Dave Schmidt and I were asked by Nancy Wallace of What Do You Think? to come on on Blogtalkradio Tuesday. We were given a clear two hours to speak. I learned more about Dave than I have in half a year.
But, more to the point, the interview was probably a good training exercise for us, who know that part of our missions is to communicate.
I post the interview, not because it’s somehow red hot or you need to listen to it. You don’t. But more for the benefit of those whose mission is also communication. You may wish to listen, take the interview apart, see what went right and what did not, and use it to fashion your own approach to this form of communication.
The first part of the show (first hour) is mainly biographical; the second part is more of a discussion of issues.
(It takes fifteen seconds for the audiofile to load and begin.)
Since many of us may be spreading the word on the 2012 scenario, let me share from my perspective what worked and what didn’t. I originally thought that two hours would be a very long time, but in fact it passed very quickly from the interviewee side. The first mistake I made was in overestimating the time available to me. So when she asked me to discuss what led me to the 2012 scenario, I reasoned to myself that I had lots of time to go through the whole story.
I don’t yet have a good sense of how long it takes to communicate certain subjects and I haven’t answered certain questions often enough to know yet what details are important and what not.
In fact I didn’t have lots of time. I meandered through my personal history and reached perhaps early 2008, just months before the 2012 adventure began for me and the interviewer cut me off and went to Dave. So I never had the opportunity to say how I came to 2012. This overestimation of time is one possible pitfall to watch out and plan for.
What this means for me next time is that I may get right to the point and begin with the most important material first. And in fact I think this would be a good general rule: unless one makes the tape or video oneself, get right to the point. So that’s the first thing I learned and will act on next time (which will be tomorrow night, by the way; more on that later).
In point of fact, I’ll probably be too disciplined next time and the pendulum will go too far in the other direction. I somehow expect that.
The second thing is not to take for granted that, because the interviewer says we’ll cover certain topics, we will. We never really returned to the discussion of 9/11 as she said we would. We didn’t even talk about 2012 all that much.
I’m not faulting Nancy. Interviews are organic. It went the way it evolved. But, if there’s something you actually do want to talk about, then you may want to raise it yourself. (Not like that means the interviewer will allow it necessarily.)
It worked, for example, to mention myself that the galactics are human like us and not little green blobs or Greys with bulging black eyes. That was one message I wanted to get out and succeeded in doing so.
I also was able to comment on the frustration of knowing some of the behind-the-scenes information on the postponed Neptune expedition but not being able to comment on it. And I was able to counter some of the bad publicity about “black limousines” and “space bikes,” which felt good from my vantage point.
What else worked is that, after perhaps four general interviews and a number on An Hour with an Angel, I’m now beginning to calm down on the radio. The first time I spoke, I was quite nervous. So, if you intend to communicate, the lesson is to practice, practice, practice. The more we practice, the more we relax and narrow down what it’s important to communicate. I don’t believe this interview will probably go anywhere and regard it as a practice run.
So I’ve changed my mind somewhat on the question of interviews. Whereas before I only intended to do those that I thought were really important, I now intend to do somewhat more as practice.
What else worked was that Dave and I, though we probably didn’t cover a quarter of what we might have liked to, were able to discuss extraterrestrials without feeling hesitant or dancing with the subject. Just the experience of hearing someone discussing the subject straight up and without getting squirrely may be helpful.
Another interesting feature is that Dave and I come from very different backgrounds and have reached the 2012 scenario by different routes. He’s a former army reservist, Pentecostal minister, and Republican state legislator. I’m a New Ager who trekked through India, sat in encounter groups and meditation retreats, and confronted the cabal. But to see two people with such different backgrounds – a conservative and a liberal – come together on 2012 and Ascension could be helpful.
Wednesday night, I’ll be doing an interview with Tim Bravo of Extraordinary Year and may post that one here as well, as again another exploration of communication as a lightworker line of service. There’s no need to listen to either interview. They’re not part of the baseline of information that it’s useful to have under your belt. They’re simply useful training exercises.