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5 Tips for Creating Sensational Sound Bites
Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Susan Harrow. All rights reserved.
As I work with my clients I find that speaking in
sound bites
is a constant challenge. Here are 5 proven tips for creating
sensational sound bites:
1. Time your sound bites.
A professor and author who was one day away from appearing
on a major TV show came to my office for an emergency on-
camera media coaching session. We had done a number of
practice interviews by phone and had honed her sound bites
down to three key points for every question she was going to
be asked. I wrote each point out so she could practice at
home before our in-person meeting. We even timed each
sound bite to 10 seconds so she could be sure to get in all
of her points. But she still had difficulty saying each one
succinctly. When I asked her if she had practiced speaking
her points out loud, she confessed she had only read them on
the page.
2. Practice out loud.
Rehearsing in your head is good. But in order to sound
natural and spontaneous, rehearse your talking points
orally. The experience is akin to reading poetry, or lines
from a play. Your stories must be practiced in the medium in
which they will be expressed. And though you rehearse them,
each time act as if you are saying them for the first time.
Each moment is different from every other moment. Allow all
the subtle new details to arise as you practice.
3. Be easy to love.
Someone said of Frank O'Hara, "He wrote poetry that was so
conversational, casual, easy to like, colloquial, that it
was very easy to fall in love with his poetry. He made
poetry seem as natural as breathing." This is the goal of
your sound bite delivery. To make it natural as breathing and
to invite people to fall in love with you and whatever you
are selling or offering. Your sound bites evolve as you do.
Bring freshness to them with expression, enthusiasm, and
delight.
4. Make it fresh.
Create fresh word flowers. Buddhist Zen master, poet and
peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, says, "There is a gatha
(teaching) that says, 'Words can travel thousands of miles.
They are to build up more mutual acceptance and
understanding. I vow that my words will be like gems. I vow
that my words will be fresh like flowers.'" If you can, use
your gems and flowers to encourage justice and good in the
world.
5. Fight for what's right.
Edmund Morel, considered the greatest British investigative
reporter of his time, was largely responsible for putting an
end to the slave trade in the Congo through his one man
publicity campaign in the early 1900s. He almost single-
handedly created a worldwide human rights movement with his
efforts. He convinced Mark Twain and Booker T. Washington to
go on a speaking tour to stop this African holocaust. In
England he enlisted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the popular
author of the Sherlock Holmes books. Their aid in protesting
the U.S. as the first country to recognize the Congo as King
Leopold's possession, helped incite international fervor and
forced Leopold to turn the colony over to Belgium. Working
with Morel, Mark Twain took his own intentions to heart when
he acted on his words, "Always do right. This will gratify
some people and astonish the rest."
Learn how to use any interview, any time, on any topic, to
get your business, book, product or cause the
publicity-and fame you long for in this sound bite teleclass.
http://prsecrets.com
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Susan Harrow, CEO of
http://prsecrets.com, is
a top media coach, marketing strategist and author of
Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul® (HarperCollins),
The
Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah, and
Get a 6-
Figure Book Advance. Clients include Fortune 500 CEOs, bestselling authors and entrepreneurs who have appeared on
Oprah, 60 Minutes, NPR, and in TIME, USA Today, Parade,
People, O, NY Times, WSJ, and Inc. |
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