Analogies as a Teaching and Learning Tool
Several years ago I was in a business coaching group. There were a number of us – maybe 12 or so? – who would gather for weekly meetings and talk about our businesses while networking. One day, the session opened with the group leader asking us to describe our business experience while using the analogy of a roller coaster. So some people talked about Ferris Wheels and some people talked about Merry-Go-Rounds, and I sat there with a bad attitude, rolling my eyes and asking myself "why did I pay to do this?"
Years later, my thoughts have changed on the matter. Although I think that the roller coaster analogy itself may have been weak (and the leader never did anything with it beyond asking us to describe our experience), I've come to realize the value of the analogy in general.
An analogy is when we describe something and show how it is similar (analogous) to something else. Analogies help us to clarify our thoughts, put words to our feelings and to analyze situations.
Clarifying our thoughts
Sometimes we can get so caught up in a particular moment that we lose sight of its true importance (or we get stressed out about it even though it is totally unimportant) and an analogy can help to clarify what we are thinking. Sometimes there are so many things to think about in one given moment that we lose sight of the one thing that needs to be thought about.
Put words to our feelings
Sometimes a situation is so complex that it begins to feel insurmountable and we can become overwhelmed with it. The more complex it becomes, the harder it is for us to know how we feel about it and that not only stresses us out but it also causes us to stop acting. Analogies help us to express what we feel, particularly at times when we can't express it with more conventional "I'm sad" or "I'm scared."
Analyze situations
As mentioned, sometimes a situation is complex that we don't know what we are going to do. A analogy helps us to figure out (even in a slightly imperfect way) what the situation really is like and that helps to put us on a path towards figuring out a solution.
If you're not using analogies in your practice, you may want to think about starting. They are a great way to get the conversation going and to get clients unstuck.
A few things you should know about analogies:
* Analogies will always be imperfect. There is never an exactly comparable analogy. Your job isn't to highlight how an analogy is flawed but rather to explore how the client sees the analogy as comparable and why they chose that particular analogy.
* When asking clients to give an analogy, give them some parameters. Don't just say: "give me an analogy" but rather ask them to give you an analogy within a certain definition. The roller coaster is on example. Or you might say, "Imagine that you are an animal. What animal would you be? Why? What animal would your competitors be? Why?" You should try to pick an analogy type that your clients find engaging. (A person with an interest in aircraft, for example, might be interested in creating analogies about how his or her business is like a particular airplane).
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