Learn Four Ways to Speak in Sound Bytes from the Most Quoted Man in America
By Steve Harrison
How do journalist and producers decide whether to interview you or some other expert? It often depends on who provides the best sound byte.
I’ve been amazed at how many people take ten sentences to say what could be said in one or two. Developing the ability to speak in sound bytes is easy if you know a few key techniques.
Steve’s commandments on speaking in sound bytes:
1- Keep it short.
Say what you have to say in one to two sentences, no more.
2 - Be specific and vivid.
In an interview with Business Week, Donald Broughton, an analyst for Avondale Partners, LLC, was talking about the stocks of two railroad companies: Union Pacific and Burlington Northern. Notice the language he used to make what would otherwise be a boring statistical trend truly memorable for the journalist interviewing him:
"It’s one thing if you steal dirt from my front yard, and it’s another if you break into my house and take my sterling silver… For six quarters, Union Pacific’s been walking around Burlington Northern’s house and taking as much silver, jewels and flat-screen TVs as they can get their hands on.”
That’s speaking very specifically, and (this is another hint) vividly. It’s no surprise that of all the different analysts journalists could quote, they quoted Broughton. He knows how to speak in sound bytes.
3 - Express a solid opinion.
Many people are afraid to voice their opinions because they fear others will disagree with them. But people who are good at giving sound bytes know the media are looking for clearly expressed opinions. If some people don’t disagree with what you’re saying, you’re probably not saying much.
When Warren Buffett was interviewed about the tax President Obama wanted to levy on financial companies, he said, “Look at the damage Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac) caused, and they were run by the Congress. Should they have a special tax on Congressmen because they let this thing happen to Freddie and Fannie? I don’t think so.”
His willingness to express a solid opinion got him quoted. But did you also notice how he made a comparison? We’ll talk more about that in a minute.
Now I want to share with you some secrets I’ve learned by studying two sound byte masters.
One is Warren Buffett, as I’ve already mentioned.
The other is Robert Thompson, arguably the most quoted university professor in the world.
Thompson is a professor of television and pop culture at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the author of six books, including Television in the Antenna Age: A Concise History.
I discovered him by reading an article in the Associated Press by Jocelyn Noveck. The article called Thompson “the most quoted man in America,” next to the president. He is so good at giving sound bytes he’ll sometimes get 60, 70 or even 80 media calls in one day. If you just Google his name, you will see he has been quoted virtually everywhere.
Thompson has been quoted in the New York Times more than 40 times in the last four years. In fact, he’s been quoted so much that some newspapers even have a “moratorium” on quoting him.
“Unlike many people in his position, he almost always finds an angle or perspective that I haven’t thought about,” says AP television writer David Bauder.
Here are some more principles on speaking in sound bytes you can learn from Buffett and Thompson:
4 - Repeat the same word.
In describing Paris Hilton, Thompson said, “She’s the non-story that keeps on being a non-story.”
When giving advice about investing, Warren Buffett said, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”
You can see how, in both examples, repeating one or two words gives the statement a memorable sound and makes the point succinctly.
5 - Compare something to something else that everyone knows about.
When quoted in a story about Katie Couric’s debut as anchor on CBS Evening News, Robert Thompson said her first broadcast would be “some of the most scrutinized frame-by-frame video images since the Zapruder film [of John F. Kennedy’s assassination].”
By using a comparison to an example nearly everyone is familiar with, he was able to make his point in a memorable way.
Thompson uses this technique often. When speaking about the Grammy Awards, he commented, “With the extreme fragmentation of music, the fact that you can still put on a mainstream award show, like the Grammys, as opposed to a funky, niche show like the VMAs [the Video Music Awards], is really kind of amazing.”
6 - Speak in metaphors.
When talking about Fox News, Robert Thompson says, “They want to be the David of David and Goliath, but they are the Goliath.”
When speaking in this type of short metaphor, Thompson makes his point in a way that gets the media to pay attention and quote him, rather than another communications expert.
It’s critically important to use sound bytes when you’re being interviewed by the media, when you’re responding to media queries and whenever you’re writing a press release.
I learned this truth firsthand as a painful lesson. I once sent out a press release that got picked up by a newspaper, but they didn’t quote me in the story. They quoted somebody else. Why? Because I forgot to include a really good sound byte.
Don’t make the same mistake. Make sure every press release or pitch letter you send out includes at least one memorable sound byte so good, so pithy and memorable they feel their story won’t be nearly as good without it.
They’ll be grateful. And you’ll be thrilled with all the media coverage you receive.
More About Steve Harrison
Steve Harrison and his team have helped over 15,000 authors write and/or promote their books. His clients have been featured in major media outlets like Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, MSNBC, The View, Fox News, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, O the Oprah Magazine, and Time, as well as countless radio shows.
He has helped launched such bestselling books as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Men are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and Rich Dad Poor Dad.
