January 11th, 2016

                                 "A picture is worth a thousand words,
​                   but the right metaphor is worth  a thousand pictures."      
                                                                                                                     Daniel Pink


Metaphors and analogies are powerful tools for aiding comprehension of unfamiliar concepts. In developing or examining an analogy, the brain engages in analyzing for meaning, making connections to prior knowledge and creating new memory paths. 

The great news is that working analogies into your teaching is easy. Consider two related ideas from your content, write them on the board in analogy format, and then ask your participants to get creative!

For example, if you are facilitating a class on communication, you might post on the board or screen

                                            Body Language is to Communication 
                                                                         as 
                                               _______________ is to _________________

Depending on your group, you might choose to share one or two examples. Then provide participants a few moments of quiet thinking time before asking for examples to be shared out with the whole group.