Use imagery for more persuasive presentations and speeches

Metaphor: “If we don’t change course now, we’ll hit the rocks!”

Communication has two main components: the rational and the emotional. Managers mostly communicate in rational mode – about hard data and facts. Unfortunately, as we all know, facts can be dry. And facts quoted in speeches can make the listeners fall asleep. Then what can we do to get the message across better?

When facts are central to a message, the role for the speaker is to interpret the figures for their audience. Leaving the audience to make sense of the information as best they can, especially technical information, allows the audience members to place their individual interpretation on the information. They will always filter the rational message through their own experiences and beliefs. However, by interpreting the data for the audience, you guide them to the key conclusions.

A good example is investor relations activity – potential investors are not interested in the mere data about a company and the share price to that point; they are interested in what the data means. They want someone knowledgeable to tell them about the implications of the rational data – what the end result is in terms of the people it helps, etc.

Use emotion

The other key factor is emotion. Emotion provides the motivation for action. Providing facts for consideration is reporting; it is a staff-level function. Motivating people to action is leadership, an executive quality.

The emotional or motivational impact is often best presented through symbols that arouse and create emotion in the listener. Persuasive messages must have both facts and emotion, so use strong but familiar words that create pictures in people’s minds.

Listeners’ senses are the key to effective communication: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell and visceral (motion and emotion). People best remember things that reach their sensory memory. Most people are visually oriented. They prefer to receive messages in pictures. Visual symbols are the most powerful of the sensory communication tools. And if suitable pictures can’t be used, the speaker can say, “Picture this: …” for a compelling mental picture.

The best way to activate an audience is to select just a couple of sensory-rich details to reinforce the important points in the message. To bring home the impact of company retrenchments, the speaker can paint a single, vivid picture – a small example that illuminates a point. Skilled leaders often use this technique. They distill social/political programs to their essence and summarize through metaphors. They use highly visual examples – usually a story about how a single person is affected.

Metaphors

And they use metaphors. A metaphor is a symbol or image applied to an object or action to which it is imaginatively but not literally applicable. Metaphors occur frequently in every language and are used to conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another. Everyday abstract concepts like time, change, causation and purpose can be expressed metaphorically. These images add great strength to the communication. For example:

• “We’re like a ship without a rudder.”
• “We’re heading for the rocks.”
• “There’ll be blood on the floor at the next committee meeting.”
• “Our competitor has been a thorn in our side.”
• “The project fell over at the first hurdle.”
• “This is an enormous roadblock to our plans.”
• “That investor jumped the gun.
• “Heavy-handed policy.”
• “Grass-roots organization.”
• “Out of the mainstream.”

It is even more powerful to extend the metaphor as an umbrella concept to provide a framework on which to base subsidiary images. For example, several metaphors relating to a ship can be used as long as the image isn’t strained in order to get the extra effect. For example, steering the right course, sailing through stormy seas, fair weather navigating a difficult course, compass, reaching port, helmsman, engine room, lookout, mast, anchor, rudder, crew, team, passengers, cargo, guns, etc. And you can quote some of the best sayings around such as “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” (Publius Syrus ~100 BC).

Legendary US journalist and political commentator Bill Moyers said in his email newsletter of 12 July 2020 that:

Joseph Campbell once told me: “If you want to change the world, change the metaphors.” That is, help people understand what’s new and strange by describing it as comparable to what they already know. Examples are: “A mighty fortress is our God.” “The city is a jungle.” “Chaos is a friend of mine.” “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” “Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.”

This observation is a wonderful reminder of the power of metaphors, and how easy they are to use in your messaging.

But don’t mix the metaphors, especially in the same sentence: “We were swamped with a shocking barrage of work, and the extra burden had a clear impact on our workflow.” A total of seven metaphors are mixed up in the images of marsh (swamped), electrocution or striking (shocking), a military assault (barrage), weight (burden), translucency (clear), a physical impression (impact), and a river or fluid (flow), all in the one sentence!

Ensure the symbols and metaphors aren’t overdone. It’s counter-productive to weave too rich a tapestry of words, sights and sounds – the audience will get turned off. And remember: avoid clichés like the plague!

Images are stronger than concepts

Research confirms that image-based words are stronger than concept-based words. A study of the comparative charisma and greatness of all the US Presidents concluded that the metaphorical images they used helped to distinguish the great Presidents from the average (assuming their achievements were solid). This line of research provides one of the few opportunities to compare the attributes of various leaders over time.

The table below, based on the research, shows strong image-based words compared with concept-based words. Image-based words more easily arouse a sensory image in people’s minds, thereby engaging the readers or listeners more fully. A speaker talking of their “heavy heart” has more impact than a person with “sad news.” Examples of image-based words compared with concept-based words are listed below with the image-based words shown first and the concept-based words shown second.

Sweat / work
Hand / help
Root / source
Heart / commitment
Explore / inquire
Rock / dependable
Grow / produce
Journey / endeavor
Frontier / limit
Path / alternative
Clamor / request
Sweet / agreeable
Tranquil/ moderate
Dream / idea
Imagine / think
Listen / consider
See / understand

This article is adapted from the Kindle book, Deliver Winning Business Presentations: Persuade your audience to your point of view by Kim Harrison.