We live in a super, fast-paced world. And while every writer wants their speech to be consumed in full, often it will get chopped up and posted in pieces on social media. So how does one include sound bites into a full-length speech?
You must have one line that encapsulates the entire objective of the speech. One line that speaks to the when, where, what, why, and for whom.
- Sound bites must be simply written. If you have to look for a dictionary to understand a word, the game is over.
- Sound bites are best captured when the speaker is comfortable. Example: don’t use ‘mic drop’ language if you have to explain to the speaker what ‘dropping the mic’ means.
- Read everything in the speech as if it’s a sound bite. Because if you don’t control what will get taken out of context and this will allow you to delete instances of ambiguous phrasing.
- Ensure that the language before a sound bite phrase leads up to it. Tone and timing will ensure that audiences understand that there’s a moment coming.
