Have you ever been to a big sports occasion? And did you watch with rapt attention as the athletes pushed their bodies to the extreme. And, did you watch in awe as their skills hypnotised you?
A good storyteller is like those athletes. Good storytellers entertain and almost hypnotise their learners.
When you compare a storyteller to an athlete, you’re using a metaphor. In this case, the metaphor helps explain an abstract concept … keeping your learners spellbound; and it explains this abstract concept by using a concrete image … watching athletes perform with great skill.
You can use metaphoric stories anywhere. They add personality to your writing and provide a fresh perspective on well-worn or boring topics. They provide opportunities for including exciting details to make your stories and lessons more memorable. Moreover, if you tell personal stories, it’s a good opportunity to bond with your learners.
Example: The example below is from one of my Modlettes on follow-up on training objectives:
The Ferrari guide for calls-to-action
This is followed by the next slide with just on word.
Imagine
Next slide, the story puts you straight into the action:
You win the lottery. And you buy a Ferrari. In silver. Pretty dull. Because most cars are silver.
You also buy super-duper silencers. So, nobody can hear you driving past in your new, fantastic, Ferrari.
And next comes the key learning:
Crazy, eh? Nobody will see your fantastic Ferrari in silver with super-duper silencers. Nobody will hear it. Nobody will admire it.
Finito
Lastly the comparison is made with calls-to-action in training.
What about getting your call-to-action noticed? A subdued colour? And a super-duper silencer?
Of course not.
Paint it bright. Make it big. Make it stand out. Make the training stick and be followed up.
Like a red Ferrari in a sea of silver cars.
By repeating the image of the red Ferrari in the last sentence, the metaphor is reinforced and becomes more memorable.
It’s an outstanding detail.
It helps make your eLearning memorable.
Metaphoric stories make your eLearning narrative more powerful.
Another example of a great metaphor,
To consider a day’s activities imagine a string of beads.
Some beads may be shiny, colourful, and appealing; other beads may be dull and ugly. Some beads are big; some are tiny.
When I look at my string of beads for today, I see a ruby-coloured, shiny, mid-sized bead that looks appealing to me: I’m having friends in for drinks tonight. I see a dull grey and square bead: bookkeeping.
Yuck!
Advice:
- Choose one bead at a time, and trust your intuition to pick up the right bead at the right time.
- Create space between beads to give your self a breather … an opportunity to reflect on a task you’ve just finished and to consider what task you’ll choose next.
By choosing one bead at a time and respecting the space between them, we can approach time more calmy. Instead of switching between tasks frantically, we can be more focused and effective.