Psychotactics Blog

At times, you simply can’t think of an analogy, and you reach for something that’s been used many times before.

However, there’s zero fun in using a tired analogy. How can you take this rather overused analogy and turn it into something with oomph? Let’s find out.

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Here's a question. Would you take on the challenge of solving a 1053-piece puzzle?

Why 1053 pieces you may ask?

It's because someone added 53 pieces from an entirely different jigsaw puzzle, and now all the pieces are in the same box. What seemed like a challenge with a thousand pieces is now a bit of a nightmare because you have to separate the pieces that don't belong to this particular puzzle.

Did you notice what was happening in the example?

We took the puzzle analogy and then added some low-level complexity to it. Instead of a thousand-piece puzzle, we had some unwanted pieces. And suddenly, you have this level of built-in curiosity, but it also takes that concept of a puzzle/challenge and ramps it up considerably.

With this tiny tweak, we have taken what seems to be a tedious and overused analogy and given it a new lease on life. All analogies don't necessarily need to be fresh and can stay boring at the start.

For instance, let's say you have the analogy of a staircase.

A staircase might represent steady progress upwards. However, your analogy could easily be transformed into something less mundane.

Here we go:

Imagine a staircase but not an ordinary one.

This particular kind of staircase was steep at an angle of about 45 to 60 degrees. Then, to make matters worse, the stairs were of uneven sizes, some big and some small, and instead of going straight up, they moved around in circles.

We've taken a relatively dull and overused analogy of the staircase, and we have given it some oomph. But you also have to be careful that you don't overdo it.

With the staircase example, we started at one that was about 45 to 60 degrees. Then we added uneven sizes, some big and some small. And then we said that the stairs were going around in circles instead of straight up.

All of these details make the analogy convoluted.

You've given the reader or the listener three separate things to think of. They're running it in the head, you know. They have to imagine every little bit of it. If you're going to add something, add a few details, but don't overdo it.

Let's take another example to see how to transform an analogy.

Here's an example from the book Suddenly Talented. This chapter describes how talent reduces errors.

Example:

Let's say you're entering your home in pitch darkness. You could find your way around without the lights, couldn't you?

Even in an emergency, you could move around at a brisk pace until someone moves all the furniture. Suddenly, it's a nuisance as you find yourself flung back into a chasm of errors, but only until you figure out the new layout.

In every situation, whether you're learning Photoshop or learning how to make a curry, we are a basket case of errors. Take away the errors, and what remains?

Talent, of course.

As we analyze that piece, we notice that there is not much that we have to figure out. It's not like the steps example, which has so many variations.

You have already walked around in the dark in your house and bumped into stuff. And it doesn't take much of a leap for you to realize that if someone moved all the furniture, you'd be in trouble.

Let's do a summary.

In this episode, we ran through three separate examples. The first was the 1053-piece puzzle. The second was the stairs. And the third was finding your way around in the dark without hitting all the furniture.

Two out of three work because they are simple but have that little tweak that makes them fresh and gives them a little oomph. And just like that, you've taken your analogy to the next level.