I feel like a new butterfly, wriggling out of my covering after hanging upside down as a pupa for a long time. Allow me to explain.
Before we launched Gracefully and Frankly, the podcast Erin Davis and I host, I told Erin I didn’t want to work on “anything like a radio show”. That I don’t miss radio and want to stay away from it. Erin patiently nodded – even though it was over the phone, I could sense her nodding – and we carried on.
I Was Wrong
I soon realized that I did miss parts of radio after all. Bantering with someone witty who could give back as good as they got. (And in this case, even better.) I missed expressing myself from somewhere in broadcasting’s sweet spot between “please listen to me” and “I have no idea what I’m going to say”. The G & F podcast has brought all the best parts of radio back to me. And I didn’t see it coming.
Erin did, though. Sometimes a friend knows you better than you know yourself.
Now, we’re both thrilled to be involved in a project that brings us the best of radio without the worst of it. Like cohosts we can’t count on or who cut us down. Overbearing bosses of many years past who don’t have our backs. And now we enjoy direct communication with listeners, with no filters or go-betweens. There were times when radio was almost this much fun but never this consistently. And I can’t think of another time when I was partnered with someone so steadily reliable, well organized, enthusiastic, and trustworthy. Not to mention possessing the quickest wit ever.
Never did I imagine that four years after walking away from my 35-plus year radio career that I’d want to return to anything similar. And here we are, having a blast, wide-eyed at how many people are listening to G + F.
Talk Therapy
There’s another benefit, too. New research shows that just one quality conversation with a friend per day makes a person happier and less stressed. Does listening to a podcast count? Because that’s what we’re going for – to be friends with our listeners. Quick chats and even brief text exchanges with pals definitely boost my mood. But researchers say in-person interaction is even better. Recording the podcast with Erin is like a week’s worth of conversations at once. It’s definitely been good for me. I hope it’s good for those who listen, too.
We were overjoyed when enVy Pillow came on board as our sponsor. And a generous one at that. Our enVy Pillow contest continues until February 10th and the entries are rolling in. Correctly answer the 10 multiple choice questions based on episodes one to five of G & F, email them to GracefullyFrankly@Gmail.com, and you’ll go into the random draw. Five winners will be notified by email and on our G and F Facebook page on Valentine’s Day. (You must live in Canada or the US.) Find the questions on Facebook and on Erin’s website HERE. We’ll also repeat them in Episode 6 this Thursday.
Meantime, if you want to order one of these beautiful copper infused, silk pillows go HERE and use the code GF for 10% off. Erin has slept on this pillow for years as have I, ever since she gifted me one long ago. We’d never accept a sponsor we didn’t believe in. How lucky are we?
First of all, I can’t thank you and Erin enough for sharing the birth of Gracefully and Frankly with all of us. As a lifelong listener and supporter of radio, these podcasts have brought back one of the best parts of radio to us as well, but in a different way. We’re no longer having to wait for a specific time to tune in if we want to hear our favourite voices on the airwaves. We’re hearing more than we could have imagined because, like you said, there are no filters. That in itself makes it feel like we’re sitting at our kitchen table with friends, as opposed to listener/broadcaster. For me, the podcast is kind of like this: It’s like I’ve travelled the yellow brick road to hear the voice of the wizard, but now, years later, the wizard is a friend. Imagine that!Â
Claire, thank you! My day is made. And when I share this with Erin, hers will be too!
Listening to Gracefully and Frankly has become a Saturday-afternoon ritual for M’Lady and me. We stretch out on the couch, get comfy and listen, actually listen. I have to believe that the ear knows — you can’t fake enthusiasm and your love for broadcasting comes through!
Thank you Dan and M’lady! We appreciate your time so much.
Gracefully and Frankly is appointment listening!