Persuasive language

I can't claim to be a fan of Top Gear. It's probably because I work with petrol heads who "rev on" relentlessly about the programme, and anything they like I'm inclined not to like....Just because! So I don't watch Jeremy Clarkson on the box. But reading his books and articles is something else.

 To my mind they are a masterclass in storytelling and how to use metaphors to powerfully communicate your meaning. Consider these gems:

"The air conditioning in a Lambo used to be an asthmatic sitting in the dashboard blowing at you through a straw."
Illustrating the lack of power of a Boxster: "It couldn't pull a greased stick out of a pig's bottom"
"Much more of a hoot to drive than you might imagine. Think of it if you like, as a librarian with a G-string under her tweed pants. I do, and it helps."
Apart from being very funny what metaphors do so very cleverly is to occupy your thinking with an image or a story. The funnier or more absurb the story the more you are engrossed by it. Which is the very reason why metaphors are such a powerful way of getting your ideas across. Of persuading people. Here is why...
When you try to make a point....or to sell an idea, whoever is on the receiving end has an immediate reaction. They think about it! More than that.... they think very deeply about it. Not just consciously but unconsciously too! 
They run it by their belief system to see how they feel about it. And they get this feeling...call it intuition. And no surprise! That is often a negative intuition and they reject your idea!
Metaphors have this very useful tendancy to occupy and divert thought away from that questioning belief system. Leading it into the subconscious...and here things are a lot more relaxed. Ideas are considered in a much more creative and imaginative way.

Metaphors are just one example of persuasive language. A way of speaking that takes account of how words communicate at different levels of consciousness. Some people call it hypnotic language...and perhaps you want to emulate Derren Brown's Mind Control?  Matching Jeremy Clarkson's mastery of metaphor would be a pretty good aim too! But certainly if you are looking to improve your persuasiveness then take a close look at persuasive language.   

Visit http://www.persuadability.co.uk/ for more tips and articles on persuasion and public speaking.