Sound bites

We live in a world where everything happens so fast, and attention spans are very short. We have tweets and text messages. We move from one story to the next. We have news networks that just take a line or two from a speech to use on the air. Because, you know, there is a lot to do and time is of the essence. We are busy, busy, busy. We have little time to stop and listen, or to take time to read a newspaper article, or a book.

It is up to editors and reporters to pick a sound bite, something that will reflect someone’s statement and also catch our attention. Is it fair? No. Is it always accurate? No.

But we live in the world of a sound bite.

And, knowing that, it is extra vital for public speakers to watch what they say. Words matter. Long orations are reduced down, often down to a minute or two in length.

Lately there has been a lot of talk about sound bites, and about how they are used against political leaders. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard and read recently that the sound bites of Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump are not reflective of who they really are. That they are taken out of context. That we didn’t hear their complete thought. That the opposing party just wants to make them sound bad.

And, yes, there is some truth to that. But sound bites add up. Right after Kirk was assassinated last week lots of audio & video clips of him appeared on social media. Sound bites from the past five years of him speaking at different events on various topics. I acknowledge that I had never listened to him before his death. So, when I started paying attention last week to all the sound bites I was surprised with what he said. I believe strongly in free speech and so he had every right to say what he did. He seemed to have no fear in speaking out. In expressing his opinion. He was bold.

But, he had to have known that his opines would be used in sound bites. Everything he said was videoed, saved, edited, and aired. When you are a public person like Kirk what you say never goes away.

Sound bites matter.

I think of Pres. Obama, Rep. Raskin, and Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Corey Booker, and others – these are examples where their sound bites have rarely been used against them. (Maybe the people on Fox do it. I never listen to that network because they are known to habitually lie.) These are public figures who speak with eloquence and with careful thought. They don’t say edgy statements that can be misinterpreted. They know that words matter. As a Democrat I have never had to defend them, or make excuses for them saying “It was a sound bite that was taken wrong.”

So, think about your favorite politician and leader. Are you finding yourself explaining their words? Are you saying ‘they really meant something else’? Are you standing up for them all the time because they represent you but they don’t have good sound bites? Their sound bites create discomfort?

It’s the world we live in now. Sound bites represent a person. Everything said is ‘free’ to use. Politicians know that. The truthful ones, the smart ones, don’t have to fear that their words are being misinterpreted in a sound bite. Think about that.