Connection, community and the power of voice

If the events of the past nearly two years have taught us anything, it’s that our world can change in the blink of an eye. But that’s nothing new, especially in Australia. We are used to storms, bushfires, and floods, but these tend to affect a small area and come to an end and we can rebuild and rebound.

This time the same rules haven’t applied. This time our lives have been changed and the trip back to normality, or a ‘new normal’, is taking longer and affecting us all in differing ways. We have never had more options to stay in touch, but many of us have never felt more isolated. So how do we try and help?

American poet Maya Angelou once said, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” These words have never been truer than in recent times.

For nearly 35 years I have been behind the microphone during many trying times. These times have left people scared and looking for comfort and I have never been more convinced of the power of radio as a one-to-one medium and the power of the human voice to provide comfort and companionship through the airwaves.

Very rarely, as radio people do we pull back the curtain and explain what we are trying to do and how we want to make you feel. That it’s about being that familiar voice, giving enough necessary information but without fearmongering, being prepared to have a laugh and a joke during the dark times to take your mind off what is happening, playing some music to make you feel good and talking to you to let you know we are here and we are all in this together and we will all come through these times together…

Thank you for letting us into your home, your car, your workplace and your life, and I hope during this time we have been able to do a little something to make you feel better.