You can use the frameworks of Imagination or Transformation Stories to write a Metaphoric Story. But the easiest way to think of Metaphoric Stories is to see them as a twist on Insight Stories: (see earlier articles)
- Introduce who and what the story is about in the opening sentence
- Explain what is happening and what happens next
- Share the key insight from the story
- Share the parallel insight from your training objective.
In the example of the red Ferrari, I used this format, but instead of telling the story about someone else;
- I asked you to imagine
- I shared the narrative of buying a Ferrari
- Next came the key insight: People buy red Ferraris so they stand out and attract attention
- Lastly, there’s the parallel insight that your call to action (to take your learning into the workplace) also needs to stand out to attract attention … just like that red Ferrari.
Two ways to dream up a metaphor.
Option 1: Start with a story outside of your field of training
The first option is to start with a story outside of your field of expertise, pinpoint its lesson and then find a parallel lesson in your own training.
I was writing for a Modlette about communication and used an incident that had occurred during a workshop I had done in China on a very different subject.
Option 2: Start with a lesson within your field of training.
The second option is to work the other way around: Start with a lesson within your field of expertise then find a parallel lesson in another field like cooking or travelling, and then tell that story.
This is the method I used for the Ferrari story. I wanted to explain that a call-to-action has to stand out to attract attention.
The idea for the red Ferrari didn’t pop into my head straight away. It was during the day that I saw a yellow car in a parking lot. The colour was so bright it was almost fluorescent, and it made me wonder why some people buy brightly coloured cars and why most stick with black or silver. Then I realised I could use this as a metaphor for calls-to-action.
This is how creativity often works. Our brains continue to process ideas when we’re doing something else, like washing the dishes, walking the dog, or even when we’re asleep. In this diffused-thinking mode, when we’re not focussed on coming up with a metaphor, we sometimes come up with fresh ideas.
How to open up your creativity
There are two useful tricks for becoming more creative and dreaming up metaphors:
- Walk away and see whether an idea pops into your head later in the day. You may even come up with an idea when you wake up the next day.
- Set a boundary: You can dream up a metaphor from any field such as sports, gardening, travelling or cooking. So, what can help us focus on one area … something you have a lot of experience in or know a lot about. That could be your favourite sport, like rugby.
Metaphoric Stories give you a lot of opportunities to share stories about your life, add personality to your writing, and bond with your learners.