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As I work with my clients I find that speaking in soundbites is a constant challenge. Here are 5 proven tips for creating sensational soundbites:

1.  Time your soundbites

A professor and author who was one day away from appearing on a major TV show came to my office for an emergency on-camera media coaching session. We had done a number of practice interviews by phone and had honed her soundbites down to three key points for every question she was going to be asked. I wrote each point out so she could practice at home before our in-person meeting.

We even timed each soundbite to 10 seconds so she could be sure to get in all of her points. But she still had difficulty saying each one succinctly. When I asked her if she had practiced speaking her points out loud, she confessed she had only read them on the page.

2.  Practice out loud

Rehearsing in your head is good. But in order to sound natural and spontaneous, rehearse your talking points orally. The experience is akin to reading poetry, or lines from a play. Your stories must be practiced in the medium in which they will be expressed. And though you rehearse them, each time act as if you are saying them for the first time. Each moment is different from every other moment. Allow all the subtle new details to arise as you practice.

3.  Be easy to love

Someone said of Frank O'Hara, "He wrote poetry that was so conversational, casual, easy to like, colloquial, that it was very easy to fall in love with his poetry. He made poetry seem as natural as breathing." This is the goal of your soundbite delivery.

To make it natural as breathing and to invite people to fall in love with you and whatever you are selling or offering. Your soundbites evolve as you do. Bring freshness to them with expression, enthusiasm, and delight.

4.  Make it fresh

Create fresh word flowers. Buddhist Zen master, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, says, "There is a gatha (teaching) that says, 'Words can travel thousands of miles. They are to build up more mutual acceptance and understanding. I vow that my words will be like gems. I vow that my words will be fresh like flowers.'"

If you can, use your gems and flowers to encourage justice and good in the world.

5.  Fight for what's right

Edmund Morel, considered the greatest British investigative reporter of his time, was largely responsible for putting an end to the slave trade in the Congo through his one man publicity campaign in the early 1900s. He almost single-handedly created a worldwide human rights movement with his efforts. He convinced Mark Twain and Booker T. Washington to go on a speaking tour to stop this African holocaust.

In England he enlisted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the popular author of the Sherlock Holmes books. Their aid in protesting the U.S. as the first country to recognize the Congo as King Leopold's possession, helped incite international fervor and forced Leopold to turn the colony over to Belgium. Working with Morel, Mark Twain took his own intentions to heart when he acted on his words, "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

NOTE:  Get tips like this and more than 100 pages of insights and hot tips in Susan's new book "The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah: 10 Steps to Becoming a Guest on the World's Top Talk Show." You'll find dozens of ideas, advice on how to pitch Oprah producers, and insider secrets from the best publicists in the business. Click here to find out more and read chapter excerpts.

Copyright © - Susan Harrow. - Reprinted with permission. Susan is an top media & marketing coach and author of "Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul," "The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah" and the forthcoming, "How You Can Get a 6 Figure Book Advance." To learn how you can join the ranks of Susan's high powered clients who have been on Oprah, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, The Today Show and more go to: www.prsecretstore.com. Discover how you can make the cut to be on a top TV talk show today!

Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul: A Woman's Guide to Promoting Herself, Her Business, Her Product, or Her Cause with Integrity and Spirit - Susan Harrow - Self-promotion and self-respect are directly related, says Harrow. She says that women, especially, need to hear this message, since she believes that they are intrinsically less comfortable with hype than men are. Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul will teach you: To be the message you want to give, The formula professional publicists use to create a winning press kit, Strategies to master any type of media interview, verbally and sychologically, Insider secrets to help you become an overnight expert, The dos and don'ts of forming strong lasting bonds with the media, Dozens of ways to gain worldwide fame and fortune on your own terms and more.