Magical metaphors

By Linda Julian

Clear, concise, and logical explanations are foundations of great client communication.  But sometimes, important messages still don't make it through.  To make a client really understand and help them come to grips with essential concepts, call in the magic of metaphor.

Metaphors are word pictures which create a set of associations. 

Masterful communicators call on metaphors to:

• distil unfamiliar and alienating concepts to the familiar and straightforward
• make complex ideas more easily understood
• make a client aware of the realities, imperatives, dangers, and threats inherent in a situation
• avoid technical language and jargon
• reduce the social distance between professional and client.

You'll know you've found the right metaphor when:

• it lets you distil big or difficult ideas into the everyday
• it links to your client's realm of experience
• you can readily make the connection between the metaphor and what you want to communicate.

Your imperative is to describe a situation from your client's world and then clearly and effectively make the link between that metaphor and what you really want to get across.

When logic lets them down, help your client understand through the magic of metaphor.