I have just recorded my second interview with Sandra and once more it was inspirational. There were funny moments where we laughed at ourselves – which I often do – and slightly more somber moments where we talked about some of the challenges we face with Parkinson’s. She is wonderful to listen to and to interview, hearing her speak about the challenges in employment will be something many of us can definitely identify with.
If you listen to the interview, you may notice a couple of things that a “professional interviewer” would in all likelihood have taken out. The ‘ums’ and the ‘ahs’ the ‘y’knows’ and other words that the AI in the programme I use would term ‘filler words’. The other is that there is some subtle ‘ghosting’ in the background, where you can hear one of us in the background, but not too intrusive. I looked in doing the AI thing and there was a chance that this could be edited out, but it would change the whole of the recording. I have tried it on my solo podcasts to use the ‘studio sound’ function, but my voice doesn’t end up sounding like me.
The whole point of these interviews I am doing is to give those of us with Parkinson’s a voice, if they want it! I am not alone in my experiences and I feel we can only get stronger to do this life with Parkinson’s if we share our experiences. Not just the tough stuff, but the things that make us laugh, or cry or many more of the emotions we have at our disposal. So, you will hear the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and that is intentional. This series is an opportunity to give other people with Parkinson’s an opportunity to tell their story. I want it to be like a chat between friends and in our conversations we often use ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and other vocal mannerisms, that make us, us. There is a bit where I totally lose the thread of what I was going to say next and I chose not to edit that out either. There is no edit button on a conversation.
So, please take the opportunity to learn from Sandy, the wise and wonderful woman that she is.
My journey with Parkinsons 