Recently, CNNs early-bird program ruminated that the business world has and is using too many colorful metaphors too often. From its broadcast, one was left with the impression that phrases like; hitting the ground running, watching the bottom line, and thinking out of the box, are poison pills and should be avoided in favor of more explicit terminology. Colorful metaphors arent or dont need to be poison pills they can both elaborate and expand an idea while still being concise. In fact, they may add a colorful emotional quality to what otherwise may be a sterile moonscape presentation. True, you dont want to sound like a mina bird squawking the same clich or irritating phrases repeatedly but good communicators, rather in conversation or prose, dont do this anyway. A good communicator will use metaphors to help us remember and prioritize information by painting complete pictures with fewer words, rather than droning in our ears like the buzz of a fly or the recitation of the multiplication tables. People for the most part, are not the binary machines (computers) we often sit at, were not Joe Fridays wanting, just the facts. We often need and prefer information to be presented in a way that draws pictures and makes familiar correlations for us. There are those times when cutting to the chase is much simpler, less dramatic, and more preferable but at these times a simple yes or no may often suffice. Good communication, being a high fidelity transfer of ideas, experiences, and concepts is enhanced by colorful, well timed metaphors. We understand and draw from analogies so well we often dont even realize when a metaphor has been used. Metaphors are the tools that enhance and make us better communicators. Instead of sliding them to the back burner as CNN would suggest, we should instead welcome and invite their usage as an old friend returned. This is only my opinion, but I suggest you push the envelope a bit, get your ducks in a row, and take a stab in the dark with metaphors. Its a no brainer to not go over the top the first time you stretch your wings, but metaphors can be the piece of the puzzle you are missing in communication, so wake up and smell the coffee, they are not poison pills that must be avoided as you climb the corporate ladder. I personal use and enjoy metaphors handily as you may have guessed since every sentence in this piece contains at least one example, 33 in total, including this one. |
