Being Open, Honest & Brave
Here at Sound Rebel there are three main things that we pride ourselves on: our creativity, our professionalism and being brave with the content we produce.
With over 50 years’ experience in the radio industry between us we’ve definitely got the creativity nailed, and it goes without saying that we know what we’re doing when it comes to professional podcast production… So that just leaves us with the idea of being brave. And we really do believe that we’ve been involved with some really brave content recently which has required presenters to be really honest and open, and we’re hugely proud of it.
One of the great things about podcasts is that people choose to listen to them: podcasts aren’t background noise or something you’re listening to while you wait for something else to come on. People actively choose to click play on your podcast, which allows the creator more freedom than other forms of media to talk about what they want to talk about, in the knowledge that the audience are more than likely going to be an empathetic one - or at the very least, receptive.
In The Vagina Monopod, hosts Sacha Parkinson and Molly Wright were candid about their own gynaecological health to educate and inform other women with the aim of trying to break down some of the taboos still surrounding the subject.
It’s not necessarily easy to talk so openly about something so personal, such as Sacha’s journey with endometriosis, but by sharing her story publicly she hopes she can help other young women to talk about what’s happening to their bodies with someone they trust, especially if they feel as if something may be wrong.
She Dares is a podcast all about pushing women out of their comfort zones and some of the guests were incredibly honest about their life experiences, not least host Mel Cheng’s wife Sam and her friend Tara who discussed their battles with breast cancer and the different treatment they received.
It was a brave decision for Mel to even do the series in the first place, since she wasn't hugely confident in her ability as a host - but by pushing herself out of her comfort zone and taking the leap in to something new, Mel has produced something really special which is receiving positive feedback every day.
(Mel, you were great by the way and we’re really excited to work with you on Series 2!)
We can’t talk about being brave without mentioning one of our flagship podcasts, Over The Influence. Shazza, Freddie and Ben are all extremely open about the reasons that led to them choosing to live the rest of their lives without drinking alcohol, and they have received thousands of messages from people all over the world thanking them for their honesty as it has helped them with their own alcohol-free journeys.
When the podcast started, it was mainly listened to by people who were already alcohol-free, but now they’re receiving feedback every week that people have given up alcohol because of the podcast - and to know that we’re positively influencing people’s lifestyles through a podcast is a wonderful feeling, even though at times it felt uncomfortable to record.
Easier said than done…
We know that being courageous isn’t easy, and that’s another fantastic thing about podcasts as a medium - just because we record something, doesn’t mean we need to use it. We will always push the presenters we’re working with to be as honest as they can be, because often that’s where the best content comes from - but if something we record is too raw, or if the presenter feels as if they haven’t expressed their point or sentiment in the right way when listening back to the edit, then we can always leave it on the cutting room floor.
We are proud to have close relationships with the presenters that we work with, and of course, building a positive relationship requires trust - the people we work with trust our judgment, trust that we have their best interests at heart, and trust that we will always give them our professional and objective opinion on what they’ve recorded.
If you have always wanted to produce a podcast about something you care about but are worried about sharing your story for whatever reason, we’d implore you to get in touch with us. Hopefully, with us by your side, you’ll feel brave enough to create the content you want to create - and take comfort in the knowledge that we’ve already helped many people to have the courage to stick their head above the parapet and create brave content.
When you’re producing content with courage, you never know who’s listening - and there could be thousands of people across the world who are grateful that you took the plunge.
Sound Rebel is a podcast production company based in Liverpool. We produce bespoke podcasts for clients both in the UK and across the world. To talk to us about starting your own podcast, email hello@soundrebel.co.uk