Force-Fit Analogies

How to Develop Meaningful Stories, ontinuous Analogies and Parables to Use in Training and Counseling People

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By Mac McIntire

Facts don’t move people; stories do. If you find the right story to enlighten the mind, touch the heart, or stir the soul, you’ll discover the key to getting people to change who or what they are.

ave you ever been stumped by a question or comment from someone in your training session (or from an employee, spouse or your children) and didn’t know how to respond?

Have you ever wished you could think faster on your feet?

Have you ever wished you could think of a good analogy or story that would explain your point more clearly?

Have you ever felt like you needed a more creative answer or better application in order to spark meaningful interchange with the participants?

If so, then a technique I developed to “connect the dots” will help you when you’re on the spot or don’t know what to say.

I learned a long time ago that if you want to move people in your training courses or meeting presentations, you need three things. First you must have a firm grasp of the subject. You must understand it thoroughly. Second, you must have passion for training.

It must be a part of who you are.

And third, you must have a repertoire of real-life stories or examples that clearly articulate the points you are trying to make.

The Power of Story Telling This third element – the real-life stories, examples, parables, metaphors, or similes – is what enlightens the minds, touches the hearts, and stirs the souls of those whom you are trying to teach. The content you offer in a training session is not what gets people to change who they are or what they do. What changes people is the way you deliver the content. The

best delivery is through stories because people are not moved by facts; they are moved by stories.

The stories you tell, and how you tell them, cause listeners to “go inside oneself.” When you share real-life experiences or meaningful analogies you provide a mechanism that opens the minds of the participants for introspective analysis. It allows people to see themselves in the story and to apply its lessons to their own situation. It gives them a safe and easy way to assess their own strengths and weaknesses or the appropriateness or inappropriateness of their actions or behaviors.

Story Telling Technique Many years ago I developed a technique to hone my own skills at connecting the dots. As a consultant and trainer I often found myself being asked questions or being faced with problems for which I had no answer or solution.

In those situations I had to quickly think on my feet to come up with an acceptable or meaningful response.

There also were times when people in my training session went off on tangents or made comments that were wildly-disconnected from the topic being discussed. At times like these I was faced with the challenge of how to redirect the group without offending the divergent member.

This is no longer a problem for me. Now people marvel that I can take any off-purpose comment and easily transition back to the topic at hand by showing how the seemingly disconnected question or

statement is aligned perfectly with what we are talking about. I am able to do that because I learned to play, what I call, “The Game,” or, more formally, Force-Fit Analogies.

The game is a little hard to master at first. It takes practice to become proficient at it. But once you have the technique down, it is easy to use.

The object of the game, or technique, is to formulate a story, analogy or example as a foundation for the point you are trying to make. The game entails taking seemingly disconnected comments or thoughts, and connecting them with a comment or thought that is closely aligned with the message you wish to convey. The technique allows you to take something someone else says and use it to set up the exact point you want to make, no matter how far off base the person’s comment may be.

When perfectly honed, the technique learned from Force-Fit Analogies provides you with the ability to connect numerous points that are seemingly divergent and often separated by time. Again, people marvel that I can connect (and even remember) a point made by a participant on the third day of a training session with a comment made by another participant on the first day, particularly since the topics being discussed on those two days are so vastly different. Because I know how to play The Game, I can see the connection, for example, between a comment about motivating employees made on the first day of a training session and a comment about conducting performance appraisals made on the third day.

© 2005, 2011, INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT GROUP, 840 Trotter Circle, Las Vegas, Nevada 89107, 702-258-8334.

In reality, all points participants might make are connected. In business, and in life, nothing stands alone. Profitability is connected to quality. Quality is connected to service. Service is connected to employee motivation. Employee motivation is connected to morale.

Poorly conducted performance appraisals can negatively impact the morale of an employee.

Therefore, in order to maintain the profitability of a company, managers must learn to provide performance appraisals that offer candid feedback to employees without damaging morale.

In case you missed it, that was an example of a Force Fit Analogy.

Now, wasn’t that easy? It is when you know how to play The Game.

So, are you ready to learn how to play? Here are the three easy steps to playing the game.

How to Play “The Game” 1. Pick a topic (such as an assigned topic or subtopic in a training course, or ask someone to give you a topic to address) [Example: How to improve communication throughout the company; How to delegate tasks effectively; How to motivate employees; How to deal with employee tardiness; How to manage your boss; Customer Service; Team Work; Profitability; Cost-Containment; Strategic Planning; or any other topic of interest.]

2. Pick an object in the room.

Any object. [Example: a light switch, a doorknob, a computer, messy desk, empty candy wrapper, stapler, phone, set of keys, etc.]

3. Describe ways in which the object you picked is an analogy for the topic you wish to discuss. Deliver a 30-second or one-minute message about your topic using the object as the jump off point for your “story.”

Hopefully, you should be able to come up with several ideas to explain how the object is like your

topic. Over time your 30-second object lessons will become five minute teaching moments, your teaching moments will become modules, and your modules will become complete training courses.

