Not Just A Soundbite!

Israel, 2004, 10:30 AM, on a hill overlooking Bethlehem…

March 2004, Phil Smith camera man and editor for a doc we had just started, a CBS crew of eight people plus their driver and me looked out over Bethlehem while Captain Jacob Dallal: Israeli Defense Force pointed out where the “security fence” was going to be placed.

It was Palm Sunday, church bells pealing, a beautiful spring day at a historical site, everything memorable, a day and place to savor, yet what I remember most was the CBS correspondent asking me if I’d mind if he went first… he was on deadline and all he needed was a just a few moments, all he needed was a sound bite.

Just a sound bite to ask about one of the most polarizing issues between Israeli’s and Palestinians, the ‘security fence or “wall”, depending on your perspective. After all he said, you have the rest of the day to ask and learn about this. And we did, we spent the rest of the day with Captain Dallal at various points where the “fence” was going to be put up. And we had spent a previous day in the field looking at locations with Palestinians.

Yet, that day I realized how often all we have are sound bites, short moments in time, a snap of the fingers. That’s how we prefer our news, that’s how much time we donate to relationships, that’s how much time we have with our customers. In these challenging economic times how we manage our sound bites, those few moments we take with customers (and loved ones) can make for loyal customers or the loss of a relationship.

Sometimes a sound bite is all we have, to give the best service, the smile, the greeting, the listening to a complaint or request, to really listen and to touch someone who will come back again and again and recommend you to others. Those few moments can strengthen relationships if we are truly present. Are we making the best of our sound bites?