Persuade like the pros with this skill

“Doing that is like taking a blowtorch to the whole candle, dude.”

It was the third day of finals week of my freshman year. I had never been so exhausted in all my life (up to that point).

I knew that cramming for the next exam wasn’t going to help much, but I was delirious at that point. I’m pretty sure that I was more coffee than human, and I was the barista on the shift at the student café.

I was debating pulling a second all-nighter despite the futility of it all, and that line was the one that stopped me.

Here’s why you should use analogies in your arguments, marketing pitches, and life in general.

Analogies in everyday life

Politicians, marketers, leaders at all levels use these babies to persuade people to vote for them, buy their products, and do their bidding (and not necessarily in the order if they’re all the same person).

Here are examples in each category I just mentioned:

Politics:

• Starting a trade war with your closest ally is like shooting the tires out of the Ferrari that is the American economy.

• Berating a leader of a war-torn country with the Vice President is like being a schoolyard bully with a “yes” man intimidating the new kid to give up his lunch money

• Putting a convicted felon in the most powerful position in the world again is like handing the keys to drunk driver after he crashed the car the first time

Marketing:

• Sales is like dating. You don’t ask for marriage right off the bat without having any background or context.

• Personal branding is like a handshake on the first meeting. The way you come across, the grip, the vibe from your aesthetic, your tone, all of these factor into whether or not your audience sticks around.

• Titles and hooks are like digital billboards. It takes time and effort to become skilled at creating them. Knowing where to place them and how often to present them is the difference between attracting customers and bankruptcy.

Leadership:

• A team is like a well-oiled clock. All the pieces fit together for precision and work towards one purpose. (“The Incredibles” anyone?)

• A good leader is like a gardener. They don’t force plants to grow but cultivate the right conditions for them to sprout, thrive, and bear fruit at their own pace. They provide resources, advice, and feedback without damaging morale or creating unnecessary conflicts.

• During challenging times, leaders are like captains aboard a ship. Calm in the face of chaos, focused in the face of confusion, and confident in the face of uncertainty. The heading may not be to everyone’s liking, but the captain has the composure and the fortitude to see things through and communicate clearly as he guides the ship through the storm.

There’s a saying that gets thrown around a lot because it’s a key component in communication: clear, not clever.

Analogies have a good mix of both, but they won’t do you much good if there’s no emotional content. Persuasion is about getting a response that triggers an action.

Emotional connection is the point

Depending on where you stand in politics, the first section most likely got a response from you on some level (if it didn’t, I’m impressed that you’ve managed to ignore it all things considered). There’s no love lost on my end with this one, and I’ve made it clear in the past.

Persuasive analogies need a little bit of backbone to stand up to scrutiny, and they definitely need to push the envelope a bit if you’re using them to drive home a point. It’s not about being confrontational or attacking your audience or reader, it’s about conveying the concept in a way that makes they respond emotionally, not defensively.

The more vivid and concrete the analogy is, the higher the emotional connection can be. Some examples are analogies involving kittens, puppies, and babies in different situations or painting scenes that evoke pity, empathy, or anger (like politics and religion). The trick is to not overdo the analogy to the point that it becomes the main topic rather than the vehicle.

Nobody wants to spend all the time staring at the spear and forget about its intended purpose.

Push some buttons…

Think about an argument that you want to present or have presented in the past.

Did you use analogies to get your point across? Did you achieve your objective with it? Was there an emotional response that got it done?

Reframe the argument with an analogy that achieves the same purpose.

The right analogy for the situation can make your point stick long after the end of a conversation. It’s also a powerful springboard for something greater when it’s worth sharing to the masses.

That’s what the next issue covers…storytelling based on an analogy.