Season 3 Premier: Tackling Difficult Topics

In the highly anticipated Season 3 premiere of "Communication TwentyFourSeven," Jen returns after a significant hiatus to share personal updates and exciting plans for the upcoming season. 

She reflects on her absence and expresses gratitude for the listeners' support. Season 3 promises to delve deeper into the realm of communication, impacting various aspects of life. The upcoming interviews feature a diverse range of individuals whose backgrounds and expertise will help listeners develop their communication skills.

Also in this episode, Jen announces a thought-provoking mini-series titled "Untying the Knot," where she candidly explores her own journey of divorce, offering insights, lessons learned, and a source of support for listeners navigating similar experiences. Join Jen on this emotional and empowering journey of rebuilding, renewing hope, and embracing change.

Season 3 of "Communication TwentyFourSeven" promises to be a transformative exploration of communication amidst adversity. Listeners are invited to join Jen on this compelling journey, filled with introspection, growth, and the power of shared experiences.

Read this for More Communication Tips!
Book on relationships written by the podcast host, Jennifer Furlong.

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Transcript

[00:10] Jen: Hello. I know it has been a while. It's been several months, four to be exact. An absence that long is like a death knell for a podcaster. But hey, I'm back and I am so glad to be back. It feels really good. I have missed having meaningful conversations with interesting people. I've missed recording. I've missed the anticipation of a new release. And most of all, I've missed you. I'm so glad you're here. If you are a new listener, thanks for joining us. I hope you decide to stick around. And if you're here because you want to become a better communicator, welcome to the family. You are not alone. If you are a longtime listener, I have a special thank you for you. It means so much to me that you are still here despite the absence. Many of you reached out to me to ask about season three because you realized I was Mia. And first of all, thank you for missing me, for missing my content. Your reaching out to me really made me feel loved and cared for. You have no idea. And I know you've been waiting a while and I'm so sorry for that. So what happened? And where in the hell have I been? We will get to that in a moment, I promise you. But first things first, let's talk about the interviews that are coming up in season three because I am so excited for you to listen to the conversations that are coming up. We're going to explore digital media, etiquette, character development, and parent and team communication. And Lord knows we need help in that area, right? We're also going to look into team building, and how to manage our emotions more effectively. We're going to listen to some tips about interviewing and we're going to learn more about strategic communications, burnout prevention and so much more. I have an amazing list of guests coming up. I'm so excited for you. In addition to the interviews, I am bringing back the solo cast and there are a couple of reasons why. Reason one, you've asked for them. Many of you have expressed that you enjoy listening to the conversations and appreciate the lessons that come out of those conversations while also sharing with me that sometimes you just want my take on a communication issue. You want to hear a tip. You want to hear a solution. You want a tool to try. And let's face it, who am I to deny you what you want? Reason two, and I got to be honest with you, sometimes I like having the stage to myself. I like analyzing problems and then sharing my conclusions. I like sharing my opinions, whether you agree with them or not. I just want to give you something to think about from my perspective. I enjoy tackling difficult topics and sometimes I just want to be able to do a deep dive. This is something that I have not been able to do with having a guest on the show, at least not to the degree that I would like to. Reason three variety. As much as I love long-form and as much as you love long-form, sometimes we want something short and to the point. Okay, enough about the solo cast. Let's transition to my final point of the day, and let's wrap up the season three premiere. Where in the hell has Jen been? Well, I had to take some time off to deal with some intensely personal issues. The past nine months have been the most difficult time in my life, and one way for me to process it all is to write about it and also to talk about it. But it's taken me a while to get to the point where I could talk about it. But I think I'm ready now. You see, after 27 years of being together and 25 years of that time, I was married to my husband well, we recently got divorced. Yeah, I know. That is a really long time. It is a long time of building a life with someone, of creating a life with the person you thought would be your ride and die. I'm going to be honest. The divorce came as a surprise to everyone, including me. Now, that's not to say that I didn't notice that there were some cracks in the pavement, but I never in a million years would have thought that it was going to actually end in divorce. So before I go on, let me make this one thing clear. I am not going to use this space to bash my ex-husband. Am I hurt? Hell, yeah, I'm hurt. I'm still hurting. Of course, I'm hurt. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. I'm incredibly disappointed in so many things. Am I bitter? Well, sometimes I am, yeah, I'll admit it. But I've realized I don't want to be a bitter person, even though I do have bitter moments. So I'm trying really hard to recognize that he has his own journey and I can't speak for him. Does this mean that I won't ever say anything negative or I won't ever take a jab? No, that's not what this means. I mean, I probably will say some negative things sometimes, and sometimes I may even take a jab, especially if I'm feeling rather petty that day. I can't promise that I won't say something that won't hurt his feelings or maybe your feelings. I don't know. Sometimes I may say something that will make him, or even you, the listener, uncomfortable. It's not my intention, but I am human, and I'm going through this intensely painful process. So while I will do my hardest to acknowledge that, yes, he has his journey, and I can't speak for him on his journey, I have my journey as well, and that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. He and I managed to start with nothing, and we built an incredible and successful life together, at least from the outside. That's how everything looked, right? We do have two amazing adult children and I am thankful for the good times and I will cherish the happy memories, even though it does sting to think of them. I will always love him and I truly wish him the best. I want him to find happiness. I want that for myself as well. So I've decided to share my lessons learned in a special miniseries called Untying the Knot a Journey of Divorce and Communication and it's going to be released later this season. Season three. I plan to share with you the challenges that I've experienced while navigating a broken relationship and well, to be honest, while the relationship was breaking down. Through sharing my experience, I'm hoping to find some clarity in the chaos for myself. I'm still trying to figure things out. My question is what happened? And maybe this little project can provide us all with some insight. And I want to use this experience to empower you, the listener, to embrace any change that is coming your way. I want you to learn that you can rebuild your life as I am working right now to rebuild mine. And I want you to reclaim your future and renew your hope for the beautiful journey that you have ahead of you, that we have ahead of us. This is real talk. While there will be plenty of inspiration and motivation, I am sure there will be plenty of tears and possibly a fair amount of bad language. Look, divorce is challenging and I've had some pretty dark days and I know you have too. Together we can get through it and come out the other side all the stronger for it. I've done a lot of questioning and a lot of reflecting to get to this point. And with the support of family and friends, my coworkers, and one hell of an excellent therapist, I am now able to talk about it in the hopes of helping someone else who is going through something similar. To experience the breakdown of your most important relationship is a visceral pain. I wish on no one, but I'm not the first person to get divorced after such a long marriage and I certainly won't be the last. I thought about taking this experience and turning it into a second podcast, but as I started writing down my notes, I realized that much of what I wanted to talk about related directly to communication. So I decided to keep these episodes under the Communication 24/7 brand but turn them into a miniseries. I'm hoping I make the right decision in doing that, but I guess we will find out. That's what's coming up in season three. Prepare to go on an emotional journey. Get ready to hear from an impressive lineup of communication experts and explore the highs and the lows of my own experiences. I'm excited and to be honest, a little anxious and a lot curious about how this season is going to turn out. One thing is certain, though. I am so happy that you are here on this journey with me. Let's get started.