Painting Vivid Mental Pictures When Telling Your Story
Our imaginations are a powerful thing. I remember when my wife got pregnant with our first child. I was researching all the wonderful things you can teach babies like sign language and teach them how to identify things through images etc…
My little toddler quickly knew how to tell me she was thirsty amongst some other simple signs. I found it absolutely fascinating how our minds start working at an early age. It’s not surprising that as we go through life we continue to create images in our head when we are processing information.
Understanding this you will start to understand how important Metaphor’s play into your marketing when you are writing copy, talking on the phone and doing videos.
met·a·phor – Noun
1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare).
2. One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: “Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven” (Neal Gabler).
When You Use Metaphors, Your Story Captures The Imagination Faster Than A Bee Buzzing
If you like me the hardest part of telling your story is coming up with good metaphors. Come to think of it if you are like me your probably slower than a turtle when it comes to writing witty idiomatic phrases. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to give you a bunch of examples of Metaphors to help get your writing juices flowing.
- Time is a thief.
- She has a heart of gold.
- Hers head was spinning with ideas.
- Kevin is a real pig when he eats.
- Authority is a chair, it needs legs to stand up.
- His home was a prison.
- Life is a journey, purposes are destinations, means are routes, difficulties are obstacles, counselors are guides, achievements are landmarks and choices are crossroads.
- The old movie was very popular. People flocked to see it.
- It is raining cats and dogs.
- Life has a tendency to come back and bite you.
- It wasn’t long before their relationship turned sour.
- Larry lost his job after a heated argument with his boss.
- The committee shot her ideas down one by one.
- America is a melting pot.
- He swam in the sea of diamonds.
- You are my sunshine.
- A light in a sea of darkness
- She is my East and my West, my compass
- My life is a dream
- Boiling mad
- Frozen with fear
- He spilled the beans
More Examples:
“My life is like a prison because I have done wrong and can’t get it out of my head”.
“My life is like a bed of roses because its looks pretty but really its painful”.
“My life is a supermarket on a Saturday because you just want to get in and out of it really quickly”.
Think of a metaphor as a connection or a bridge between the new and the familiar.
— Peter Jeff
The More Colorful Your Story Is The More Likely Someone Will Remember You
Just as important as using Metaphors in your story using Analogies can play an important role as well. Understanding the power of these two engaging ways of communication is like upgrading your computer with a new processor.
…Well that’s all I have for you today
Talk To You Soon,
Larry Rivera
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This would be great to reference to even when writing articles on cases here at the firm, metaphors always make a story or essay that much better. thanks for the inspiring post!
Good post Larry. Great way to make your writing more engaging and memorable which is critical if you want readers coming back.
Well, this is a different post, very nice although. For me, imagination is the most powerful thing. Withoout it, i will be nothing. Metaphors make everything to be different
Great post Larry. I have encountered quite a few hilarious metaphors in my day though. Using the right metaphor is almost rocket science to a lot of people.
This is a great idea- the more I think about it, the more metaphors I remember seeing in any and all great writing. Great point that I ought to be applying it to my own writing. Your last point is so true- the better the story, the more likely the reader is to remember you. Thanks for the food for thought today!
thanks Larry you have written well..I love your way of writing.I am a regular reader of this site.thanks again and visiting soon for your latest article.