Metaphors and similes
In the previous chapter we saw examples of the usefulness of metaphors in key messages. We will now explore them further, along with similes. Metaphors and similes are such a part of everyday language that it is almost impossible to have a conversation without hearing them or using them ourselves.
A metaphor is defined as a figure of speech that contains an implied comparison, for example:
- We are skating on thin ice.
A simile explicitly indicates that one thing is similar to another, for example:
- It’s like a sprinting race.
Metaphors and similes really do lend themselves to the expression of ideas in pictures. This means that they are an ideal way to share thoughts and ideas.
Use a metaphor as an introduction to a talk or a meeting
You can use a metaphor to great effect as an introduction to a team meeting or talk. It is a brilliant way to get your main idea across right from the off. Keeping your drawing visible will ensure that your metaphor is kept in mind throughout.
Get your team drawing a metaphor to show how they see it
For teams, metaphors are an excellent way to explore issues in real depth and a brilliant way for colleagues to share their thoughts.
Draw a metaphor to show your key message
A quick sketch of a metaphor may take only seconds, yet the impact can be immense. Once you have created that picture it will stay in the memory of those watching,
Why sketch metaphors and similes?
Here are just some of the numerous reasons why metaphors and similes are useful:
- They are hugely rich in information and a picture is a great way to convey that richness.
- They are a really quick/shorthand way of making a point.
- You can ask excellent questions that encourage the group to examine, refine and further develop the metaphor.
- They are extremely memorable.
- Often they evoke feelings so that people get an emotional connection.
- They focus the group on your key point.
- They are extremely powerful vehicles for exploring problems and ideas.
- Naturally people will find meaning of their own in metaphors and similes.
- Once presented, people will always see more detail in a metaphor from their own point of view.
Let us explore in more depth just why metaphors work so well.
Metaphors are multi-sensory
A key reason why metaphors and similes work so well is that often they contain a variety of multi-sensory information. By this I mean that they help us to access all of our senses.
Metaphors stimulate our experience in many ways and, when described, often they contain many sensory-specific words. A small sample of such words is as follows:
- Visual – seeing (e.g. look, clear, vision, bright, dark, foggy).
- Auditory – hearing (e.g. loud, silent, quiet, ringing, harmonious).
- Kinaesthetic – feeling or movement (e.g. touch, crunch, smooth, rough, sharp, hot).
- Olfactory – smell (e.g. aroma, pungent, acrid, smoky, perfumed, scented).
- Gustatory – taste (e.g. delicious, sweet, bitter, hot, spicy, refreshing).
It is in their appeal to the senses that metaphors often carry their power.
Dry information versus the emotion of metaphors
We can convey information in a very dry and digital manner simply by stating it. However, metaphors provide so much more than just the information itself in terms of message impact. They provide an emotional impact and connection. For this reason alone they are so effective in communication.
The following pairs of statements show the difference between simply stating a fact and using a metaphor, which evokes pictures, sounds and feelings.
- ‘This is project is very difficult’ versus ‘We’re spinning plates.’
- ‘We are very busy at the moment’ versus ‘Our feet aren’t touching the ground.’
- ‘He’s thinking about it’ versus ‘I can hear the cogs whirring.’
Examples of metaphors expressed in drawings
Take the following example. Imagine that you are managing a team and you want to get the idea across that it is important to have ongoing feedback on performance.
Giving feedback on performance
We can liken the process of giving feedback on performance to sending a rocket to the moon.
There is constant feedback between the rocket and mission control
You could draw the picture starting with the earth and mission control. Next you could draw the moon and then the rocket on its way. This would help to explain that constant feedback is necessary to make ongoing adjustments to the trajectory of the rocket.
In the following picture you will see that I have added arrows. The smaller arrows would be drawn first. The first small arrow shows a very slight movement off course with the next arrow indicating an equally fine adjustment to keep the rocket on track. The subsequent small arrows show the same. The point being made is that every time the rocket moves even a fraction off course, a small adjustment is made immediately to get it on track again.
If we did not make the small adjustments early the rocket would veer well off course
One could then draw the big arrow to show what would happen if ongoing feedback was not received and acted upon. The rocket would miss the moon by a long way, as shown by that arrow. The resulting gap between the rocket and the correct path to the moon would be enormous.
Then one could liken this process to giving feedback at work. If it is not given little and often, performance can go way off track and then be hugely difficult, if not impossible, to recover.
Therefore, this is a very graphic way to make that point. Not only that, as you can see, it lends itself to being drawn ‘live’ because you can reveal the story and your key points gradually and with more impact. In this example you have a very simple, but powerful, way to make a point.
Have a go
Have a go at a quick sketch of the rocket to the moon picture. It is all basic shapes and lines.
