The power of metaphor
Metaphors are the colours of a language.
His mind was a blank slate.
You've got a heart of stone.
You are the sunshine of my life.
In business writing the colourful is usually frowned upon in favour of the monotone. And this can be a good strategy, especially when clarity and concision is at a premium.
But often your goal is to persuade as much as it is to inform. And that’s where metaphor is your friend. Metaphors are so prevalent they often pass unnoticed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t leave a powerful impression in the mind of your audience.
A 2010 study showed how metaphor can affect people’s opinions and responses. Study subjects were shown a report on crime statistics, but one group’s copy of the document included the metaphor of crime as a ‘wild beast’ and the other of crime as a ‘virus’. The former group were more likely to advocate harsher punishments and the latter to suggest social reform. Perhaps this isn’t so surprising, but what is striking is that the variance between these two groups was stronger than the variance usually found in comparisons of, say, gender and political orientation.
So, the influence of metaphors in determining people’s responses was more powerful than such usually sharp markers as whether you are male or female. Consider the political divisions between men and women in voting patterns – currently a stark distinction in both American and Australian politics. Metaphor is an even more powerful predictor of behaviour than that. And considering how much time, money and effort is expended in specifically targeting men or women in political campaigns or in advertising generally, metaphor is a significantly underused arrow in the quiver of persuasion. Speaking metaphorically, of course.
