Messy Conversations and Meaningful Growth with Danielle Marshall

Many purpose-driven podcasters find themselves stuck in an "inner circle" bubble, hesitant to invite guests with differing views or cultural backgrounds because they fear causing unintentional harm or facing backlash. This fear of making "messy mistakes" often prevents us from having the deep, impactful conversations that actually bridge divides and grow our audience’s perspectives. In this episode of Podcasting Unlocked, Alesia sits down with Danielle Marshall to discuss how to navigate the discomfort of cultural differences with accountability and transparency. This week, episode 256 of Podcasting Unlocked is about messy conversations and meaningful growth! 

Danielle Marshall is an Equity Strategist, Executive Coach, and Host of Unpacked: Culture Chronicles, a podcast exploring how curiosity can bridge cultural divides and bring people closer across differences. Danielle has dedicated her 25+ year career to challenging assumptions, shifting narratives, and fostering meaningful change.

In this episode of Podcasting Unlocked, Danielle Marshall is sharing the importance of allowing people the space to change their mind and actionable steps you can take right now to hold space for learning to be more inclusive in your podcast. 

Danielle and I also chat about the following: 

• "Pre-Game" for Potential Conflict: Before hitting record on a sensitive topic, decide how you want to handle it if you do say the wrong thing. Acknowledging that mistakes are a possibility allows you to respond with intention rather than reacting out of fear .
• Transform Mistakes into Teachable Moments: If you are called out or corrected (like being "called in" about pronoun usage), don't get defensive. Use it as an opportunity to apologize, acknowledge the impact, and publicly share what you will do differently next time to help your audience learn alongside you .
• Lead with Curiosity, Not Expertise: You don't have to be an expert on every culture to have a meaningful conversation. Approach your guests with a "natural curiosity"—asking questions and being open to unknown paths is often more rewarding than following a rigid, "safe" script.

Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips on turning your podcast listeners into leads and to hear even more about the points outlined above. 

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me! And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

Learn more about Podcasting Unlocked at https://galatimedia.com/podcasting-unlocked/ 

CONNECT WITH DANIELLE MARSHALL:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Podcast

Website

CONNECT WITH ALESIA GALATI:

Instagram

LinkedIn

Work with Galati Media! 

Work with Alesia 1:1

LINKS MENTIONED:

Danielle’s LinkedIn Artic

Free Download: 15 Ways to Improve Your Podcast

Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Chapters

• 0:00 Messy Conversations and Meaningful Growth with Danielle Marshall
• 1:13 Danielle’s Work and “Unpacked Culture Chronicles”
• 2:06 Why We Fear Conversations Across Difference
• 4:17 How Upbringing Shapes Curiosity and Hesitancy
• 7:04 Practicing for “Messy” Conversations & Owning Mistakes
• 13:00 Giving Ourselves (and Others) Grace to Change Our Minds
• 21:03 Bringing Your Audience Along as You Evolve
• 24:58 Calling In vs Calling Out & Committing to Ongoing Dialogue