IN FOCUS widgets because that’ s very interesting for them, but it’ s dull as dishwater for everyone else,” he says.
That philosophy led to some extraordinary encounters.
One guest, Asmi Stanley, spoke about escaping India with 10 pence in her pocket. The conversation became so emotional that the producer eventually entered the studio carrying a box of tissues.
“ The guest was crying, I was crying, he was crying. Everybody was crying,” Stuart remembers.“ It’ s just a powerful, powerful story.”
He also interviewed former Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, who lost three limbs after being blown up in Afghanistan and went on to win 11 Invictus medals.
Stuart began by asking whether he remembered what had happened to him.
“ I didn’ t have to speak for about 25 minutes,” he says.
There were lighter moments too. When former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer agreed to be interviewed and told Stuart he could ask him anything, Stuart’ s brother did some digging.
“ I said,‘ Johnny, I’ ve got a hard-hitting journalistic question for you. Is it true you were the model in a famous soap brand shower commercial?’
“ He went,‘ God. How did you know about that?’”
Mercer had appeared in an advert for Dove Men + Care while a young Royal Marine.
Another episode featured Plymouth Argyle chairman Simon Hallett in the week the club announced Wayne Rooney as manager. Stuart says that episode alone attracted around 11,000 listens.
The subject matter varied wildly, but Stuart came to understand that the best episodes had one thing in common. There was a human story at their heart.
Now he is looking for those stories in Staffordshire.
Melvyn Downes, the former SAS soldier who will be the keynote speaker at the Chamber’ s Let’ s Do Business Expo in October and who features in this issue of Feature Focus, is already lined up to take part.
Other potential guests have emerged simply through the meetings and conversations Stuart has had since moving to the county.
He has been introduced to a woman who, he says, was forced into marriage by her father at 13 in Iran before later seeking help at an embassy. She has since gone on to support other women in Staffordshire.
Beyond the usual audience
There is a wider purpose behind that choice of guests.
Staffordshire Chambers already has established ways of communicating with its members through its events, website, Daily Focus, Feature Focus, email and social channels.
Stuart wants the podcast to help the Chamber reach people beyond that existing audience.
The plan is to build that audience gradually. The Chamber will promote episodes through its existing channels, as will the production team, while
guests will be encouraged to share their appearances with their own networks.
A guest from the third sector might bring listeners from charities and voluntary organisations. Someone from a different community might introduce the Chamber to people who have never previously engaged with it.
“ You build this momentum,” Stuart says.
That matters because he is particularly interested in reaching businesses and people who aren’ t already part of the Chamber network.
During a recent internal discussion about the Staffordshire Chambers brand, members of the team pointed out that the organisation doesn’ t feel stuffy and that its members don’ t regard it that way.
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