Examples of Analogies Don’t get frustrated. Let it come to you. Look at the object. Think of the topic. How is the object like the topic or the topic like the object?

Which elements of the object apply to the elements of the topic? What is it about the object that helps you better understand your topic? What is similar and dissimilar about the topic and the object?

Here are two examples of how to play The Game: Topic: Motivating Employees Object: Light Switch Connection: “To motivate employees you first have to find the employee’s internal switch and flip it on. Motivation, just like electricity, is always there waiting to be turned on. Unfortunately too many employees haven’t sparked the power within them because they have never been turned on. It would be nice if employees would flip their own switch, but some employees are waiting for management to come along and light them up. Etc., etc., etc.”

Topic:

Harmony at Home

Object: Computer Connection: “Anyone who has ever tried to access something on the Internet knows how frustrating it can be. You have to have the exact address of the item you want.

You have to know whether to use upper or lower case, etc. Families and homes are like that.

Sometimes you get frustrated with your teenage kids because you can't find the right way to get

through to them. It's like you have to know the exact words to say or they won't listen to you. This failure to hit the right keys leads to confusion, conflict, and hurt feelings. But when the object you seek on the Internet is important to you, you do everything you can to find a way to access the information. You never give up trying to find a different way to get what you want. That's what we must be willing to do with our kids or spouse. We must keep trying until we make a connection between us and the ones we love.

Etc., etc., etc.”

Perfecting Your Skills Here are some additional hints to help improve your skill at playing The Game.

You will become better at this technique as you increase your observation skills. When you pick an object, look at more than just the main parts or obvious components of the object. For example, a light switch I’m looking at right now has two switches, one screw in the center, and a cover plate. The cover plate is dirty.

Now let’s play The Game with the topic being organizational communication.

“Effective communication within any organization requires connection between management and employees (the two switches).

Management needs to maintain an open door, be visible on the floor, and always be receptive to employee comments (first switch in the on position) in order to create a culture of mutual trust, respect, confidence, and support. Effective managers realize open communication with employees is a pivotal key to gaining employee enthusiasm and commitment (the screw in the center).

“Managers who spend time communicating with employees find it much easier to turn their employees on (other switch in the on position) and get everyone in their work unit to step forward together as a team. To do this,

© 2005, 2011, INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT GROUP, 840 Trotter Circle, Las Vegas, Nevada 89107, 702-258-8334.

managers must cleanse themselves of any misguided philosophies (dirt on the light switch) that employees don’t want to be involved at work or they won’t be committed.

Employees do want to be involved and they do want to be committed; they’re just waiting for management to be turned on first.

Managers must flip their own switch and be enlightened themselves before they can light up their employees.”

Notice that you don’t have to mention the object in your presentation or lesson. The object is not important. It is merely a means to stimulate your thinking and a platform from which to formulate your story or analogy.

A good way to practice this technique is to look at the index of any management book or training course. Use the topic of the chapter headings or training modules as your starting topic. Pick the first chapter heading or module, then look around the room and pick an object in the room. Now force-fit the two and explore how the object explains the topic. Expand upon your idea until you have enough thoughts to speak on the topic for at least five minutes. When you're done, read the second title, pick another object, and deliver another five minute talk. Go through the book or course until you have enough material to write your own book or develop your own course.

Once you have become proficient at relating objects to topics, you can raise your skill to the next level by relating topics to topics or objects to objects. For example, what are the similarities between rearing children and managing employees?

What is the connection between employee confidence and organizational effectiveness? How is delegation related to innovation?

What do effective change and selfesteem have to do with each other?

How is a hammer exactly like a fly?

What does the rice export in China have to do with water pollution in Wyoming? What do space and time have to do with the body and spirit

of man? How are quality, leadership, attitude, risk taking, goal setting, and employee discipline related to each other?

Can you connect each of the characteristics in the previous sentence to each other in order with one coherent stream of thought that makes a final point and wraps each characteristic together in a one-word concept?

Practice this technique while you’re getting dressed in the morning, while you're driving, while you're eating, etc. For just as it took time to read this article and thoughts started to come to you as you did, so too you must take the time to open your mind to the innumerable ideas that are floating around you in the room right now. The messages are already there; you just need to develop your ability to see and understand those messages. The meaning of every element of life only becomes clear when you double-click your brain, just as you double-clicked the icon to open this article. When you consciously take in the wisdom around you, you open yourself up to an understanding of all things. As you play The Game, you will be surprised at how clear everything becomes and how easy it is to connect ALL of the dots. § Innovative Management Group offers a Creative and Analytical Thinking training program that helps trainers, managers and counselors improve their ability to thinking on their feet. For more information about this, and our numerous other workshops and training programs, please contact us at 702-258-8334.

-------------------Mac McIntire is the president of Innovative Management Group, a Las Vegas-based training and consulting firm specializing in strategic visioning and alignment, organizational effectiveness, quality improvement, and teamwork. He can be reached at 702-258-8334 or e-mail mac@imglv.com. His website is www.imglv.com

© 2005, 2011, INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT GROUP, 840 Trotter Circle, Las Vegas, Nevada 89107, 702-258-8334.