EE and The Media Gazette,

Crafting your Messages

 with Soundbites

 

Broadcast news, television public affairs programs and advertising have compressed storytelling into ever-shorter time frames. Unfortunately, this limits the amount of information conveyed and diminishes the comprehensiveness of the story telling.  CNN’s “Headline News” is a reflection of this reductionist approach to communication in the electronic age.  Thus, for better or worse, the art of crafting and delivering messages often boils down to a process of creating effective sound bites. Learn what is a soundbite and the dos and don'ts when crafting and developing them.

 

The Safe Energy Communication Council (SECC) defines sound bites as: The oral or written quotes that print or broadcast journalists take and insert into news stories from the interviews, press releases and materials, and press conference statements or other statements provided by the messenger.   Alex Chadwick, a reporter for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition program, defines sound bites as “What you remember.”  Chadwick believes that Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote, " 'I have a dream.' made an ideal sound bite – short simple and powerful."

 

Like it or not, when developing effective sound bites, the need to conform to the brevity of the broadcast medium is a reality.  For instance, midway through the presidential election campaign of 1992, The Washington Post reported a short item researched by Kiku Adatto of the Center for Media and Public Affairs at Harvard University, entitled: “The Incredible Shrinking Sound Bite.” Adatto found that during the 1968 presidential race between Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon, the average length of the candidates’ statements on the evening network news was 42.3 seconds.  Twenty years later, in 1988, the average length of presidential aspirants’ sound bites had dwindled to 9.8 seconds.  By mid-1992, the average sound bite aired by the evening network news had become a mere 7.3 seconds. 

 

Acknowledging the variance in cultural dialects, sound bites of about seven seconds translate into approximately 15 to 20 words.  Therefore, carefully choosing the right words to create effective sound bites is vital.  Michael Sheehan, a Washington, D.C. communications consultant, suggests the following general “dos and don’ts” for developing sound bites:

 

(1)  Avoid Rhetoric. Give specific examples;

(2)  Use analogies.  The more homespun, the better, especially on complex issues;

(3)  Use “The Three Cs”– Colorful words, Clich�s and Contemporary references (current and pop culture);

(4)  Use One-liners.  Not the Henny Youngman type of one-liners, but well-crafted and thoroughly-practiced sound bites so they can be delivered smoothly;

(5)  Incorporate absolutes, superlatives and summary lines where appropriate.  Journalists often respond to definitive statements like “The most…”, “The only…”, “The first…”, and “The best…”;

(6)  Use proportional numbers or use approximate numbers.  If a reporter wants to know the exact numbers, he or she will ask you or review your statements or materials.  Proportionate and simple numbers are much easier to remember.  That is why the Crest toothpaste ad creators use the phrase, “Four out of five dentists…”;

(7)  Be personal when you can  – use “I” statements.  These are anecdotal, reaffirm your authority and are completely valid;

(8)  Quote your enemies, especially if they agree with you.  Your friends will always be on your side.  If your opponent agrees with something you do, think or say, then you have a story; and

(9)  Include a second-person perspective.  Bring the message home.  Let the audience member know what may happen to him or her.  Let the people in Pittsburgh or Allentown know how your information will affect them.

COPYRIGHT � 2000 SECC