Analogies are one of the greatest verbal tools we as speakers have: you think of one thing and use it to stand in for another. This is especially useful when the point of your speech or presentation is somewhat difficult to get across.
Since Major League Baseball started this week, I came up with analogies connecting speaking to baseball. Why don't you do the same thing--create analogies that are seasonal--related to experiences your audiences are likely to be familiar with at a particular time of year.
Here are 3 baseball analogies:
'Hit a home run' can be used to express a really big achievement. "A home run relfects a perfect alingment of many variables. The fans jump from their seats and scream like crazy. What would happen to your business if you hit a home run every time you're at bat?"
'Run batted in' means that one player hit the ball well enough that another player on base was able to get home. How can you use that to encourage team work in your company? You could say, "Just like in baseball, we give credit to the people who provide a strategic contribution that leads to the sale."
'Stealing bases' is perfectly legal in baseball and it's really, really hard. The player must get on base, be very quick to read the other players' body language and run like the wind.You could say "your goal is to sharpen your execution, your awareness and your speed--just like a top base stealer, who gets on base, then reads the other players and runs like crazy." That's an image that will inspire people.
You can use gardening or spring break or mid-term exams as analogies at this time of year. What seasonal analogies have you used in your speeches or presentations?
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