Gain mastery of the analogy II
In the first article on the use of the analogy, I introduced the concept of analogies and how you can use them as a persuasive tool. In this article, let us consider the most important factor that determines the analogy you use and also a few ideas to get your creativity going. Here we go!
The most important factor: The Audience
Your choice of analogy is dictated first and finally by your audience. It is crucial to understand who they are and what they care about. You should give deep thought to important aspects of their individual and joint identities before choosing your analogies. More on this later. You can download a free audience analysis tool here.
For now, let us look at some tips for crafting effective analogies.
Familiarity leads to acceptability
Choose analogies that are familiar to them. This will increase cognitive fluency and help you persuade.Say you are trying to sell an integration software solution to a manufacturing company.
An analogy about how the prospects data is the raw material that can be sorted, processed and refined to a useful finished product would work. An analogy about how the software works like a suspension bridge might not.
2. General beats specific
Even though tailored analogies work best, having your back pocket stuffed with a ready-to-go general analogy is always a good idea. This is useful when you have not had time to prep before a meeting.
Generalized analogies tap experiences that are commonplace. These are useful because it is likely your audience, regardless of industry or personality, will be able to relate.Below are some general themes to get you going:
Cooking
Many of us cook and we all eat. Therefore, cooking or activities relating to it make for good go-to analogies. A cooking analogy works well when describing a process involving raw materials and a finished product. It can also be used to describe a formulaic concept.
Sports or games
Sports analogies can be tricky but work very well when the audience knows and appreciates the sport. For example, a baseball analogy may work well in the US or hockey in Canada. But a Quidditch analogy in Zimbabwe would likely fall flat (unless it was at Comicon perhaps).
Be careful though not to stereotype as this can backfire.“Oh you think just because I’m Canadian, I love hockey huh???”
Movement, travel or transportation
Useful when describing a progression – perhaps a project, a speech, a story or, well, a journey. Assume you are a gastroenterologist giving a talk to a non-technical audience. You may invite them to “come with you on a journey of discovery through the wonderful and surprising world of the human digestive system.” Just be careful about how your journey (ahem) ends.
The famous quote from Lao Tzu “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” is really an analogy comparing life to a journey.
Phones, email or other communications.
This is a rich source of analogy. People talk, people communicate – all the time. Instead of having your computers “networked”, why not have them “talk to each other”.
Instead of describing internet speeds in numbers, compare them to snail mail and email. The non-technical listener will instantly understand.
The human body
No need to talk about how general this one is. In the movie The Matrix, the infamous Agent Smith describes the earth as a living thing and mankind as a virus. He uses the analogy very effectively.
Closer to home, you often hear the central processing unit of a computer compared to the brain. Analogies around the human body (or any familiar mechanism) can be very useful when describing how different parts of a system function and interact.
The Key Question
There are many themes you can draw on for analogies. The trick is this: when you are required to explain a complex concept, ask yourself what is this like? Then see if you can craft a good analogy out of it.
In the next article, we will talk about some mistakes to avoid when using analogies.
Till then, speak with skill.
