar, they can  be making notes etc without distracting the guest, but more importantly 2) they can prevent influencing the other person with their own body language. Pilar has noticed how much she communicates with the guest when the camera is on through nodding, etc.Unfortunately, some guests struggle to record with the camera off, so Pilar now always asks guests what they prefer. Recently, someone that Pilar went to school with guested on Gastronostalgia and told her and co-host Tomas how to make crispy tofu! It’s always surprising to find out about listeners’ habits. One listener from Gastronostalgia got in touch to say that she never listens to the weekly episodes and instead, waits for the 1-hour bumper edition of the show, the “full menu”. Some news for Management Café, Pilar is joined by Tim Burgess as co-host! The idea is to keep the episodes down to 20 minutes long, and guide managers’ thinking as they reflect on their own practice. They’ve come up with a new intro for the show, welcoming the listener into their conversation as the listener steps into the café.Guest for episode 31, Michelle Ong, prompted a thought during the recording, that podcasts which invite in guests provide a space for guests to talk about things that are important for them, without a different agenda. For some people, this is really valuable, as they might never get the chance to take some time to formulate their thoughts. And the same happens when we get behind the microphone as hosts… Following this conversation, Pilar recorded with Myriam Hadnes for Facilitation Stories. During the episode, Myriam shared what she’d learned from a recent experience organising a festival and after the conversation, she thanked Pilar for the space to reflect on the experience, as she hadn’t got around to that yet. Similarly, previous guest Marisa EikenberIf you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

 Matt co-hosts the WB40 podcast with Chris Weston. Matt has always loved radio, as a kid and at university (back in the day when we spliced tape!). Matt set up the podcast to “see what happened”, to try it out. Six and a half years later, they’re still at it!WB40 is led by a guiding principle, the show is about what you need to know in order to manage technology in 2022 and beyond. They’ve had people talk about the changing nature of works, autonomous vehicles, defence analysis.The format has evolved and now consists mainly of a guest interview with them, but they record it almost as live, with minimal edits. (And the name, WB40 comes from West-Ballantine, and the aspiration for the show to be 40 minutes.) They’ve experimented with book clubs, audio from listeners about books, and other features.   A community has evolved around the show, meeting in Signal to support each other and it feels like on the back of the podcast, they’ve created something of value to others. The group has even involved its own language and culture. Some of the community members have stepped in as co-hosts, they have Ask WB40 shows to answer questions from them and obtain feedback and ideas from them. Matt has also had three pieces of work from the podcast, and they even piloted podcasting as a research method in an organisation. The project didn’t evolve, but Matt is still interested in experimenting with it. In terms of production costs, it’s quite easy to produce decent quality audio, so producing something that’s polished enough to be consumable, but still feel rough enough that it doesn’t feel definite, makes it attractive as a research tool.  19.53 minsMatt finds that his training in research methodologies and coaching helps him to drive the interviews with the guests. You also need to be able to be spontaneous and have split focus, to stay in the conversation while looking at the clock etc. The only times they haven’t published interviews is when they’ve had problems with the audio. There was another time when the comms department of the company a guest worked in asked for some edits once the episode had been published. Matt came close to un publishing the episode because they were being asked to change the tone and content significantly, but they came to a compromise that worked. Matt edits the conversation as soon as they’re done with the recording, using Audacity and Descript. This helps the production process to be sustainable and get the episodes out on time. Aside from the arranging of guests, producing a whole episode takes him about 3 hours. Sometimes guests have an impact on our thinking, and this was the case with episode 197 on Kinetic Defence, with guest Alex Woolfson. As well as these moments, Matt continue podcasting because it allows him to follow his curiosity and invite people to come and talk to him and his co-host about things they’re interested in. Finally, thinking about someone setting up a new podcast, Matt suggests starting with an open question that the show aims to answer, in the case of WB40 it’s “What do you need to manage technology in 2022 and beyond?”As well as thinking about who your audience is, consider what you want them to do as a result of listening - in their case help expand the knowledge of listeners by taking the show in unexpected directions, or places adjacent to their world, but related to it.If you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

