People feel good when they figure analogies out
When readers encounter a metaphor, scholars believe, they:
- Process the literal meaning
- Analyze whether the literal meaning makes sense
- See the glitch in that meaning
- Seek the metaphorical meaning when the literal meaning doesn’t make sense
Some of the power of metaphor comes from readers’ pleasure or relief at figuring out the metaphorical meaning, researchers believe.
Make Magic with Metaphor
Metaphor has the power to persuade far better than literal language. It lets you say in five words what would otherwise take five paragraphs to explain. It makes readers’
brains light up, helps them think more broadly about your message — even (ahem!) makes you look more attractive.Want to learn to charm readers with analogies and comparisons. If so, bring Ann in to present Master the Art of Storytelling — a one- to two-day creative-writing course — to your team.
There, they’ll learn which kinds of metaphors to choose, which to avoid and where to place them in your message. Plus, they'll craft a compelling metaphor with our fill-in-the-blanks formula.
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Source: Pradeep Sopory and James P. Dillard, “The Persuasive Effects of Metaphor: A Meta-Analysis,” Human Communication Research, July 2002
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