Lessons from The Arc of The Bard | Things for guests to consider | An analysis of the process to this point | How it came about in the first place | Back to Sundays only
Dialogue Impetus
My podcast, The Arc of The Bard, is built on storytelling and on simply doing what I want. The guest discussions are about the nature of storytelling as a facility of consciousness, as well as an opportunity for storytellers to bring their books and other forms of storytelling.
I have always been fascinated with how thoughts arise in our minds. What happens in our minds and brains to formulate new ideas, especially creative, imaginative scenarios, out of nowhere, and then bring them forward into the world in the form of stories? Where do stories come from? What is that about? I think we are momentous beings and refractions of and manifestations of a single creative force.
It’s most certainly a niche thing. While it’s fascinating for me, and I never stop learning from it, I do not have a budget for marketing, and to this point, even if I felt I could afford it, I would not pay for exposure. It’s steadily growing on its own, and I think that’s the core audience that I want. I would prefer to have a foundation of listeners who consistently want to be there and then build from that. At some point, once I feel it’s at a good place, I’ll hire out some marketing.
My other podcast easytopia!was the foundational audience for The Arc of The Bard. I write and podcast stories there. Having that built-in audience is how I felt comfortable starting the discussion show. Since that one has been going for three years, and I’ve consistently had 200+ shows each year, I do get more audience engagement for that reason, and some discussions in the comments from time to time.
To the point of good dialogue. In The Arc of The Bard, I want to let the guest really take it where they want to go. I get excited about the conversation and participate, of course, but it’s really about them. I want them to have the floor. There are times I get excited about their subject and get in there and get involved, but that’s only because they are a good guest making great points. It’s not about arguing.
There’s a loose format, but the conversation has to dictate things. I do my best to be consistent, but sometimes a guest is engaging and has good skills, and things diverge a little. I introduce the guest, usually reading directly from their website. Then I bring them in to follow up on that. From there I go into a question about how they think stories are formed and why we have this propensity. Once I have that answer, I know what kind of conversation it’s going to be. It will be either more philosophical or more technical.
Then there is the conversation of what books and authors they were inspired by and maybe an adult from their childhood who encouraged them. Now they get to read something, and we discuss that. By this point we are having a blast. Then I also read from my very large catalogue of microfiction and flash fiction, trying to keep it within the theme that the guest has presented. We may talk about that for a minute and have more conversation. Then, ideally, the guest will read once more. Sometimes, however, the conversation is so good, or their first piece was long enough, that we don’t get around to a second reading by the guest. Readings should be short, though! But that’s another subject.
To conclude, for good dialogue, give your guest the reins. You play a role in setting up the arena and pointing out the course, but you have to get to know them. That question about the origin of consciousness is a very good indicator for how my guest will be leading the discussion and what type of conversation it’s going to be.
* For guests to consider
* An analysis of the process to this point
* How it came about in the first place
* Back to Sundays only
I’m getting this new product portal together. There’s only one design for now but I’ll be adding a lot more. Cool colorful options soon. Maybe you want to let people know how you feel about the posthuman narrative.
