To make a positive impression, get your point across, and speak effectively, you must prepare and practice sound bites before your interview. It is essential!
But first, what is a sound bite?
A sound bite is a short quote taken from your interview that’s chosen for its clarity and punch. A good sound bite is not what shows you off as intelligent, witty, etc. A good sound bite is a statement the audience can grasp quickly.
Reporters and writers are trained to get sound bites out of interviewees and use them.
Sound bites are used in all forms of media: TV, radio, podcasts, print, social media, multimedia and other forms of communication.
A good sound bite length is about 6-15 seconds.
5 Important Reasons to Use Sound Bites During Your Interview
1
Audiences love sound bites
When you get your message across quickly, clearly and in a way that’s easy to understand, the audience can digest your information quickly.
2
Competition is fierce for good stories and easy-to-understand information
Catchy, well-crafted sound bites make your story more interesting and easier to grasp. Audiences have a huge appetite for good sound bites because they’re exposed to them everyday in the media. The better your sound bites, the more you’ll stand out from your competition.
3
Good sound bites make the story pop
After an interview, reporters, writers and editors quickly scan transcripts and footage for the best sound bites to help further their story. Getting your point across quickly and effectively makes the reporter’s job easier. Plus, good sound bites make a story pop (see below for examples of quoted sound bites).
4
Sound bites cut down your chances of getting edited
If you don’t create your own sound bites, reporters or editors will need to edit down what you say to fit into their story. This can be less than ideal because there’s a good chance they won’t put your information together in the same way you would have.
5
When you can deliver good sound bites you’re often quoted over and over
Word gets out when you’re good at interviewing and good at sound bites. People with these skills are often asked to do more interviews because the way they’re talking about the subject has wider appeal and is easier to grasp.
To begin preparing your sound bites, start looking for inspiration. Find quotes of the day in newspapers and magazines and search online for famous quotes.
Here are a few sound bites to get you started
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
– Richard Branson
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
– Sheryl Sandberg
Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
– John F. Kennedy
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
– Bill Gates
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
– Barack Obama
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.”
– Margaret Thatcher
“Lean in, speak out, have a voice in your organization, and never use the word, ‘sorry’.”
– Trish Bertuzzi
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
– Oprah Winfrey
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt.
“The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.”
– Lily Tomlin
