September Q&A: feeling through climate change, social media confidence, and my favourite podcasts

Some ways I hold my own tender feelings

In today’s Q&A:

1. How do you get over the nervousness of making videos for social media?

2. How do you approach issues of climate change with an abundance mindset? How would you respond to activists whose language often sound fearful and divisive, while still taking the issues seriously?

3. What are some of your favorite podcasts? I am really missing Fair Folk! 

4. Are there plans for another Yule/Winter Solstice sing along?

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1. How do you get over the nervousness of making videos for social media?

The short answer is, I don’t! If you have heard my less-edited audio read-alouds of my posts here on Substack, you’ll notice that I have a tendency to stumble over my words rather often. If you listen to my podcast, Fair Folk, you probably wouldn’t be aware of this, because I have a really talented editor who gives the impression that I basically never say “um” or mutter nonsense, which is just not true. I frequently ramble down a blind logical alley, contradict myself entirely, or begin speaking a sentence whose grammatical destiny was to eddy into absolute confusion. In these moments, myself or my editor are able to simply hit delete on my podcast editing app and pretend it never happened.

Obviously with video this isn’t so simple. So here is my “secret” formula for making social media videos and not falling apart in the process:

First, I make sure I don’t have more to say than can be said in 60-90 seconds. This is always faaaar briefer than I think it will be. With each informational video I make I have to sacrifice important complexity. Then someone inevitably points out the omission in the comments. Such is life. With a song I have to leave most of the verses out. I don’t usually make cuts within the video, because at this point in my life I don’t have the patience to stare into a tiny video editing app for that long.

Next, I take a post-it note and put the three to four main points on it, in complete sentences, concisely phrased. I’ll probably forget to look at them, but if I took the time to make the main business fit onto a tiny piece of paper, then I’m more likely to be able to make it fit into a little video on the fly. I usually record away from my desk so it feels like an adventure, and I just take the post-it note and my phone along with me.

This is the last and most important part: I record several drafts of each video. Because in the first one I always look sweaty and terrified and usually stumble over my words, say something that makes no sense, and end up laughing or swearing. It’s usually the third or fourth draft of a short video post that I end up posting, though it used to take me more attempts than that.

How do you approach issues of climate change with an abundance mindset? How would you respond to activists whose language often sound fearful and divisive, while still taking the issues seriously?