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One of the curses of modern society is the addiction to the sound bite. It pervades radio and television interviews and press reports as well as other aspects of human endeavour. Heaven forefend, but this column may actually be the journalistic equivalent of a sound bite.

‘Sound bite’ has been defined as a short, pithy extract from a recorded interview… used for maximum punchiness.
Sadly, a great deal of technical exchanges are now reduced to sound bites, with gross over-simplification the order of the day.

Speakers at trade conferences are frequently expected to distil complex technical expositions into 20 minutes or less, which often proves to be impossible. Equally, the attention spans of audiences have been correspondingly curtailed.
Reliance on the sound bite in management communications reflects the frantic pace of modern civilisation.

People rarely seem to have the opportunity to read the minutes of the last meeting before the next one begins. Specialists scarcely have the time to come to grips with a new technology before the next invention supersedes it.

One suspects that many mistakes in contemporary business could be avoided if a little more time were taken to consider matters more deliberately and carefully.

Adding to the problem is the constant invasiveness of electronic communications devices, which deny any respite for quiet contemplation.

Perhaps my offspring have the best advice: chill out. Pity about the language though.

Lawrence Wallis held international pre-press marketing positions and was a respected author and print historian.