Finding Just the Right Analogy

Here’s a common persuasive challenge:

A leader has a new and powerful idea. They believe the implications of embracing this idea could be huge. 

They are scheduled to present the idea in just a few minutes at the next team gathering. Because the idea is novel and unexpected, they worry the audience may not grasp it without much more time to explore it. They need an edge to make the idea more compelling. So, they turn to an analogy to explain the idea in terms the audience already understands. 

Good leaders rely heavily on analogies to explain their ideas, proposals, and concepts. They understand that a great analogy conveys an abstract idea in a highly relatable way. 

It takes something unfamiliar and makes it comprehensible and easier to grasp through comparison. A great analogy simplifies learning by making a powerful connection that an audience instantly grasps. 

Technically speaking, an analogy is a comparison between two things that are similar in a specific way. It makes a point of highlighting what the two things share in common. 

This comparison helps to break down the complexity of the idea by giving others something they know how to latch onto. This makes the original idea more compelling and persuasive. 

Potential analogies exist everywhere. Searching for a great analogy begins by asking what features or benefits of the idea are hard to grasp. 

Looking for well-known entities, objects, or events that share any of those elements will likely reveal a new way of explaining what is hard for others to understand. 

By making the connection between the original concept and the new idea, the audience makes the connection in their minds about how the two ideas relate. They transfer the understanding of the familiar concept to the features of the target concept. 

The key is to find analogies that are not tired and overused. We all know that time is like a river, a brain is like a computer, life is like a rollercoaster, communication is like a dance, and knowledge is like a tree. 

Good leaders strive to find more creative and novel analogies to make their ideas understandable. Finding analogies that are both familiar and unusual just requires some creative brainstorming. 

Well-known objects, processes, and events are ripe for experimentation. ATMs, music festivals, file cabinets, a compass, family reunions, musical instruments, jigsaw puzzles, traveling, running a marathon, crossing a bridge, art exhibitions, and an infinite number of other well-known experiences and concepts contain the potential to serve as a great analogy. 

By drawing parallels to concrete and familiar concepts, leaders use analogies to paint a picture that makes complex ideas more understandable. The human mind delights in finding those connections, and good leaders offer them as a convenience and comfort to those making sense of a novel idea. 

Great analogies become “old friends” quickly and can be repeated again and again to aid understanding. Be sure to use them whenever you can.