Let’s have a go at some metaphors
The following exercise will give you practice at drawing and also thinking in pictures.
Have a go
I have already drawn a picture for each metaphor below.
- Draw each picture.
- See what other pictures come into your mind for these metaphors. This could be a variation on the pictures I have done or totally different pictures.
- Now draw your own variations or new versions.
‘We are in shark-infested waters’
‘We are all singing from the same hymn sheet’
‘Fortunately we have a reserve parachute’
‘We are pushing a bus uphill’
‘We are firefighting’
‘I’m snowed under’
Similes work just as well
Similes work as effectively as metaphors. In fact, with a slight change of language, the metaphors above could have been written as similes.
Let us do a couple of examples.
Getting a team drawing metaphors to express their ideas
In addition to drawing metaphors yourself, it is a great idea for teams to make their own drawings to express their ideas. The actual quality of the drawing is not as important as the fact that it enables them to explore and communicate their ideas in a very effective way.
You could ask groups to draw a metaphor to represent, for example:
- the problem… or the desired outcome;
- the current situation… or the desired future;
- the process at the moment… or what it could be like;
- the service we currently provide…. or how it could be improved.
Groups can draw their metaphors by working individually, in pairs or in sub-groups or whole teams and then present their drawings to colleagues to explain their ideas. This is not only a creative way to explore issues and topics but also a way of communicating very quickly and effectively because a powerful metaphor says so much.
Using questions to explore and develop a metaphor
We can explore the metaphors further within a group by asking questions to yield more information.
When you use questions to help a group explore or further develop their metaphors, there are a few key points to bear in mind. One thing to be wary of when asking questions is that you are not putting forward your own ideas disguised as questions. There may be nothing wrong with that, providing you know you are doing it. However, it is all too easy to ask the group a question in such a way that you are actually putting your own content into their metaphor. So what are the alternatives?
One method is to ask questions in a way that may be described as ‘clean’. There is a whole field of study on the subject of ‘clean language’, which is concerned with helping people to explore issues without adding in your own ideas. The kinds of questions I have suggested below originate from the work of David Grove, as developed by James Lawley and Penny Tompkins and documented in their book Metaphors in Mind.
Let’s take an example: the metaphor is a crossroads
In response to the question: ‘What metaphor describes where our business is at the moment?’ someone might reply, ‘We are at a crossroads.’
Examples of clean questions or lines of enquiry could be the following:
‘What kind of a Y is that?’ (Y being the metaphor) – so in this instance one could ask, ‘What kind of a crossroads is that?’
The above question would elicit more information, which may help the individual or group to enrich the metaphor. In doing so they would be getting more detail about the situation.
‘Is there anything else about that?’
This question encourages the group to look for anything that may be missing. For example, in this instance: ‘Is there anything else about the crossroads to tell us?’
‘What’s beyond that?’
Once the metaphor is drawn you could ask questions that may help the group to understand the relationship between what they have drawn and other potential elements. In this instance one might enquire, ‘What is beyond the crossroads?’
‘And what happens just before that?’
This question will encourage the group to explore time and examine what occurred just before the part of the journey they have drawn. In this instance it could be, ‘What happens just before we get to the crossroads?’
‘What happens next?’
This question also explores time. This may encourage the group to explore potential solutions. In this example we might enquire as to ‘What happens next?, i.e. when we move from the spot marked X on the picture.
Once you have a metaphor illustrated it will prompt all kinds of questions and reactions. It is, therefore, a very useful vehicle (excuse the metaphor), for exploring issues.
Make the most of metaphors
You can see just how useful metaphors are. They can really connect with people at a deeper level than plain information. They often convey the real feeling and emotion of a situation. The fact that they are so useful in presenting an idea and also in group work makes them an especially valuable tool. They will certainly stimulate the imagination and creativity of groups.
Summary
- Use a metaphor or simile as a shorthand to explain your thinking.
- Draw a metaphor as a powerful introduction to your talk.
- Keep your metaphor drawing visible so it is a constant reminder.
- Ask teams or individual members to draw a metaphor to show how they see, for example, a problem, process or vision.
- Use ‘clean’ questions to help a team or individuals explore and develop their metaphors.
More practice
To reinforce and develop your skill at drawing metaphors and similes, have a go at any of the following that apply to you:
- Think about the organisation that you work for. Write down a metaphor that would describe it. Or it could be a simile: e.g. ‘Our organisation is rather like...’.
- Think about your career; what metaphor would represent where you are at the moment?
- Think about a current issue or problem in your work; what metaphor would represent that issue?
- Think about a project you are working on, in or out of work; what metaphor would describe it?
- Draw a picture to show any or all of the above.