Seven Great Media Sound Bites

If you want to virtually guarantee that reporters will use the quote you want them to, you need to master the art of the media sound bite.

Reporters love sound bites because they make for lively copy. The public enjoys them because they’re memorable. And you’ll benefit from them because they can serve as a perfect delivery vehicle for your messages.

I always try to look out for particularly clever and well-phrased media sound bites. In this post, you’ll find seven of my recent favorites.

Related: 10 Ways To Create Memorable Media Sound Bites

Cameras at Press Conference

1. This sound bite has a clear political point of view—but ignore the politics and look at the structure. If you’re on the other side of the aisle, you can simply replace the name “Sarah Palin” with a different name. I was unable to find the source of this sound bite.

“Getting a history lesson from Sarah Palin is like getting your teeth cleaned by a proctologist.”

 

2. During the 2012 election season, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was briefly discussed as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney. Huckabee dismissed the buzz with this clever sound bite:

“I think there’s a greater likelihood that I’ll be asked by Madonna to go on tour as her bass player.”

 

3. While promoting her book about women in the workplace, Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, offered this memorable quip:

“Men still run the world. And I’m not sure that’s going that well.”

Sheryl Sandberg

 

4. Knocking her opponent for what she maintained was his lack of political action, Kentucky’s Alison Lundergan Grimes said this:

“If the doctors told Sen. [Mitch] McConnell he had a kidney stone, he wouldn’t pass it.”

 

5. Congressman Hal Rodgers (R-KY), speaking about the challenge his party’s Speaker of the House faces in running his caucus, quipped:

“It’s a little bit like being the head caretaker of the cemetery. There are a lot of people under you, but nobody listens.”

 

6. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV), who was accused of a conflict of interest for supporting medical procedures that helped her physician-husband, used this analogy:

“I won’t stop fighting to give Nevadans access to affordable health care just because my husband is a doctor, just like I won’t stop standing up for veterans just because my father served in World War II.”

 

7. Finally, here’s a sound bite that any parent will appreciate:

“Cleaning a house with a toddler is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos.”

For more tips on how to develop your own media sound bites, check out my video below. 

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