All posts by punchline

Why business survival depends on your Gateway Metaphor

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Like an open invitation a Gateway Metaphor lets us in to a bigger picture
Like an open invitation a Gateway Metaphor lets us in to a bigger picture.
Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash

The backbone of any business, and its story, is its metaphor.

It’s the picturable image, the mindful impression of your what and why.

Subway espouses fresh when it comes to fast foods.

Wellington used to promote positive.

Coke’s bought its way to the idea of opening happiness.

You ‘see’ something when you hear their (very short) story.

Harry Mills of Aha Advantage has coined the term Gateway Metaphor to describe the effect you want your picturable image in such stories to have.

For example in the term Gateway Metaphor (itself a metaphor) – as well as having an abstract meaning, you can’t help but imagine some kind of gate, opened.

The abstract term understanding and ‘seeing’ happen in different parts of your brain simultaneously. Two ‘lightbulbs’ synergistically flash in your mind and we understand more deeply.

However, unearthing your own Gateway Metaphor is no walk in the park, (though doing so could help in discovering it).

Because you can’t brainstorm your way to a Gateway Metaphor.

You can’t make up your One Central Truth (OCT), the core of your Gateway Metaphor.

Your OCT is what you’re about, your raison d’etre, your purpose.

Understand this and you’re then able to tell your authentic story

This story discovery means converting your OCT into a ‘what and why message’.

It’s a heart and soul statement that’s required, rather than simply giving a passive description.

It is why a Million Dollar Message must be meaningful.That’s because your first, most important story has to do a lot of heavy lifting for your business:

  • It’s your North Star for all your storytelling – website, blog, social media, speeches
  • It provides an internal rallying call for your own people
  • It is the answer at a BBQ to “what do you do?”, and more.

The unearthing and polishing of such a Million Dollar Message takes consideration.

It more likely than not requires a Gateway Metaphor, the vroom vroom term to weaponise your words.

This is why unearthing the right metaphor is key to not just to survival, but also believability.

By stating your story, as poetically as possible, you offer a promise – one that you know you’re capable of keeping.

The beauty of a multiple meaning message

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A multiple meaning word can be extremely valuable in your Million Dollar Message
A multiple meaning word can be extremely valuable in your Million Dollar Message

The richness of our language allows the same word to have different meanings.

(Of course, this also makes English a bit of a nightmare if you’re learning it as a second language!)

The E3 Recruit poster (and photo illustration above) seen in a window I passed recently forced me to think, then smile (and take a picture).

Whatever way they ‘get’ people can be conducive to that person, someone else (and E3 Recruit, and its own people).

By forcing our brains to alternate between ‘finding’ people and ‘understanding’ people, the company runs the risk of being more memorable – whether for an employee or employer.

In fact, ‘get’ is the English word which comes in number six for its number of meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

For the record, here’s the top 10, with their number of definitions, as outlined in Curiosity.

  • 1- Set (430 definitions)
  • 2 – Run (396)
  • 3 – Go (368)
  • 4 – Take (343)
  • 5 – Stand (334)
  • 6 – Get (289)
  • 7 – Turn (288)
  • 8 – Put (268)
  • 9 – Fall (264)
  • 10 – Strike (250)

Of course, from a business perspective, there’s useful multiple meanings and distinctly unhelpful ones. Sometimes businesses don’t realise there’s negative connotations in what they’ve come up with for their value proposition, tagline, first most important story or Million Dollar Message.

If you want help unpacking an expression that instantly tells customers your what and why, give Punchline a yell…we stand for value and persuasive power.

P.S.

Colleague Grant Symons also pointed out that ‘get people’ could have an assassination/hit meaning. We’ll have to assume this is not what E3 Recruit means.

How to write a scientific narrative

Marketing, messages that matter, Metaphor, million dollar message, Persuasive message, punchline, ,
Illustration of how to write a great scientific narrative
Four steps in writing a great scientific narrative

“You’ve got to tell a story” is heard so often it’s almost a cliche.

Such an exhortation is more often than not heavily directed at science and science policy storytelling.

But no one ever tells you how.

Well, here’s a (summarised) how – based on a ‘science of stories’ – written by Michael D Jones of Oregon State University and Deserai Anderson Crow of the University of Colorado, and published in Nature.

They argue in “How can we use the ‘science of stories’ to produce persuasive scientific stories?” that the repetition of emotionless objectively sterile information doesn’t increase understanding.

In turn, the politicisation of science/policy is possible because science IS complex, and opponents can focus on uncertainty – as practiced by tobacco and anti climate change lobbyists.

Jones and Crow argue science storytellers don’t have to distort the truth, but can help people connect with problems and issues on a more human level in terms of what happens to them.

This can be done by understanding the structure of a narrative.

