We’re looking forward to introducing you to Alex Picard. Check out our conversation below.
Alex , really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I’ve been quite proud of my self advocacy of late. Doing things out of my comfort zone such as asking for rate increases, or advocating for things I need to make my business run smoothly instead of catering to others needs and schedules first. Compromise is good, but I had overcorrected into “whatever you need” instead of the balance of “this works for me, does that work for you?”
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
When I came to Audiobook Narration, I was leaving the world of academia where I had been a theatre professor for a long time. So when it came time to build a website and get the word out about me, I just threw things together and didn’t really give my brand much thought at all. I’ve been an audiobook narrator for almost 6 years now and was feeling that my website and socials weren’t truly matching who I am and the space I fill in the audiobook world. I wanted my presence online and in the promotion of my work to align more with my personality and my unique voice. I’ve been really happy with the results – it feels like a true representation of who I am and the kind of work I do. It vibrates with warmth, fun, wry humor and connection.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was strong, bold, loud, vivacious, and fun. I didn’t worry about saying the wrong thing or saying too much. I didn’t worry about the space I was taking up. I didn’t think about what other people thought about me. I spoke from the heart and wore every feeling I had on my sleeve without apology. Somewhere along the way I started to hear “Shhhhh” more than I heard “tell me more.” I started to hear comments about being too much – too loud – too emotional. I started incrementally taking up less space in an effort to please people and be less of what I was being told was “too much.” Maybe 10 years ago now I was listening to a podcast of an old friend from graduate school and something she said struck me – I don’t even remember what it was – but in my head an idea was born. Not Too Loud. I wanted to reclaim that phrase. Not too loud had always felt like a weight that held me down – don’t be too much, too loud, too honest. I wanted to shift the focus to the NOT. I am NOT too loud. I am not too much. I am not too emotional. The name of my LLC is Not Too Loud Productions. Just creating that LLC healed something in me and released the parts of me that I had really missed.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
Books. Books were my escape. Books were my way out, my safe place to be, my way to hid in plain sight. I found all of the qualities I wished for myself in the characters of my favorite books. I wanted the bravery and sense of self and independence of The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye.. I wanted the sharp intelligence, humor, and fierceness of Turtle in The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I wanted the bravery and ability to love of Meg in A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle.. I felt safety and comfort in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Adventure and mystery in Beauty by Robin McKinley. Excitement and pride in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I found the things I wanted and needed and discovered both the parts of myself I saw in my favorite characters as well as the parts of them that I hoped to be.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes. Absolutely. A long time ago a colleague wrote a letter of support for my Faculty file when I was up for a promotion. In it he said something like ‘Alex is the same in a classroom, board meeting, and a fundraising event. She is the same person when speaking to a student or the president of the college’ and went on in that vein making it clear that this was the highest compliment he could give. It wasn’t until I read that, that I was able to see that part of myself. I had never been very good at behaving differently in different situations in order to suit the formality or informality of the space or people. But I was authentically me in all of those spaces and I think that remains true today.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
ANY story. I just hope they tell them. I don’t’ even care if it’s a story about a time I failed or something I did wrong – lessons come from stories and a story that doesn’t make me look like the hero could be just what someone needs to hear to be the hero of their own story. I hope the stories are true and funny and honest and loud. I hope the story is one of laughter and fun and warmth and connection and presence and loyalty and joy. I hope it’s one of overcoming struggles and loss and hardship and failure. I hope it’s told boldly and passionately and with a twinkle in the eye. Any story about me should, if I’ve done things right be a story that in the listening of it, creates more stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alexpicard.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/it_sounds_like_alex/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-picard-a5803a2/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sounds_like_alex
https://www.threads.com/@it_sounds_like_alex
Image Credits
Nile Scott Studios
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