Seth Godin wrote a terrific post about headlines. His point, we live in a world of short, exec summaries. Whether it is a spreadsheet or a sales brochure, a great headline is required. I was intrigued by his definition of a headline, it is very broad, a simple defining statement that extends well beyond the printed page. For example he says:

That person you met at a conference: What’s his headline? Are you actually going to spend ten minutes with him before you determine whether or not he’s interesting enough to talk with? Of course not. No headline, no communication.

While I never thought about my “sound bite” as a headline, it is. if you can’t keep it short, and attention grabbing, you won’t earn the right to continue the conversation.