60. Inclusivity In Podcasting

 In this episode, we’re diving into the real work of making your podcast inclusive. I’m sharing practical steps you can take today, real-life examples of what this looks like, and how to handle it gracefully when you mess up.

What’s Inside:

• Why inclusivity is more than a podcasting buzzword
• Practical ways to make your show more inclusive (and why it’s worth it)
• How to handle mistakes with grace, accountability, and no ukuleles
• Real-life examples of inclusive content done right
• Steps to make inclusivity an ongoing part of your workflow

Key Takeaways:

1. Start with Your Biases
2. Amplify Marginalized Voices
3. Accessibility Is Non-Negotiable
4. Be Clear and Direct: 
5. Mistakes Are Inevitable: 

Course Alert: Podcasting on Autopilot: AI That Works for You launches February 2025! Join the waitlist here.

I want to hear from you! What steps are you taking to make your podcast more inclusive? Tag me or slide into my DMs:

• Instagram + Threads: @SONIVIAstudios
• Email: rue@sonivia.com

Ready to Create an Inclusive Podcast?
Your podcast doesn’t just happen—it’s built. And inclusivity? That’s part of the blueprint. If you want help mapping it out, let’s talk. Book a discovery call here and let’s create a show that feels as good as it sounds.

Share the Love:
If this episode hit home for you, send it to another podcaster who’s working to create an inclusive space.

Music Credit: Up An Octave Theme by Rue Spence with additional vocals provided by Darnell Spence

Up An Octave is hosted by Rue Spence of Sonivia. Up An Octave is a podcast for women and nonbinary people who are ready to take up space in podcasting to share their voices with the world.

Transcript

  You're listening to Up an Octave, a podcast by Sonivia, the podcasting agency that believes that women and non binary people deserve to take up space in the podcasting industry. Because our thoughts, voices, and stories matter. Here, you'll learn how to make dope podcasts that inspire, educate, convert, and most importantly, make your voice shine.

I'm your host, Rue Spence, and I'm here to take podcasting up an octave. Let's get into it. 

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to Up an Octave. Today we are talking about inclusivity in podcasting. This is something that's super important to me, both professionally and also just personally. If you've been following me for a while, you've heard my story and know that when I first started podcasting, I had to work so freaking hard to find tutorials for how to edit a voice like mine.

All the information that was accessible at the time was oriented toward cisgender male voices. Since then, podcasting has gotten more inclusive, but that experience has forever shaped how I see inclusivity in this industry. And how much work I see that we still need to do for intersectional communities, like queer people, black, brown, Asian, and indigenous people, people with disabilities, and so many other communities whose voices have historically been overlooked, undervalued, excluded, or silenced.

Today, I want to talk about how we as creators can do better. We'll cover practical ways to make your show more inclusive, examples of what this can look like, and, because none of us are perfect, how to handle it and recover when you get it wrong. for listening. So, let's talk about what inclusive content actually is and what it can look like.

This is what I mean when I say inclusive content. Inclusivity is more than just checking a box or doing something that you're supposed to do. It's about creating a space where people from diverse identities, whether that's race, gender, sexuality, ability, socioeconomic status, etc. feel valued, respected, seen, and represented.

It's not just about adding people into your content, it's about doing so with intention and integrity. When your content is inclusive, it resonates more deeply and builds trust with your audience. I'm a big believer in lifting as you climb and that when you have a platform, you also have a responsibility to use it to elevate others.

Inclusive content isn't just something you do for the sake of it either. It invites people to join the conversation and it can expose people to new ideas that they might not have been presented anywhere else. So for example, let's say that you're a white hairstylist running a podcast about the beauty industry.

Inclusive content for you might look like dedicating an episode to natural hair care for textured hair, exploring the history of protective styles, or unpacking industry biases against black hair. It's not just inclusive content, but it's valuable content. It's creating a space for conversations that don't always happen in mainstream media.

Going even further, bringing on a black hairstylist and giving them the space to share their expertise is a way for you to get something and learn while also giving a platform to someone with the lived experience of your topic. And maybe you exclusively have a white audience or a white client base  due to the value of intersectionality in the world that we live in.

Having a baseline understanding of who we're sharing this world with and who we share space with is valuable. So even if maybe It's not as niched down for you to invite a black stylist. It's still relevant because we're going to interact with people who are different from us. And while it may not make sense for you to devote all of your content to this lived experience, it is still valuable to give time for people to be having these conversations.

So let's go a little further and break down what building inclusive content looks like into actionable steps. These are some of the best ways that you can make your podcast more inclusive. First, start by checking your biases. Reflect on your own perspective. Consider whose voices you're elevating and whose might be missing from your content.

For instance, going back to this hairstylist podcast, if you have a show that focuses on bridal hair, ask yourself, am I including styles for natural hair? Am I considering cultural traditions like Indian wedding hairstyles? And then with that, you can intentionally amplify marginalized voices, seek out guests or collaborators from underrepresented communities, not as a token gesture and certainly not as free labor where you put educating you on your guest, but because their perspectives add depth and texture and richness and value to your show.

Make accessibility a priority. We've talked a lot about this recently, but transcripts are a must. And they're a win for you as a creator. They're not just an act of inclusivity for deaf or hard of hearing listeners. They're also a top tier tool for reaching more people and boosting your SEO. Literally, transcripts are a win win win.

