Podcasting, Parasocial Connection, and Climate Influence
Are you paying attention?
I recently posted on LinkedIn about the climate influence of the casual dropping of phrases like… “You’re vegan.. Oh, so am I”… between Marc Maron and Demi Moore on his WTF Podcast. Then, the same moment happened in his next episode with Ariana Grande. Similarly, my ears perk up when I hear someone (anyone) of influence mention that they prefer to bike around their city, which I’ve heard the actor, Keri Russell, drop almost every time I’ve listened to an interview with her. She can’t help herself but mention how much she loves her bike, and how easy that makes it to get around Brooklyn - whether or not her handlers love the idea.
Anyway - there are a couple of things going on here:
Podcasting/audio (specifically, interview shows like Marc Maron’s or Joe Rogan’s) has a way of making you feel like you KNOW the hosts you are listening to. Audio is intimate. These people are in your ear, and if you like them, you tend to listen to them a lot, making you aware of all the ins and outs of their lives. That leads to…
Parasocial relationships: Listeners can’t help but form these sorts of relationships. Don’t you feel like you could walk right up to your favorite podcast host if you came across them at an airport and ask how their cats are doing? It just IS what it IS. So, is there an insight there?
Climate influence: In this climate influence work I focus on leaders as humans and how THAT then emerges or integrates in their work, because for messaging and storytelling - people connect with people, not “brands”…
