Metaphors allow you to make the complex simple and the controversial palatable. Conversely, metaphors allow you to create extraordinary meaning out of the seemingly mundane.
~ Brian Clark
Brian couldn’t state it better, and don’t think that metaphors are only for fiction writing and movie making; they are highly useful in business settings.
But then you’d ask, why go through the trouble to creating something just to tell another thing, when telling it as it is would be enough?
Well, the truth is, not everyone thinks like us - if you’re married or have communicated with young children before you will get what I mean. Metaphors will help them understand the gist of the message better.
Your next question will be, how do you create metaphors?
Let’s look at some examples.
“The ballroom is the size of a football field” - picture of football field immediate comes to mind.
“This software is the whatsapp for corporates” - it’s a communication tool for working folks
And if you can remember the great Steve Jobs when he showcased the Macbook Air for the first time to the world, him pulling it out of an envelope immediately register the following thoughts in the audience - thin and light.
Here are a few tips to get you metaphoring in no time:
- Think about the message you want to drive home - highlight the key points
- List down a few objects, scenes or stories that can be linked to the message and/or the points
- Find something generic that most people can relate to
- Use descriptive words - color, emotions, expressions, details
- But the art is to keep the descriptive words to be sufficient, meaningful and effective. Too many descriptive words will bore people - overdetailed
- Totally optional, but you may want to add a ‘twist’ to the metaphor to make yours message more impactful
- Use a picture or short video clip if you can find one. If you’re using the video clip, make sure it’s “chunked” high enough for you to blend your message in (What’s chunking? I’ll talk about that in the next post. Promise.)
So there you have it. And like anything else, practice makes perfect. Even in casual conversations, try using metaphors. The worst that can happen is they can’t catch your “drift” or “ball”, and that still can work to pique their interest.
Try it out and let me know how it works out.
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Great article
Thanks!
Love it. The viewer needs something familiar for the message to stick. Memory experts use the same trick to remember long sequences and facts.
True! The thing is, humans love to be entertained, and what we have fun learning about, we will remember longer.
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I wish I can be metaphoric but I 'm a bit metaphorically challenged...haha
Excellent writing bother...
I really like your article, so I follow you.
want,s more brother. .