Finding Your True Voice (How a Podcasting Class Led to Discovering Your Unique Value Proposition)

Discourse is discovery, that’s the magic behind podcasting. It’s also about finding your unique voice, which is an amazing parallel to building a strong business: In both cases, you are creating something that the customer values.

Mark and I (Catherine, too) love podcasts. We’re constantly discovering new episodes to share with friends. Some of our favorites include Jay Acunzo’s Unthinkable, Gimlet Media’s StartUp, and Alec Baldwin’s Here’s The Thing (just to name a few).

We’ve had some notable podcasting experiences too, some of the highlights include Marks’ conversations with Seth Godin and Jeremy Lott. One of my favorites was a recent recording with Casey Schorr of Printfection and the impromptu recording we had on the topic of the industry’s next five years.

A lot of the work for an episode takes place before you hit record. When Mark and I plan an episode together, it usually starts like this:

And ends like this:

But now and then (more often than not) we hit that stride where discourse becomes discovery. Like conversations with your closest friends, podcast episodes often take unexpected roads, and you sometimes venture further and deeper than you imagined. These are usually the best moments: when the guest, the host, and the audience each learn from one another.

That’s what happened with this episode. It occurred at the PPAI Expo (the largest show in the promotional products industry) where Mark was leading a class on podcasting. If you’ve ever thought about starting your own podcast, Mark shared an excellent summary of his top tips (you can view the PowerPoint below).

After Mark’s presentation, I joined him on the stage (as the host) to interview Mark and demonstrate how we tackle an episode. We had planned to simply illustrate how a typical recording would go, but what actually happened was that we veered into a great conversation about a distributor’s unique value proposition.

In this short 17 min segment, we uncover:

• how RIGHTSLEEVE found their UVP

• the power of a brand’s personality

• developing your UVP by seeking business that appeals to you

• how a simple interjection can help you discover your UVP

• the easiest way to discover your UVP

It was a surprising and enlightening convo, and we hope it helps you as your work toward solving more problems for your customers, and, as you seek to discover your unique voice.

Mark’s PowerPoint:

You can view Mark’s entire podcast class through PPAI, here. You can find our podcast, skucast here, or, you can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, or SoundCloud page.