“The art of communication is the language of Leadership” and what makes the communication inspiring & powerful is – Words, Stories and Metaphors.A great leader is the one who know that when he uses a certain word, a metaphor or a story, an average mind will associate it with a certain reference and a specific memory will be evoked. He uses this to his advantage to connect with his audience and motivate them to take desired action.
Words:
They make us laugh, they make us cry, they can wound us, or heal us. They offer us hope or devastation. With words we can make our noblest intentions felt and our deepest desires known.
What a gift these words are, we transform the unique shapes we call letters into a unique and rich tapestry of human experience. They provide us with a vehicle for expressing and sharing our experience with others and self.
The power of words is such, from a mother’s lullaby to a politician’s speech, love letters from a beloved, or a call for rebel, or any emotions for that matter like – anger, sadness, happiness, surprise, belonging, until It is expressed in a word, it will not have any meaning for us.
The words that we attach to our experience become our experience. So, if we want to change our lives and shape our destiny, we need to consciously select the words we’re going to and expand our choice of vocabulary. Because words form the thread on which we string our experiences.
Metaphors:
Some words when strungtogether carry more meaning and emotional intensity. Metaphors. What is a metaphor? Whenever we explain or communicate a concept by likening it to something else, we are using a metaphor. The two things may bear little actual resemblance to each other, but our familiarity to one allows us to gain an understanding of the other. Metaphors can create emotional intensity more quickly and completely than traditional words we use.
Metaphors can transform us; Metaphors can inspire us. Most of us, are identified with metaphors about various aspects like – Life (Life is like a book, life is a struggle), love (Love is a battlefield, Love is forever), Marriage, work, emotions etc etc. We subconsciously try to align our actions to fit into the metaphors we are identified with.
Metaphors have been used historically used to inspire people and call for action. Metaphors, that way is powerfulin determining and conditioning our belief system. A host of memories appear when you hear a metaphor. Some examples of famous metaphors – “We rise lifting others”, “one giant leap for mankind”, “Chaos is my friend”, “All world’s a stage”.
Stories:
Stories are as old as our civilisations. They’ve been travelling through centuries and historically influence men and women that have and will walk this world. They are the conveyer belt of language and culture, tradition and inheritance, cultural wealth accumulated over generations.
Stories have always played a crucial role in shaping the very way we think, the way we function. There are stories that warn us, that scare us, that preaches, that propagates and there are stories that make us forget out worries, stories that make us experience joy.
Every experiential story has the power to be a solution to some or other problem in the world. Stories has the power to change someone’s life without you meeting that person.
We have come a long way from living on instinct and that been possible because of our accumulated experience and knowledge being passed on from generations to generations in the form of words, metaphors and stories. If we didn’t have these, our advantage over the other species will slowly and gradually diminish over the time. Without the power of words, metaphors & stories, we would be right where we started. Love them and befriend them. Listen to them carefully and use them wisely.
