Bernie J Mitchell is currently the host of Tech London and Coworking Values, but he’s hosted many other shows before. In this episode, he talks to Pilar about using podcasting to find your voice, and giving voice to others. (And we even have an owl say hello.)
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Bernie and Pilar met many years ago at a UK Podcasters meetup, and they’ve guested on each other’s shows.
Bernie started podcasting because he loved listening to podcasts and was also a fan of talk radio. He set up his first show and thought that it would be great to have Seth Godin on the show. So he invited him and guess what, he interviewed one of his heroes for his first episode.
This was not a tactic to get lots of listeners, but because he’s read everything Seth’s written and he’s been a gateway to many other people and concepts. Bernie was determined to ask him about his lesser known books, to bring up stuff that he hardly talked about – one of the advantages of having your own show, you get to ask the questions you want. (The episode is still out there somewhere, though Bernie didn’t tell us where…)
Bernie has hosted loads of shows, but the one that went on for longer and that Bernie enjoyed very much was Straight Out of @WorkHubs, which he hosted with friend and colleague Phil. The show had a small listenership but were very engaged and often connected with the hosts.
Pilar used to listen to it and it was great fun, the dynamic between them was really warm to listen to. The dynamic worked because they knew each other very well, as friends, as colleagues and they shared the same interests, read similar books and, actually, wanted to make a difference in the world.
The podcast fitted in very well with the coworking space’s other activities, like the “anti-network” group, writer’s club, etc A lot of what they talked about centred around the conversations that took place in the space, and those events. They also didn’t take themselves too seriously and showed how all their plans to follow all the advice from books and gurus often fell by the wayside.
13.32 mins
Bernie is now working on the CoWorking Values podcast, part of the European Coworking Assembly, which started with interviewing people about co-working, but it has now evolved to include people running spaces with a community focus, inclusion and accessibility, spaces in small towns, etc.
It’s accidentally become the voice of the European Coworking Assembly, and has helped them find their niche in an industry where there are already podcasts and content about how to run a coworking space. Their content centres around their values of accessibility, community, collaboration, sustainability and openess.
The assembly is run in a way similar to the co-op and Bernie’s role is to run the podcast, and together with 2 other people, they’re about to launch a version in Spanish. The assembly sponsors the show through their own products, and other software companies linked to the co-working world will support it too.
Bernie hosts the show, but has a great producer working with him who has organised the workflow and set up systems and processes that have enabled them to release an episode a week. The media host they use is Soundr, which allows you to search through the podcast. The search engine looks through the transcript to find the bit you want, and then points you to its place in the audio.
25.26 mins
Coworking Values has always had an interview format and they make an effort to find those voices that are rarely visible in the industry. The “loudest” voices in coworking seem to be be men, but many coworking spaces are run by women. Through this process, Bernie has learned how difficult it is to find people that are not like us – it’s difficult to go beyond the people that first come to mind, and they might not be the most representative, or most interesting.
Bernie also hosts the show Tech London, which is part of the Tech London community. He made a deliberate effort for it not to become one more podcast about start-ups, so he teamed up with the Urban MBA. The show is centred around 5G and smart cities and so it’s more interesting to find guests. They’re looking into having daily episodes (five days a week) with different themes, and hosted by different people.
It’s proving difficult to release consistently, which is often a problem when you have a group of people working on a podcast together, as volunteers. Pilar has had similar experiences and she knows that having a podcast team needs one person to look after the project, lead it or be a linchpin. And consistency from everyone is key.
35.54 mins
Bernie would like to do another podcast with a co-host, similar to the one he did with Phil.
The podcasts he’s doing at the moment are a good length, but it means that some of the conversations fall short and he’d like to do longer pieces where you can go into more depth with the guests. Giving voice to people who are not usually heard is one of the things that drives him now.
Sometimes Bernie ends up having to do a solo show for Coworking Values, which he struggles with. Although he’s quite good at jumping into the cupboard and sharing with listeners what’s been going on in the community, he’s not always comfortable doing it. He really benefits from bouncing off other people.
Bernie has learned that he doesn’t need to know much about the guest’s expertise, and instead needs to simply ask the guest questions, so they can start telling their story.
One of the projects Bernie is most proud of is one that his colleague Jose has recently put together: voices from the coworking community sending their messages to those in the coworking community in the Ukraine.
Both Coworking Values and Tech London are now ready to be taken to the next level, following their values and giving voice to underrepresented voices. Meanwhile, Bernie would like to get better himself at finding and sharing people’s stories when talking to them.
To find Bernie, google his name!
Or visit berniejmitchell.com/
Get in touch if you would like some coaching and advice on podcasting yourself or connect with Pilar on Twitter @Inpodcasting
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