Learning Out Loud: Why We're Building Do Radio in Public

Earlier this year, I took my 10-year-old to Alton Towers for his birthday. To add to the experience, I booked us into the Alton Towers Hotel.

After a four-hour drive, we arrived - I was exhausted and, quite frankly, ready for bed.

My son had other ideas. Full of excitement, he dragged me to the hotel bar to watch the evening entertainment the hotel had laid on.

Five minutes later, I was standing on a stage.

We had arrived just in time to hear the entertainers calling for people to join them for the ‘Great Family Challenge’. Of course, my son was determined we were going to take part - I was reluctantly pulled up onto the stage.

There I was, doing ridiculous things on stage, in front of a room full of strangers - my worst nightmare unfolding in real time.

But my son rocked it.

I muddled through.

And somehow... we won.

I learned something important that day: sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet, even if it feels totally out of your comfort zone.

And so it was with Do Radio.

We launched on the 1st of September.

Were we ready?

Were we in our comfort zone?

Did we get everything right?

Absolutely not.

Did we jump in with both feet?

Absolutely.

Doing something new in front of others is hard. The primal fear of public shaming and social rejection is never far away - the instinct to stay hidden is strong.

But the only way to become good at something is to stop hiding, to show up, and to learn out loud.

And so we are sharing Do Radio with you.

Mistakes and all.

Because mistakes make us better.

Mistakes make us human.

Already, we’ve had moments of joy and a few tech hiccups - but most importantly, we are learning by doing.

We’re building this together. Out loud.

And we wouldn’t want it any other way.

By Louise Bernard.