Getting to know us here at Sheldon
Success! A few months ago Esther suggested some "get to know you" video interviews with members of the community. Everyone else hoped this was an idea that would die quietly in the corner. We're a group of introverts who eschew the limelight and much prefer getting on with things quietly behind the scenes. But Esther has quietly persevered and this week the finished results are posted on the website and social media - we hope you will enjoy watching them.
A project like this is actually quite typical of so much of what we do at Sheldon, and how we do it. Attention to detail, learning along the way, seeing it through. After the initial idea, step one may be the convincing/persuading of other people, especially if it involves asking them to step out of their comfort zone. Then there's working out how to do the thing, and keep it cost-effective. The ring light Esther is holding was the technical setup (£25), and she used her smart phone for the filming. The format of asking each person 5 'random' questions was agreed and then it was a case of getting appointments in everyone's diary to do the filming. Next there were technical skills to be learned for video editing (where would we be without google and online tutorials these days?). Once the interviews were edited they then needed to be integrated into Sheldon's existing framework - we use Vimeo (similar to YouTube) for hosting videos and then creating a page on the website to display them all. Several technical issues to resolve along the way which involved collaborating with colleagues and a couple of technical fixes from our IT providers. Then finally this week posting one a day on our Twitter and Facebook feeds - more support tickets to resolve more technical glitches but finally it's done!
This process reminds us how often all of us need to keep a multi-track focus when we're undertaking any task, whether in the kitchen, the office, or around the site. A focus on the overall purpose - in this case the immediate impetus is as part of our recruiting to grow the community. Beyond that of course the purpose of growing the community is to increase our capacity and resilience running Sheldon to create good space for guests. The art of taking forward something new while at the same time harmonising and integrating with what is already here. The art of persisting through the obstacles to keep a project moving forward to the next step in the midst of other demands on time. A commitment to high quality and also knowing when it's reached the 'good enough' point.
We'd love to hear your feedback
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We'd love to hear your feedback
Martin Kiddle - Mar 08, 2022
An enjoyable way to meet you all esp. Esther who I've yet to meet.
Richard Edwards - Mar 04, 2022
It’s a long time since I was at Sheldon so was a bit tearful as I watched these wonderful vignettes. Thank you all for being so open and to you Esther for initiating the project. Thank you all so much. Richard
Judith - Mar 03, 2022
Thank you so much,Esther, for your idea. I enjoyed the contributions of everyone very much. It was also helpful to know so much more about them for when I pray for them.
Brilliant! I’m really glad you managed to persuade them to do it and I suspect I won’t be the only one.
Chris - Mar 03, 2022
Great idea Esther. I've seen them and they are great. We'll done fellow introverts!
Philip Abrey - Mar 03, 2022
Great set of clips. Thank you. Well done Esther. My one request is that if possible could there be a second or two longer on each question? I cannot speed read and did not take in all the questions. I have the same issue with information on the TV. May not be possible to do anything. Loved the random questions. God bless. Phil
Margaret Smith - Mar 03, 2022
Congratulations to Esther for persevering! And to all the community for giving the impression that it wasn't so bad after all. Well done everyone. x
Barbara Mosse - Mar 03, 2022
Brilliant idea, Esther - well done! It was lovely to hear each community member talking about themselves and their roles at Sheldon. And it has been particularly interesting and helpful for those of us who can't get to Sheldon as often as we would like.