But, your accessibility doesn't stop there. You can also use alt text on your social media posts, make sure that your website is screen reader friendly, Accessibility is foundational to inclusivity. It shows your audience that you care about them being part of the conversation. These are changes that I'm pursuing within my own business in the new year.

I know that there are places that I can step up my game to really make sure that everyone has an opportunity to use their voice and feel seen. Something else is being specific and accurate. Avoid vague statements like we're elevating diverse voices and instead be clear. Going back to the example I've given earlier, You could say this episode highlights black hairstylists and their experiences navigating bias in the beauty industry.

Your audience can tell when you're nervous about being direct. Getting out of your comfort zone shows your willingness to be an ally. I so often hear people who are just scared to get it wrong. They're scared to get pronouns wrong. They're scared to say black. They're scared to be direct in how they're having these conversations.

And I think so much of that comes from the fear of just getting things wrong. But that's where I so encourage you to take the time to educate yourself on how to get it right, so that you can enter the conversation, and so that you can do it confidently. These conversations are worth having. With that, avoid perfection paralysis.

You do not have to get it right 100 percent of the time. Inclusivity is about trying and moving the needle. It's about listening and learning. And when you do mess up, you will. It's about owning that mistake and doing better. So how do we handle it when we get it wrong? What happens when you mess up? And this is not an if, it is a when.

You are going to mess up, God knows I have, but what you do next is the difference between someone saying, wow, I'm glad that they experienced that so that I could learn from their mistake versus canceled. So here's how to handle it with accountability and grace. Own your mistake. Say I got this wrong without justifying it and without centering yourself or your intentions.

Focus on the impact that it had. For example, let's say you unintentionally used ableist language in an episode. Acknowledge it in a follow up like this. In episode 72, I used the term crazy busy, which is ableist. I've since then learned why that phrasing is harmful. And I apologize. I will be more intentional moving forward.

To be honest, that is a word that I have been working on removing from my own vocabulary. Um, so I have probably said that exact same thing on this very podcast. But I'm consistently trying to learn and trying to do better as I become aware of different things that are harmful. It's also important to center the impacted community.

Instead of saying, I didn't mean to hurt anyone, focus on the people affected. You could say, I realize my language may have been harmful to members of this community. And I am committed to doing better. And then continue with that. Take action. Correct the mistake where possible, if that means updating the episode, adding a show note in the description, but also outlining what steps you are taking to improve.

Learn and do better. Mistakes are opportunities to grow. Show your audience that you are committed to inclusivity as an ongoing practice, not just a one time effort. And I know that this is all nice and lovely, but what about when you're getting flamed or facing a public call out? Maybe you're being flooded with comments, emails, reviews.

And some of them are harsh, angry, even personal. Here's how you can pull out of that nosedive. Pause before responding. It's easy to feel defensive, especially if people are coming at you aggressively. But defensiveness only escalates the situation. Take a minute to process before you respond. Sit with the discomfort and remember that the goal is not to defend yourself, it is to repair trust and move through your shortcomings.

To ensure it doesn't happen again, then filter out the noise. Not every comment that you're going to get is going to be constructive and you don't need to engage with everything distinguished between the people who are genuinely trying to inform you and let you know that you've caused pain. And the people who are simply trying to dogpile and then respond thoughtfully.

When you do respond, keep it brief and direct. Acknowledge the harm, share what you're doing to address it and stop there. For example, I appreciate the feedback and acknowledge the harm caused by this thing I did. I've taken this step and I am committed to improving, moving forward. And then lean on your support system.

The people who know your intent. The people who know that you're not the worst person in the world and that you never meant to hurt anybody, get support privately. Facing backlash can feel isolating, but you do not have to handle it alone. You can talk to your trusted friends, colleagues, or even a therapist to process your emotions privately so that you don't spiral publicly.

And remember that when you do get it wrong, it is not anyone else's responsibility. You are a grownup. You get to learn and grow. And that step right there is going to help you avoid performative responses. If your first instinct is out of shame and you want to record this dramatic video about how hard it's been for you to handle your mistake.

Put down the ukulele and leave the womb lands. Ask yourself, am I centering myself or the people that I harmed? This is not about your feelings. It is about accountability. I feel like as we're moving into the new, maybe series finale season of America, um, it's getting more important for us to show up for each other and to create space.

Where there's not necessarily a lot of space being held. I have always been a believer of the, if you can, you must. And to me, inclusivity is another place where that can shine. Where we have a duty as content creators, when we start to develop a platform to disperse information, to elevate voices that we're not hearing enough from, and even if you're thinking, you know, I only have a tiny little podcast with very little reach, doing your part is still doing your part.

And I think of that on a much larger scale as well with like, you know, I can't donate a billion dollars to a cause I care about, but I can be intentional with where the money I do have to spend goes. So I'm going to leave it here, but I want to hear from you. What steps are you taking to make your podcast more inclusive?

Come tell me about it on threads or tag me on Instagram at sunavia studios. I would love to learn more from your ideas and experiences and continue this conversation over there. And if this episode resonated with you, please share it with another podcaster who's working on creating a more inclusive space. 

And one more thing before I let you go, my AI course, podcasting on autopilot AI that works for you is launching in February. It is packed with tools to make your podcasting workflow more efficient.  More inclusive. The wait list is open now. So check the link in the show notes to sign up and thank you so much for helping me take podcasting up an octave.