metaphors for business presentations

An Emmy-winning writer who's worked with clients like Coca-Cola and Verizon says metaphors can be a powerful sales-pitch tool — here's how

• Ginger Zumaeta is an Emmy award-winning writer and producer.
• She helps corporate teams tell compelling stories by teaching them how to use tools like metaphors. 
• Zumaeta said metaphors can help boil down complex ideas and drive clients to make decisions faster. 

Great presenters understand the power of metaphors to persuade their audience to take action and make decisions. They also help listeners understand complex subject matter with ease. Yet many people forget to use metaphors in their day-to-day presentations and slide decks.

Metaphors energize presentations, especially when the subject matter is complex 

You might think of a metaphor as a FastPass to understanding and emotion. The brain is always looking for efficiency, and metaphors are like shortcuts that allow your audience to better understand the concepts it is being given without being overwhelmed. Metaphors can also communicate a vision of action that can lead to your prospects making faster decisions.

A recent study from the University of Arizona confirmed that metaphors that contain action words actually activate the sensory-motor region of the brain almost immediately — within 200 milliseconds. 

Take this example of a very literal sentence: "Metaphors can help your prospects understand your ideas."

Compared with this sentence with metaphorical language: "Metaphors can help make your ideas stick with your prospects."

This latter sentence generates an image of action within someone's mind. "Make something stick" is a phrase that activates the sensory-motor region of the brain — almost immediately — suggesting that metaphors can actually coax someone into a state of action.

But look what happens when we add even more visual detail:

"Metaphors help turn ideas into a well-cooked noodle sticking to the wall of your client's' mind."

You can visualize that, and the visual comedy of the metaphor helps both generate intrigue that might make your audience more curious to learn more, and retain the information for longer. 

Metaphors may seem complicated, but they're quite simple to use in talks and presentations. Here's how. 

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Use metaphors to generate emotions that drive decisions.

Metaphors that  link to something already known — a memory — can act like superglue. In other words, you can parlay the emotion from something already known, to something entirely new. In this way, you can create a more powerful emotional response by targeting your prospect's wishes and goals with metaphors. This targeted language is even more effective if you drive home your points with concepts they can visualize.

For example, if your clients are looking for firewall software, your pitch could be, "Our firewall software protects your information from intrusion." This points to your client's wishes for protection. However, the language might not generate much emotion due to the technical wording.

On the other hand, you could say, "In a period of digital siege, our firewall software acts as a shield against intrusion attacks." This conveys to your clients that your firewall software is strong and protective. They can literally imagine the mental picture that you're painting, and that gives them more peace of mind. The concept of a "digital siege" tells the clients that there's an ongoing digital war that sets the stage for them to feel compelled to buy your software to help them in the battle.

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Lean on visual metaphors like pictures and charts

Words are important, but half the power also is in the visual representation —  which can consist of pictures, diagrams, charts, graphs or even icons. 

These visual metaphors can compound the effect of turning complex information into easy to remember concepts. 

Here's a quick guide to help you consider what visual metaphors to use:

• Consider the overall concept you want to convey about your company or product.
• Focus on a few key concepts. If you are selling firewall software, think of images that inspire security, defense, and protection from digital invaders. Symbolic visuals — like a shield — are already meaningful.
• Figure out how to use these images creatively to generate a better emotional response. A shield could be a good firewall image, but a pixelated digital shield being battered by computer code is a much stronger one.
• Finally, test these images with coworkers or friends to see if your metaphor sticks the landing before using it with clients.

When presenting these images, use them at the most opportune periods. This can be at the start of the presentation, before large explanations where the image helps lead the client's thoughts, and at the end to help summarize.

Use engaging graphs

Graphs are often used in presentations, but many clients will gloss over your pie-chart or line graph because it doesn't appeal well to their imagination. It's cognitive friction - like speed bumps on a freeway.

Metaphorical visual graphs can bring life to your numbers more concretely. Continuing the example of firewall software, instead of a chart demonstrating that your software is twice as effective as your competitor's, you could substitute a visual of a shield that is twice as big as your competitor's. 

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Boil down complex concepts

Both visual and text-based or spoken metaphors can help summarize or boil-down complex ideas into easier-to-understand concepts. This is especially helpful when presenting to the C-suite who may not have a granular understanding of the subject matter. 

Today's senior executives must consume vast amounts of information in any given day in order to make high-stakes decisions, and they are very often based on the presentations made to them. In a time when holding one's attention is increasingly difficult, metaphors are like a secret weapon.  

Metaphors can cement the benefits of your business within the minds of your clients. Armed with metaphors as the vehicles that summarize and make tangible your company's value proposition, clients are more able to re-communicate and spread the word internally about your business.  Metaphors grease the wheels of word-of-mouth — that's why brands use these strong visuals in their brand names, slogans, images, and even mascots.

Using metaphors in your business presentations will give you an easy way to create more persuasive presentations and PowerPoints for your business, especially if you have a B2B business with a complex offering. Relevant and 'sticky' metaphors will help you build a skyscraper of understanding in the minds of your prospects, and when used properly will put them into a state of action to decide to purchase your products or services.

Ginger Zumaeta is a three-time Emmy Award winning writer and producer who helps corporate teams overcome death by PowerPoint. She's the founder and CEO of Zumaeta Group and author of the forthcoming book "Deckonomics: Design Presentations that Spread Ideas, Drive Decisions and Close Deals." Zumaeta has worked with large brands including Coca Cola, Verizon, Union Bank, Amgen, Anthem, and Infinity Insurance. Learn more on her website .

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Finding the Right Metaphor for Your Presentation

• Nancy Duarte

It’s worth the effort, because it provides a shortcut to understanding.

• ND Nancy Duarte is a best-selling author with thirty years of CEO-ing under her belt. She’s driven her firm, Duarte, Inc., to be the global leader behind some of the most influential messages and visuals in business and culture. Duarte, Inc., is the largest design firm in Silicon Valley, as well as one of the top woman-owned businesses in the area. Nancy has written six best-selling books, four have won awards, and her new book, DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story , is available now. Follow Duarte on Twitter: @nancyduarte or LinkedIn .

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