The right metaphor can be a persuasive bomb…
Today I’m going to share a video with you. It’s not me. It’s from an Atlanta writer, Kimberly Jones.
It’s about the economic history of America. And the place black people have occupied in America’s economy. It’s also filmed in the context of the Black Lives Matter protests.
I’m sharing it because I believe it’s a video worth sharing.
But I’m also sharing it for a lesson it contains, that can be used in persuasion. Either in forwarding a social movement, or in any other persuasion situation.
I saw the last part of the video first. The clip was shared by John Oliver on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight.
But I actually think Oliver did a disservice by only showing the last part.
Because if you’re white, the last part of the video is full of righteous anger that will likely make you very uncomfortable. At least, it did for me.
But it’s hardly the most powerful part of the message.
I still believed and believe it’s righteous anger. But in my desire to NOT see looting and property destruction, that anger makes me uncomfortable.
(I have the privilege as a white person to want things to go back to normal, because going back to normal for me doesn’t involve me having to teach my kids how to interact with the police in a way that doesn’t get them killed for the color of their skin.)
Later, my wife shared a link to the full video.
The metaphor Jones uses in beginning of the video shifted the whole message, instantly…
I don’t want to give away the metaphor. Because I want you to watch the video, and get it from her.
But I can tell you this…
I’m definitely a “personal responsibility” guy.
Like, I believe it’s in every one of our best interests to take personal responsibility for the direction of our life.
We’re all dealt a certain hand. But we choose how we respond to the hand we’re dealt.
We choose how we respond to each situation.
We choose how we face our hardships, and our good fortune.
This is response-ability. And I believe it’s CRITICAL for living a good life.
BUT…
I am not a fool about the fact that environment and society play a HUGE role in our lives.
And the fact that I was born white (and male) in a country and culture that treats white (and male) as right, and anything other as less, has made my life much easier.
This is white supremacy as a system, not “White Supremacy” as the fringe movement. But this systemic foundation of white supremacy is, in many cases, just as damaging and insidious.
(And often harder to counter, because everyone who is not a card-carrying “White Supremacist” can easily say, “But I’m not a racist.” Even as they are treated with more acceptance and approval — supremely — and accept that better treatment — based on the color of their skin. The color of my skin.)
I got all this on an intellectual level, before the video I’m going to share with you.
But still, from my position of privilege, it was easy for me to judge the anger at the end of Jones’s video.
Then, I watched the whole 6 minutes.
It hit me, hard…
It put a brand new frame around all of this.
Around the protests and riots.
Around the impossible situation black people still find themselves in today.
Around everything going on.
And suddenly her righteous anger went from something that made me really uncomfortable, to something I had 100% empathy with.
I’ll share the video in a second, but there’s a lesson in this.
… And this is part of why I teach metaphors in the context of story selling.
The right metaphor can put a perfect frame around your message.
The right metaphor can change your audience’s mind in an instant.
The right metaphor can completely transform someone from being on the other side — or on the fence — to with you.
If you want to be persuasive — to support your cause, your career, your business, yourself, whatever — finding one powerful metaphor to deliver your message can be a life-changing breakthrough.
Watch this video of Kimberly Jones now and see what you think.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