Their article shows how to tell a tell a compelling science story by defining a narrative as having a:


– Setting
– Characters
– Plot
– Moral

These elements are explained and illustrated in greater detail in their paper.

“It is these emotional components of a story that are most memorable, not references to scientific evidence,” they write.

Jone and Crow offer a step-by-step guide for story construction.

They point out how vital it is to have a clear understanding of the audience, and to clearly articulate the problem. Without this a narrative is likely to be lost, misinterpreted or even worse, backfire.

The importance of heroes and villains in a story is another vital component – again superbly illustrated.

The article also gives excellent examples of good and not so good storytelling, using measles and anti-vaccinators as examples.

For policy-makers and science communicators (and technical subject writers for that matter), their piece is hugely informative reading.

Jones and Crow conclude that all elements of an evidence-based narrative need to be treated strategically, and done so in the name of science.

Their paper concludes: “We suspect this will not be easy, but then again, what hero’s journey is?”

From a metaphor POV at least, here is someone to (partly) emulate

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Trump may be a big liar, but his use of metaphor is amazing.
Trump uses metaphors to slip in subconscious lies. But honest and elegant metaphors are a business’s best story-friend

Whether you find Donald Trump appealing or appalling, there’s no way you can sit on the fence in your opinion of the world’s greatest liar.

(Check out The Washington Post science article about ‘Why liars lie’).

One aspect of language the Twitterer in Chief has mastered though – surely as a byproduct of his low-level cunning – is the metaphor.

Unfortunately for his rivals, as nobody can stoop as low as Orange Hair, it’s impossible to call POTUS out on his flagrant, picturable naming of his perceived heroes and villains.

His metaphors slip in unchallenged – even as we disagree and the terms sit uncomfortably as descriptions.

Recall some of Trump’s constantly repeated metaphors…simple, though wrong, characterisations which reinforce and resonate with his legion of uncritical supporters.

‘Nasty’ – a woman Trump doesn’t like (e.g. the Danish Prime Minister who called his idea of the USA buying Greenland absurd)

‘Weak’ – a man with the balls to call out Trump’s wrongness

‘Strong’ – the men behind quasi dictatorships in countries like Russia, China, Brazil et al

‘Rat infested’ – generically describing where black people live

‘Invasion’ – immigration when practiced by Latinos

Now a business or organisation is a combination of doing, making, selling…and promoting.

The stories you tell about yourself have a strong influence on how others perceive you.

Anchoring those stories with a metaphor or two is a powerful way to align a business with a perception.

The right metaphors count; though they must ring true or – as sure as god made little green appies – you’ll get caught out for your fib.

Unlike the The White House Falsifier, your business’s metaphors need to be on point and honest.

And if you want to know how to unearth your own elegant metaphors, give Punchline a yell. As we all know, coffee is much more than just a pleasant drink.

(Note: as reported in India’s Business Standard News, the picture is a fake which did the rounds of Twitter…kinda appropriate!)

A metaphor is a knot that ties a word to an image

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The knot that connects the right and left hand sides of our brain is a metaphor
The knot that connects the right and left hand sides of our brain is a metaphor. Photo by Hean Prinsloo on Unsplash

Imagine a world without metaphors.

In fact don’t even try…because it is impossible.

We simply cannot function in a world without the power of description and understanding provided by metaphors.

To remind us, a metaphor is a word or phrase that is used to describe something else to emphasise their similar qualities.

A metaphor is received by the right side of the brain (the hemisphere which deals with emotion and imagination), while the left hand side takes on the logic of the expression. There’s an instant synergy over and above the term’s separate components.

Metaphors do three things:

  • Capture attention
  • Create connections with other people
  • Simplify complex ideas

Thus: we climb the corporate ladder, but may hit a glass ceiling. We take no prisoners as we seek being number one on the podium.

So, if you’re trying to describe something and are stuck in the mud, describe what can also be visualised…a metaphor as a ‘knot’.

Then you bring your language and your product to life – and provide yourself with a much greater risk of being memorable.

(Special thanks to Harry Mills of ‘Aha Advantage’ for the metaphor/knot comparison. He’s pretty sure he must’ve read it somewhere himself…but the world’s largest search engine doesn’t reveal an author or source!)

Hardwired humans…first seven words

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We have the time it takes to say seven words to spark someone's attention according to Hardwired Humans author Andrew O'Keefe
We have the time it takes to say seven words to spark someone’s attention according to Hardwired Humans author Andrew O’Keefe.
Photo by Martin Woortman on Unsplash

We have seven words to propose an idea according to Andrew O’Keefe of Hardwired Humans.

7±2 words is about two seconds – which is our brain’s working memory with information says the Sydney based people-strategies- design author and consultant.

Our human instinct when we propose an idea, delegate a task or make a request is what he describes as First Impressions to Classify.

