Visual Metaphors, Analogies & Persuasion: Convince to Win

by Jeanne Cannarozzi
Business Development Manager
A2L Consulting

Trial teams often struggle to find just the right analogy or metaphor to help convince a jury. As persuasion consultants, our role is very often that of finding options for analogies or metaphors for a trial team to consider. It's one of those times when our office looks a lot like an advertising agency with a group trying to brainstorm. I want to share some resources used by our team in coming up with good techniques for trial teams to use.

Aristotle posits that analogies "give names to nameless things.” Cognitive science has proved that humans process new, unfamiliar concepts and understand them by comparing them to familiar concepts and experiences. The concepts of “analogical reasoning” and “analogical transfer” as described by Dr. Dedre Gentner and her co-authors [PDF], and many other researchers in the field of cognitive science, have helped us understand that human cognition is inherently metaphorical.

In the same fashion, analogies are used to convince the judge or audience by presenting similarities between two things that are otherwise not alike. The use of full case-based analogies involves more criteria than does the use of metaphors, such as the jurisdiction, the number of relevant cases that speak to the issues, and the facts and relevant laws.

A visual case-based analogy can be very effective and even crucial in science-based cases by demonstrating the connection between the present case and a favorable outcome in a prior case -- most persuasively from the same jurisdiction as the present case. You can think of the connection itself in this type of analogy as a definitive road map with a very direct route, no detours and a known destination. 

Metaphors are used to show a hidden or implied connection of two different things, ideas, or activities by symbolically representing the similarities and relationships between them. There is an inherent creative freedom in the use of metaphors because there are many ideas, behaviors, images, and expressions that have a universal meaning. Litigators can introduce metaphors to make comparisons and to point out subtle similarities between the present case and a previous case.

We have used each these techniques in litigation frequently and have written some useful articles in the past about each. 

• Visual metaphors: In this article, Courtroom Exhibits: Analogies and Metaphors as Persuasion Devices, we write about this powerful tool. In general, these tools are very persuasive as they connect something that people already understand to something complicated about the case before them. Unlike a verbal metaphor, a visual metaphor is harder to split.

• Analogies and Metaphors: We've created lists of lists of analogies, metaphors and idioms that help us and the lawyers we work with to find just the right tool for a particular case. In this article, Lists of Analogies, Metaphors and Idioms for Lawyers, we list some of those.

Other free articles from A2L Consulting discussing how to convey complex concepts, use litigation graphics to persuade, and influencing decisionmaking with pictures:

• What is Visual Persuasion and What Do You Need to Know About It?
• Explaining a Complicated Process Using Trial Graphics
• How Pictures Are Increasingly Influencing You
• 5 Ways to Apply Active Teaching Methods for Better Persuasion
• 7 Reasons a Fresh Pair of Eyes Are Beneficial Before Trial
• 12 Ways to SUCCESSFULLY Combine Oral and Visual Presentations
• 5 Chart Tricks and Cheats to Watch Out For
• 7 Ways to Avoid Making Your PowerPoint Slides Your Handout
• 5 Things TED Talks Can Teach Us About Opening Statements
• 14 Tips for Delivering a Great Board Meeting Presentation
• Presentation Graphics: Why The President Is Better Than You
• 12 Reasons Bullet Points Are Bad (in Trial Graphics or Anywhere)
• Font Matters - A Trial Graphics Consultant's Trick to Overcome Bias
• 6 Studies That Support Litigation Graphics in Courtroom Presentations
• 8 Videos and 7 Articles About the Science of Persuasion
• Could Surprise Be One of Your Best Visual Persuasion Tools?
• Advocacy and Lobbying Presentations