Why Metaphors Create More Meaningful, Memorable Communications

"Stories are just data with soul." - Brene Brown

Why do parables and metaphors work so well?

Because they don't feel like preaching.

No one is telling us what to do. There's no scolding.

Parables and metaphors are stories with benefits.

They are a face-saving way to see someone else making a mistake or a bad decision - and realize we're doing the same.

But no one is shaming us into the lesson so we don't resist it.

Parables and metaphors are Socratic.

They let us come to a lesson in our own way and in our own time so we own the insight because it is being done by us and not to us.

Plus, parables are stories, and stories are always more interesting than a listicle of how-to's.

People are tired of being taught.

We've got enough on our plate right now without being told one more thing we're doing wrong or one more thing we need to do better.

Parables put us in the scene so we see what's being said and experience what's happening as if it's happening right here, right now, to us.

Parables take us out of our real world and time-travel us into an imaginary world where we get to vicariously experience something we might not otherwise.

And in that make-believe world, we get to decide for ourselves whether what is happening is also true for us - and if so what we're going to do about it.

Think about it.

Fairy tales are parables. Disney movies are parables. The Alchemist is a parable.

They are all opportunities to grasp a principle and glean a moral of the story.

Yes, I want to be brave like Moana or resourceful like Elsa in Frozen.

Yes, I want to resist the dark forces like Luke in Star Wars and be a light-bearer.

Yes, I will build my house with bricks so the big bad wolf can't blow it down.

Speaking of wolfs, there's a Native American parable that is particularly relevant for these challenging times.

A Cherokee elder is teaching his grandson about life. He says:

“A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil – he is anger, envy, greed, arrogance, resentment, lies, and ego.

The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, kindness, empathy, compassion, faith.

The same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson asks, “Which wolf will win?”

The grandfather replies simply, “The one you feed."

See how gentle that parable is?

No lecturing.

Just an evocative metaphor that motivates us to self-examine and ask whether we've been feeding the wrong wolf.

That's one more thing parables have going for them.

They pose moral dilemmas - kindness or cruelty, greed or generosity, selfishness or service, anger or empathy - and remind us we have a choice of how we show up.

How we live - and how we lead - is up to us.

Always has been. Always will be.

What's your favorite parable? How has it impacted you?

Do you use metaphors in your communications? How so?

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Sam Horn is the CEO of the Intrigue Agency. Her 3 TEDx talks and 9 books - Tongue Fu!, POP!, Got Your Attention? and SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week) have been featured in NY Times, on NPR, and presented to Intel, NASA, Cisco, Capital One, YPO.