This episode was recorded at the She Podcasts conference, courtesy of Buzzsprout.
Always on the lookout for joy, and noticing when it shows up, my assistant producer, Mallory, and I were blown away by the amount of joy, care, inclusion, altruism, and authenticity that we found at She Podcasts Live.
In this episode, which we recorded at She Podcasts in a super swank booth, we’re sharing about our experience at She Podcasts. As a woman podcaster, I’ve never felt surrounded by so many people like me, and it was a truly divine experience. And while I realize this sounds a bit like an ad, it’s totally not. We didn’t get jack for writing or recording this, it’s just coming as true observations from the goodness of our hearts.
In this episode, Mal and I share what we experienced around:
1. The Magic of Connection – Podcasting is often a solo sport. You record at home, edit, create show notes, and for me, all of that is done in my house. As a social person who likes to chat and connect, this can feel isolating, and it was such a breath of fresh air to meet and talk to so many other women who do what I do and share experiences like the ones I have had.
The organizers of She Podcasts Live (Elsie Escobar and Jessica Kupferman), were also very mindful about the tone that they set for the event. They set out to make a conference that was about the community. It was really lovely to see how their desire for connection was then a part of the presence, curiosity, and care that (if you want more on that, see last week’s episode with Oren Jay Sofer) ran throughout the connections we made.
2. Spirit of Altruism – From the moment you walked up to registration, She Podcasts set this amazing tone of “How can I help?” and it was something that extended from the organizers, to the attendees, to speakers, and vendors. Often times, conferences have a tone of “me me me,” or a very (frankly) “alpha male” energy of authority, consumption (on all levels), and capitalism. She Podcasts Live had a very different tone. The speakers were not there to sell, rather to inform and teach. The attendees and speakers mingled. And, podcasters were sharing info, sharing guests names, sharing tips…. You name it, it was a share fest as you talked to these amazing women. And I never once got the sense that someone was sharing because they wanted something in return. It was a spirit of lifting each other up, only because it was the right thing to do.
3. Intention setting around receiving – I was a speaker at this event, so I have a bit of the behind the scenes on this one. One of the amazing things that Elsie and Jess did from the beginning with the speakers was to ask what we wanted to receive. This stemmed from a place of having a mindful experience at the conference; that if we set an intention of what we hoped to get out of our time there, that we’d be in a place to receive it. The conference was also opened this way. With each of us setting an intention of why we were there. It set the tone for everything else we did.
4. Dropping the mask – One of the other attendees mentioned this one to us; there was a refreshing sense that you could be yourself, and that others were being their true selves. The powerful thing about this is that we were surrounded by a deep sense that we were welcome just as we were and that the conference was a safe space for whoever we were. This was extended to all races, all sizes, all backgrounds, and all genders.
5. Among my people – Saturday night was an Extrovert / Introvert Party, which was pretty much the coolest idea I’d ever heard of. In the Extrovert room, there was dancing, loud music, and karaoke. I looked around the room, with all of us wearing twinkle light flower headbands, dancing with each other, doing whatever the hell weird moves we wanted to do, and I was simultaneously in awe of the diversity that was coming together all as one, and felt totally among a group of people as I never had in my life. Something magical was happening as we allowed ourselves to truly revel in being present, to celebrate, to soak in a moment that only happens once and awhile.
6. Joy-filled Energy – In almost every session I attended, the speakers mentioned how they had followed their joy or got a great sense of joy from creating their show. It was lovely and amazing to be surrounded by so many women who have found their purpose and who are actively pursuing it.
Resources
She Podcasts Live
She Podcasts on Facebook (a group for women in podcasting)
The Biggest Little Farm
Buzzsprout
Doing Divorce Right Podcast with Jennifer Hurvitz
The Newsworthy Podcast
