Word Pictures

Recently, read a book that talk about “word pictures”. Actually, it is something we all are pretty familiar with. Some of us might call it “extended metaphors” or “figurative language”instead, and somewhat similar to story telling that I recently heard from a conference. People have been trying to communicate all their lives but never seem to work. The thing is we all communicate differently and interpret differently with all the factors that influenced us… gender, culture, upbringing, our ways of expressions, use of words, verbal and non-verbal expression, and value. Sometimes we think we have communicated to the other person what we wanted or was thinking, but the other person had no idea at all unless it is expressed in her expression language. Consequently, misunderstanding and conflict arise.
Actually, we have been using this “word pictures” in our daily lives, yet we do not realize how powerful it is and have not been intentionally or effectively using it. The author explained how this tool can penetrate the heart. When someone who thinks more base on facts rather than feelings would understand another’s emotions when it is expressed in “word pictures”. In other words, when it’s mere facts, often times, it has little effect. When a word pictures is used, we reach the other person’s heart, not just his head. We must enter the other person’s world of emotions.
These are the seven steps that the author shared:
1. Establish a clear purpose
2. Carefully study the other person’s interests
3. Draw from four inexhaustible wells
4. Rehearse your story
5. Pick a convenient time without distractions
6. Try and try again
7. Milk your word picture for all it’s worth!
Examples:
1. I love my family. When life makes me feel like I’m trying to bail out a sinking ocean liner with a paper cup, they lovingly pitch in and help. That doesn’t decrease the amount of water pouring into the ship, but it sure helps get it out faster! I don’t know how I ever lived without them!
2. I feel like I’m a book in my father’s office library. We are always admired but almost never read. Occasionally we’re used as paper weights or to prop open a door. But day after day, I mainly sit on the shelf, my pages yellowing and cracked, my binding coming undone. I need my father to do more than just admire me at a distance. I need him to take me off the shelf and to see what’s inside me. He’s never taken the time to turn the pages and really get to know me. And that hurts so much.