Making Metaphorical Magic

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you become more persuasive. Reading time: 3:02

Even the students who think science is boring might reconsider if they thought that those who studied astronomy were “peeping Toms at the keyhole of eternity,” as author Arthur Koestler observed.

bowl of fruitNo wonder the most effective leaders leverage the power of a metaphor.

Think of a metaphor as a connection or a bridge between the new and the familiar, a connection that provides a new perspective -a new meaning -that can persuade an audience to reconsider its skeptical or apathetic attitude.

So powerful is the metaphor that no less a great thinker than Greek philosopher Aristotle said: “The greatest thing by far is to have mastered the metaphor.” And the Spanish philosopher and writer Jose Ortega y Gasset added, “The metaphor is probably the most fertile power possessed by man.” Continue reading “Making Metaphorical Magic”