As a Morning Radio Host at a successful Radio Station there are 2 words that I see coaches and media trainers focus on that need to be flushed down the toilet.
It’s the phrase, “speak in sound bites.”
Would you please delete this phrase from your memory! Because to most people doing interviews it means NOTHING! A great interview has nothing to do with this silly phrase. It’s about truly connecting with an audience and the host and educating while being entertaining.
As a producer, it is impossible for you to create your own sound bite. It’s an old school industry term that seems to be thrown around these days like it’s the secret that media is really wanting from you.
A sound Bite is simply the little bit of sound a newsroom might run from an interview with you. That’s it.
You can’t create a perfect sound bite. And if you try to use something witty over and over again it really sounds like a made up or canned quote…and no-one gets excited about that.
A great sound bite happens by accident. And when that happens – it’s magical.
The PERFECT example. A nearby city was experiencing a rash of daytime break and enters to people’s homes. And guess what – no-one ever saw anything. Police could not catch a break.
The newsroom did an interview with the mayor about it and he gave his speech…and then at the end he said completely off the cuff…”how come no-one is seeing anyone doing these break-in’s…if I brought a strange woman to my house (That wasn’t my wife) the entire city would know about it in 15 minutes.”
BINGO – That's MAGIC – That is the perfect sound bite…and that’s the clip we ran of the mayor all morning long.
The trick to being a great interview…is to get on lots and lots of shows. Book yourself on radio, podcast, internet shows every week. After you get about 20 interviews under your belt, the sound bites will take care of themselves.
BUT remember an interview isn’t a monologue. Keep your answers short but enthusiastic and let the host have a fun conversation. Think about delivering real content and helping people. This will very quickly make you the go to media expert in your field.
Wayne
Sound Bite Slayer