In this episode, Pilar talks to Jacquie Doucette, host of the Beyond Retirement podcast. There is a whole new world past your retirement and through Beyond Retirement, Jacquie talks to people who have “retired to something rather than from something”. Jacquie looks for guests who can share their own experience in retirement, or something that can be of use to people about to retire, or new to retirement. Her ideal listener is someone who is about to retire and know what there is out there and how to get it. In fact, she was one of her listeners when she started the show.  It’s only been a month since Jacquie retired. The show has made her think of elements of her journey towards retirement she hadn’t considered. She’s heard from successful entrepreneurs, but also those who’ve struggled, and those who continue to grow in different ways. A common thread amongst her guests has been their optimism, which fits well with Jacquie’s goal which is to help people be optimistic about their retirement. By the end of the first season, Jacquie was running out of ideas to talk about, so she went on a course to learn how to find and recruit guests. The show changed completely - in good and bad ways. It spinned a bit out of control…   Right now, Jacquie has fully moved on to the next stage of her life and is looking at all the things that are possible and her next job is thinking about how to make her ideas happen. Her retirement gig is house sitting, looking after people’s pets. She’s also branding herself as a lifestyle specialist, building her brand through Beyond Retirement. Maybe at some point she will get to interview people in the locations she visits who have already retired, so that they can share their stories with her audience. Jacquie’s advice for podcasters thinking of starting a show about their own transitions is to lay down on paper the transition, to see what it looks like. And for those looking to start podcasting, she’s got a course, Podcasting for Newbies! https://beyondretirement.ca/podcasting-for-newbies/29.30mins Pilar shares her own reflections about the topic of “retirement” and why podcasting is a great way of expanding your thinking. Pilar has started reading :The 100 Year Life, living and working in an age of longevity” by Linda Gratton and Andrew J Scott. She’s only 7% into it, but the premise is, we live a lot longer now than we did some time ago, so we need to change how we view the different stages of life. Traditionally we've thought of Education, Work, Retirement but this might not serve us. Like Jacquie's tag line suggests, it makes more sense to think about retiring towards something.Do we need another name in the English language for this stage of life? We retire a product from the shelves when the company making it closes down, for example. Of course retirement is not just about leaving a job but about drawing a pension, so there is that to consider.As an anecdote, in Spain you use 'jubilación' for retirement. And that word comes from jubilation. This section has moved away from the topic of podcasting itself, but this is the joy of podcasting. It's not about making podcasts. It's about broadening your thinking, with your guests or your listeners, it's about unashamedly pursuing your interests, asking questions (to yourself, your gIf you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.

J Thorn currently hosts Writers, Ink, The Author Life, and The Music NFT Show. J’s prolific journey as a podcaster started, with the The Horror Writers Podcast. He stumbled around in the dark at the beginning, finding his voice and style - and you can hear what he sounded like in episode 1, “it’s as raw as it gets”.10.20 MINS  There were a number of podcasts in between that J experimented with, like The Intronaut, a podcast for introverts. J wanted to share some of his experiences as an introvert, and dispel some myths like 14.10MINSGoing back to The Career Author podcast, J shares how Zach and him met, and how they became co-hosts (as well as great friends and writing partners). “You have to be a more amplified version of yourself behind the microphone to be an engaging podcaster”.  In The Writers Well, J was the most vulnerable he’s ever been, due to his relationship with co-host Rachael Herron and the format, where they would ask each other one question on the show, some of which were very personal.  21.10MINSJ and Rachael really hit it off when J appeared in Rachael’s show and they started to podcast together, first as The Petal to the Metal, a name they changed pretty early on as it didn’t convey what the show was about. “Podcast and book titles are not the places you want to be cute, because all that does is confuse.” The Author Life was created as a way of answering questions that were emerging in their community’s online space. Most of the work on this show is done by Crys, J just shows up, which is great as he does most of the work on his other shows. J has been working in audio for decades (recording bands etc) and he’s been using the same software (Reaper) for over 20 years. 30.40 MINSJ often turns up in places where he doesn’t think he belongs, to see what unexpected things can happen. It was at Thriller Fest that he met J.D. Barker, who he (eventually) enticed to become the co-host in his new show, Writers, Ink. J starts his interviews by trying to get his guests to laugh, to set the right tone for the show. Pilar has always wondered whether J gets nervous when he interviews his most high-profiled guests. J doesn’t get as nervous as before, but he does share one moment when he was shaking.      49.51 MINSJ has recently started a solo show, The Music NFT Show because he wants to be part of this new wave of web 3 technology that’s going to help artists to take control of their careers.On a whim, Pilar asked whether J had been thinking of supporting podcasters in a similar way to how he supports authors. And you know what, he has! J has recently set up related to If you're thinking of starting your own podcasting adventure, I recommend Buzzsprout as host - click here for my affiliate link, which also gets you a little discount, and Riverside FM for recording, which you can access through this other affiliate link.