Soundbites are an integral part of our lives. Turn on the radio at breakfast – whether Radio 4 or a commercial station – and before long you’ll hear one. Without them, the news stream would slow down and the way we consume the news would be different.
Politicians throughout history – good ones – have been able to catch the ear of the electorate through a well-honed turn of phrase. The use of a simile or metaphor, alliteration or even a touch of onomatopoeia catches the imagination, raises a smile or makes the heart beat that little bit faster. The great orators of the twentieth century, such as Churchill, Lloyd George, Roosevelt and de Gaulle, used pauses and rhythms to create a roller coaster of rhetoric that kept audiences interested, or won them over.
Great, set-piece, political speeches are a rare occurrence nowadays. Political rallies don't move polls, and have been replaced by photo-ops. Why take an hour to make a speech when powerful pictures tell the same story in a fraction of the time?
It's common for politicians to be criticised for speaking in soundbites, but the modern terms of engagement between the media and politicians demand that they be used. It's probably true that it was politicians who first recognised this. In the 1950s, as the ad men moved from selling white goods and washing powder to political campaigning, so the modern soundbite was born. John F Kennedy knew what he was doing with "Ich Bin Ein Berliner". However, they remained rare until the birth of 24-hour rolling news in the 1980s. It was then that politics and the media reached tacit agreement as to the content needed to satisfy the hunger of the news channels.
In the past, phrases from speeches or radio broadcasts would get picked up, but often they would need to be given context by a reporter. Come the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, the choice of phrases changed from standout sentences to stand-alone soundbites, contextualised by the TV pictures that ran alongside them.
President Reagan’s famous "It’s morning again in America" was in the vanguard of speeches by politicians who were willing to use the power of the media, as never before, to get their message across. Some soundbites, like George Bush Senior’s "Read my lips: no new taxes", were initially successful but ultimately used as weapons to undermine their utterers. Others, such as Tony Blair’s "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime", or "Education, education, education", helped to define and reposition the Labour Party.
Both Bush and Blair found that, no matter how memorable the soundbite, successful political communication should always be backed up by solid execution
Good soundbites are not a dumbing down of politics; instead, they're an effective way to communicate to the electorate, and key weapons in the armoury of opposition politicians who wish to undermine the government. What politicians should avoid – like failing to prepare for any media appearance – is using a soundbite without thinking through its potential ramifications (I’m thinking of Gordon Brown’s "British jobs for British workers").
The role of press officers in maximising the impact of a soundbite has become increasingly important. If the words come as part of a speech, it's important to release this passage to TV journalists beforehand. It may even be necessary to tell the journalists the exact time the 15-second nugget will be delivered; then, hopefully, that part of the speech will be featured live as part of a wider news package.
David Cameron has made great use of doorstep interviews to deliver soundbites. This is a very time-efficient way to ensure he is always driving the news agenda, but, again, is a tool more easily utilised in opposition.
By tipping off the media as to your whereabouts and what you're going to say, in less than a minute you can deliver a line that might lead the evening news bulletins
There is real skill in delivering a soundbite well. It is essential to make what you're saying believable, and to talk at a level your audience will understand. Don’t fall into the trap of delivering tired political clichés, turning the viewer off what you're saying. While Tony Blair was able to deliver effective soundbites that caught the mood of the nation (“She was the People’s Princess”), he also had the capacity for attracting ridicule (“Now is not the time for soundbites. I can feel the hand of history on my shoulder”).
While the media cry out for brevity, the electorate don’t want their politicians to speak without meaning. It’s a challenge faced by all in the public eye, as they try to get their message across in a 15-second soundbite.
Ed Staite runs an international communications consultancy.
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