A comedian was being courted by both Netflix and HBO. According to this article in The Wall Street Journal, HBO president of programming, Casey Bloys, used a metaphor. Bloys’ pitch to comedian Jerrod Carmichael went like this:
“If you have 50 kids, you’re not going to every soccer game…We go to every soccer game, and we’re the snack parents at every soccer game. That’s how we treat our talent.” Mr. Carmichael “stayed put,” the article added.
As rivals like Netflix and other streaming providers pour billions of dollars into new programming, HBO has to compete. But the network has decided to “trim its development pipeline,” placing fewer bets than its streaming competitors.
If you’re an executive trying to make the case that “more is not better”, how would you pitch the idea? It looks as though HBO leaders are using a time-tested rhetorical tool—metaphor. Metaphors and analogies compare two different things with similar characteristics. A metaphor is a literary device through which we describe one thing in terms of another, replacing the meaning of one word with another. Bloys used the device brilliantly. HBO is not a soccer parent, clearly, but by using the metaphor, Bloys talks about the relationship between studio and talent in a way that’s familiar to the listener. That’s what a metaphor does—makes the abstract, familiar.
In his book on analogies titled, Shortcut, former presidential speechwriter John Pollack writes, “Evidence suggests that people who tend to overlook or underestimate analogy’s influence often find themselves struggling to make their arguments or achieve their goals. The converse is also true. Those who construct the clearest, most resonant and apt analogies are usually the most successful in reaching the outcomes they seek.”
Great communicators in business are masters at using analogies and metaphors to get their point across. Speaking of HBO, the HBO documentary Becoming Warren Buffett was full of metaphors. Buffett likened his favorite investments to “an economic castle” surrounded by a moat, which makes it hard for competitors to enter the business. Buffett took the analogy even further saying the leaders in such a castle are like knights, “who are pretty darn good at warding off marauders.”
Steal a scene from HBO and pepper your argument with metaphors and analogies. Ground your idea in the familiar and it’s more likely to resonate with your audience.