Sound Bites                                                Back to Tips Menu

Lee Hood, University of Colorado

Picking sound bites

¨      Look for emotion, opinion, eyewitness account, expert analysis

¨      Sound bites can help explain the story

¨      Often the raw "facts" do not make the most interesting bites

Writing into sound bites

¨      I recommend you don't use the person's name to set up the bite if it isn't important; may not even use their title.  (In video stories, you may not want to show them before the actual bite.)  Sometimes who they are to the story is more important than their name.  E.g., "Witnesses couldn't believe what they saw."

¨      Don't state the obvious; e.g., "Jane Smith had this to say."  It's wasting words! 

¨      Just giving the name to introduce the bite (or to write out of it) is really unimaginative.  E.g.: "George Epp," to introduce his bite or to conclude.

¨      Set up what the person is going to say.  Make a general statement about it.  Enhance it. 

¨      The lead-in should have something to do with what they're going to say.

¨      At the same time, don't parrot what they're going to say.

¨      Writing into the bite can be very subtle, just a part of the story. 

Writing out of sound bites

¨      Can present the opposite point of view

¨      Can say something else about what they just said

¨      Can play off their words for emphasis

¨      Hint: You can use other parts of the interview to help set up or write out of the bite.  E.g.: Epp also said…(something else from the original interview).