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30-second sound bites are an amazing way to communicate your brand and skills. The Dietetic Profession is one that is slowly starting to gain more awareness nationally. Despite the increase in awareness, many still don’t understand what dietetic professionals do and why they are especially qualified.
Promoting yourself as a part of the dietetic profession benefits you and the entire dietetic community.
As a student, you are constantly bombarded with opportunities to promote yourself. It is important that these opportunities to network and influence are not lost as taking advantage of them can positively impact your future. To take advantage of these opportunities you can create and use a 30-second sound bite.
Freelance writer Jim McCaffree suggests in his article “Promote Yourself and Your Profession with Sound Bites”, that you can promote both yourself and your profession by creating a 30-second sound bite and using confidently and shamelessly (661). Creating and effectively using a personalized 30-second sound bite will help you make a lasting impression. This earned lasting impression can potentially set you up for success further down the road!
To create an impactful 30-second sound bite that’ll set you up for success, you should limit your message to 3 key points (McCaffree 661).
There are 3 key things to include in your 30-second sound bite:
(Creating Your Elevator Pitch)
An example might be “Hello, I’m Jill, I’m a student dietetic technician with an interest in entrepreneurship. I am working towards my end goal of owning my own practice”.
This might sound brief but it quickly and clearly conveys your interests. It leaves the conversation open to follow-up questions and suggestions on who else you might connect with and how you might gain additional experience.
Once you have the basic concepts of your message down, it’s important to practice your sound bite until it seems natural. Sharing your sound bite with friends and family first can help you polish it to perfection.
Additionally, it’s important not to memorize your sound bite but to be comfortable introducing its 3 key points. This will not only help you adjust your sound bite to each unique situation, but it also ensures that your introduction comes off as genuine.
Once your sound bite sounds natural, be sure to confidently and shamelessly use it when meeting people! Remember, you are your best advocate.
Creating Your Elevator Pitch. Pomerantz Career Center. https://careers.uiowa.edu/students/creating-your-elevator-pitch. Accessed January 14, 2018.
McCaffree J. Promote Yourself and Your Profession with Sound Bites. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2006;106(5):661-662. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2006.03.018.