Stretching analogies

A bank holiday today spent bouldering at Alien Rock Edinburgh tempts me to the topic of analogies in presenting. It is always possible to stretch too far but a well placed analogy can lend interest and comprehension to a topic. It can catch and retain attention without being overly distracting or gimmicky.

Can success on the boulder face illustrate business?

Be prepared to stretch but don’t overstretch; moving from our comfort zone can bring us a surprising result. Reaching higher on the wall, making an overhang that has previously defied us, convincing an unwilling client, improving a sales conversion ratio or finding new skills in the team and building new confidence as a result.

Overstretching can lead to rapid falls in both settings. Awareness is required of present position, physical strength and future potential: translate this into financial terms and an awareness of the team’s capabilities and strengths.

Three point contact; the wise climber remains in contact with the rock face at three points, in other words only one limb is removed from safety at a time, a firm grip on the rock face is maintained at all times for fairly obvious reasons.

What is the rock face in business? That might depend on the slant of our presentation. The market, our core competencies, business goals, a geographic area or financial restraints would be possible interpretations. Maintaining a firm grip of the desired area without fear of movement powers the business upward with minimal risk.

Many business tasks are far from exciting in their own right, however choosing analogies that compare these tasks with something a bit more dramatic can help us communicate the importance of attending to the business tasks at hand.

Often we will be presenting information to a team with the intention of sharpening their performance for the benefit of the business. Helping the team to see their tasks in a positive light can be a great step forward in achieving our goal.
See 'Clear logical structure' at skillpresentations.com.

MG skillpresentations.com