We don’t have much opportunity to raise a metaphorical or literal eyebrow.

We almost instantly classify ideas into binary categories such as:
* good/bad
* interesting/boring

Andrew O’Keefe has five guidelines for choosing your first seven words:


1. Plain language – so your point is processed easily by the listener or reader
2. Truthful – so you are believable and trustworthy
3. A single concept – as there is no space for more than one point
4. Emotional – so you trigger the appropriate feelings (and this is done by being specific)
5. No jargon – so you avoid the risk that the listener attaches a different meaning (emotion) to any terminology

Based on our Hardwired Humans brain, the reason your own first story has to be a Million Dollar Message (my words) is put by Andrew as:

“Jumping to conclusions might not be an endearing attribute of human nature. But given that’s the way we react and process information, we should use the instinct thoughtfully. It gives us the best chance of being understood and of communicating clearly.”

I believe we have longer than two seconds with our first story as we’ve tamed some of that first impressions classification process and can absorb more information.

But the principle remains the same.

Capture interest, invoke ‘tell me more’…quickly.

Ten benefits of strategy as story

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Your strategy is your story and your story is your strategy. Get it right and all your arrows fly in the same direction
Your strategy is your story and your story is your strategy. Get it right and all your arrows fly in the same direction. Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash

If your story is on point, it effectively is also your strategy.

That’s because clarity of both story and strategy is mutually reinforcing, and essentially the same thing.

Australian Irishwoman Bernadette Jiwa runs a highly successful business and blog called ‘The Story of Telling’ (don’t I wish I’d thought of such a clever reversing of the telling of story).

She’s insightful, often amusing and very in-demand by Aussie and other companies.

Here I repeat her 10 benefits of strategic storytelling: A good story well told helps you to:

  • Communicate with clarity and confidence
  • Achieve emotional resonance with your audience
  • Be more persuasive and influential
  • Consistently act in alignment with your mission
  • Attract the right people, whether they be customers, employees, volunteers or donors
  • Inspire people to buy into your mission or get behind your cause
  • Execute plans as you work towards your vision for the future
  • Add value to your products, services and company
  • Spread your idea
  • Change the culture and create the future you want to see

Any one of the above benefits, on its own, is a compelling reason to ensure a business gets its first, most important story resonating and right.

Having 10 benefits almost seems like overkill – but you decide which ones shouldn’t be there!

How to get longer reads of your online content

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The right use of emotion in your writing can lead to longer reading and engagement
The right kind of emotion, anger and anxiety rather than sadness, encourages online story reading all the way through.
Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash

Naturally we’d like everyone to read all of our stories all the way through.

But what encourages readers to keep on engaging, hang in there until the end?

A fascinating study by Jonah Berger, Wendy Mae and David Schweider has unearthed that not all emotion is created equal when it comes to encouraging extended online reading. (Find the article here, the third article down under research headed ‘What leads to longer reads? Psychological drivers of reading online content”)

They delved into what it is about certain articles which encourages people to keep reading.

The three (plus undoubtedly a host of undergraduate students) combined natural language processing of a unique dataset of over 825,000 page-reading sessions from over 35,000 articles.

Their experiment examined how the words used (textual features) shape continued engagement.

Results suggest emotion shapes engagement.

But not all emotion increases reading.

Content that invokes anger and anxiety encourages further reading.

Content which encourages sadness discourages it.

Textual features that should increase processing ease (e.g. concreteness and familiar words) also increase engagement.

The meaty 20 page document makes an implication that “even controlling for what an article is about (i.e., its topic or topics), how that topic is discussed plays an important role in whether people continue reading,” they write.

“This provides a hopeful note for organizations trying to attract attention and engagement for less ‘engaging’ topics.

“While the topic itself may not engender continued reading, writing about it in a way that generates uncertain emotions and processing ease should deepen engagement.

“Writing style can compensate for topic.” (My emphasis).

Do you have a ‘less engaging’ subject you’d like both clarity and reading encouragement around? Give Punchline a call.

Do your staff a favour – have a simple first story

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Do you have a simple story that staff easily relate to and remember
Is your business story simple for your people to tell?
Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

Is it simple? Could your staff quickly, accurately (and perhaps poetically) tell a stranger what the business does?

Do they immediately demonstrate they understand the business and who its products and services appeal to?

Or would they stumble around with variations of “we do lots of things?”

You owe it to those working in the business, as well as yourself, to have clarity in your value proposition (or tagline or slogan).

Your staff may not get the words exactly right when speaking them aloud, but that doesn’t matter.

As long as they’re able to get across the purpose of the enterprise, and then their role in it, all is good.

A simple story, easily told by a staff member is gold.

For a start, the most important time for a story, you make life less complicated for an employee.

And, equally importantly, in having a simple story you “run the risk” of having the listener say…”tell me more.”