![\"Butterflies\"](\"http:\/\/bizexteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Butterflies-1-1.jpg\")
<\/a>To begin, what is a metaphor? Metaphor is often defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable like \u201cwe fought hard for a place at the table,\u201d <\/i>when what we are actually saying is that we worked with others to ensure that we were involved in a process. Or metaphor may refer to a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, esp. something abstract. For example: the amounts of money being lost by the company were enough to make it a metaphor for <\/b>an industry that was teetering.<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\nAll of us use metaphor, often without even thinking of it as such.\u00a0 Have you ever said something along the lines of \u201cJust between you, me and the fence post?\u201d Or referred to something that became overly complicated by saying \u201cToo many cooks spoil the broth?\u201d In addition to using metaphor frequently, we each have our own preferences and comfort zones around the types of metaphor that we use. If you think about metaphor, there are many categories.\u00a0 There are metaphors that refer to cooking, sports, warfare, weather, sewing, building, machinery, and more.\u00a0 Examples include, metaphor references like: \u201cwe will hold our ground,\u201d \u201cthe whole nine yards,\u201d \u201ca stitch in time saves nine,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m just a cog in this machine,\u201d and thousands of others. Metaphor can be an incredibly powerful tool, when we seek to connect with others. People connect with metaphors.\u00a0 People express a share sense of country and culture through metaphor. Presidents become \u201cgreat communicators\u201d and leaders rally others to action through their choice of metaphor.\u00a0 \u201cTear this wall down, Mr. Gorbachev!\u201d of \u201cWe have drawn a line in the sand and we will not stop until the bells of freedom ring again in the streets of Kuwait City!\u201d<\/p>\n Naturally, a group of marines may, as a group, use more references to sports, or warfare, than a women\u2019s quilting group might, and people who work as professional chefs may, likewise, prefer metaphors that connect to roots in the kitchen. When we find ourselves in an important dialogue with someone that we believe that it is important to influence or connect with, it may be worth our while to be more thoughtful and conscious about our metaphor choices.\u00a0 Metaphors, at this level, are very dependent on culture, life experience, and the listener\u2019s own work and life community.\u00a0 When I worked as a professional communicator at Los Alamos National Laboratory, there was, for example, a very specific workplace set of metaphors that were highly influenced the high proportion of engineers and physicists in the workforce.\u00a0 So, for example, people often referred to their address as their \u201cvector\u201d and mechanical and engineering metaphors were commonplace.\u00a0 So, if we are seeking a sound connection with an older person, our metaphor choice may be different than a young college student.\u00a0 If we are connecting with a man with engineering background, our word choice may be different than our word choice with we are seeking to connect with a woman with a strong financial background.\u00a0 When seeking to communicate the same concern, this might look as simple as the difference between using the phrase \u201cthose gears aren\u2019t meshing\u201d versus \u201cthose numbers just don\u2019t balance.\u201d<\/p>\n The power of word choice is amazing and often one camp or another will carry the day by the power with which they characterize another\u2019s ideas.\u00a0 These metaphors help to build and reinforce our own cognitive biases and beliefs. While an idea is purely an idea, once it is labeled as a \u201cliberal\u201d idea, or as a \u201cright-wing idea\u201d we are already influenced and either more prone or less prone to accept it.\u00a0 People often seek to clothe controversial actions in metaphor.\u00a0 Think of common titles and their affect on us.\u00a0 Had the Homeland Security Department, been named the Department of Compliance with Government Travel and Banking Restrictions, would that not have carried very different connotations?\u00a0 Metaphor can simply attribute things to certain people and carry certain impact.\u00a0 For example, one 1986 study revealed that the identical disarmament proposal met with 90% approval when it was attributed to Ronald Regan, and only 44% approval when it was attributed to Mikial Gorbachev. So, the power to affect the acceptance of ideas is extremely dependent on the language used to float them and to defend them.<\/p>\n Next time we will focus on even deeper and more subconscious metaphors that have great power to influence us!<\/p>\n Copyright Bruce J. MacAllister, 2013, \u00a0All rights reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tip Seven, Continued: Seek to Bring Your Communication Style into Congruence with Others in the Dialogue This post continues our discussion of congruence in communication styles.\u00a0 In my last post, I shared a brief history of some of the science around interpersonal connection.\u00a0 I also discussed a few of the tools of connection, including a…<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n