We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannon Chatmon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I definitely wish I had started my creative career sooner. When I was younger, I wanted to be a sports commentator because I love basketball. My initial major in college was communications, but I was shy and doubted my ability to pursue a career in the industry. Long story short, I ended up majoring in marketing because I was attracted to the creative part of advertising. However, I never officially used my degree in marketing because two years later, I got a Master’s in teaching and have been doing that for 15 years. Now, I’m finding myself circling back to communications through podcasting. What would have happened if I had just stayed the course all those years ago? Life might be different.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a 15-year educator, a wife, a mother of two, and my most recent endeavor is podcasting. I host and produce two podcasts, U Talk, I’ll Listen and Blacktivities Podcast. I got into podcasting like many others during the pandemic when tensions over racial injustice, masking, and politics were high. I realized during that time that many of those tensions could be dispelled by just listening and that there is power in our personal stories and experiences, and that became the basis for my show U Talk, I’ll Listen. I have completed three seasons of the show, which evolved to focus more on mental health, but I was amazed to find that I have listeners in over 20 countries.

From working on that show, I fell in love with podcasting. I started my second podcast, Blacktivities, which celebrates black history, culture, and perspectives through humorous and insightful conversations, in 2022. My co-host and I connect the black history we weren’t taught in school to our everyday lives as black women.

At the end of 2022, I started a business called Black Panache, LLC with the goal of building my own podcast network. On this network, I hope to give a platform to more black voices. The industry is dominated by people who don’t look like us, and I think representation is important because it provides more insight into others’ lives and creates empathy. We need to tell our stories and share our perspectives as well.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Honestly, I don’t know what my end goal is. I started this creative journey not knowing how much I would love podcasting, but my plan is to take it wherever God leads me. Right now, I’m a one woman operation. I produce, I host, I edit, and I market both of my shows. My current focus is honing my marketing and PR skills in preparation for launching my Black Panache Podcast Network.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I’m still unlearning is that everything has to be perfect. Imperfection is our reality. It’s authentic. When I first started editing, I would cut out all of the ummms and long pauses, but I realized I don’t have to do all of that. Sometimes those ummms or likes help the audience to understand that person’s personality. Sometimes the long pauses help listeners to really feel what that person feels. These things can actually help an audience connect more with the content.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blackpanache.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/blacktivitiespod
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090288930227
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-chatmon
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@blacktivitiespod

Image Credits
Elijah Lightfoot