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Oct 15, 2015
Presley, Bezos, & Sex
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock, you can’t help but read, see, or
hear about the various candidates running for President. What intrigues me are
the images that are used by commentators in all the media to “frame” both our
understanding and emotional reaction to them. A couple of examples…
-
 Donald
Trump “Everyone loves a carnival barker and reality
shows can be amusing, but when you get to the point of seriously
deciding if that person should be the leader of the free world,
expect many Republican voters to pull the lever for someone
else.” -
US News
(Who would want a “carnival barker” with every negative
connotation that name evokes to be leader of the free world?
Volumes communicated in a single image.)
-
Hillary Clinton & Bernie Sanders “Says
(Alan S.) Blinder, Clinton's outside adviser: ‘You don't find
Hillary Clinton looking to burn the (economic) house
down but rather to improve the furniture
or maybe even the structure of the house.” Sanders is readier
with the matches, saying on his website that ‘it is time to
break up the largest financial institutions in the country.’” -
Bloomberg
(If you weren’t sure of the differences between these two
democrats, at least according to Blinder, these two images set
the stage for understanding their different approaches.)
You get the idea.
Brain Candy
Commentators, candidates, bloggers, etc. all reach for metaphor
to influence how we think and what decisions we should make. These pros know
that metaphors are “brain candy,” the cognitive food that our brains eat up and
crave.
I’d like to direct you to three entertaining Ted talks about metaphors that
illustrate
-
Why metaphors are such powerful, powerful tools for
influencing, persuading, & explaining anything to anyone, Watch
Metaphorically Speaking
by author James Geary. (See how Elvis Presley figures into his
talk.)
-
How
your choice of metaphor shapes your listener’s entire
understanding of what you are explaining. Watch
The
Electricity Metaphor for the Web’s Future by
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
-
How
metaphor can be applied to any topic, no matter how sensitive.
Watch
Sex Needs a New Metaphor. Here's One… by Al Vernaachio, sexuality educator. (No surprise
if you want to watch this one first!)
Elvis, Aristotle & You
Look again at your key communications. What do you sell? Who do you need to
influence? What do you explain? Whose support, resources, approvals, permission,
agreement do you need? What metaphors will resonate with these listeners to
shorten sales cycles, win project approvals, rally others to your cause, create
change, or even land you a new job?
.
Anne Miller
Make What You Say Pay — With Metaphors.
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Metaphor:
The Shortcut to Yes!
- Why Metaphor?
- 10X to Reach for Metaphor
- The Metaphor-Mind Connection
- Beginning Steps to Metaphor Mastery
- Metaphorians from Steve Jobs to Arianna Huffington
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