To emphasize points or illustrate a thought or idea, it can be helpful to use a figure of speech or pithy quote. Creating your own twist on a well-known phrase or expression can be even more intriguing and memorable; however, if used incorrectly you can easily offend or confuse others. I had someone ask me the other day if they should use the term “the second coming of Greece” to describe an economic situation. While somewhat clever, I questioned whether they wanted to risk offending people from a religious perspective or specific nationality. They ended up making the point by linking the situation in Greece without sidetracking the point with wit. I have heard many similar lines that cross over the boundary of insensitivity. Not that I am a huge fan of political correctness; I just seek to communicate without turning off my audience. One of the most descriptive comments I ever heard in relation to someone who was being a martyr was, “Get off the cross — we need the wood for the fire.” Great visual, made the point in a nanosecond, but I expect my dear friends who are believers might get a tad irritated by making light of something they hold sacred.

So here is my list of five considerations when it comes to figures of speech:

1. Make sure you have the saying correct. I have witnessed many mangled sayings that leave the audience quite puzzled. Some are charming and delightful such as my British friend who stated she was a “country pumpkin” versus bumpkin. There a hoards of mixed-up sayings that can leave your audience laughing but not getting your point.

2. Know the origin of the saying. I expect there are people today who do not know that “drinking the Kool-Aid” is in reference to the Jonestown tragedy where 909 people, including 200 children, drank cyanide in a mass suicide. There are many sayings derived from tragedy, especially from historic events. Avoid embarrassment by doing your homework.

3. Make sure your audience connects to the saying. Gender, age, cultural differences, geography and knowledge level all come into play when using certain catchy phrases. One of my colleagues wants to ban “just saying” and another wants to get rid of “no worries.” These are common figures of speech among a certain demographic. Knowing them and using them because you think it will make you sound cool or connect can be a huge mistake. Stick to your own areas of comfort and age appropriateness. Notice I did not say “stick to your knitting” as that would not fit my style — or age.

4. Create your own. Steve Jobs’ “stay hungry, stay foolish” line in his famous Stanford speech of 2005 was just one of many antithesis figures of speech he used to illustrate his points. Here are some others:

“If I had never dropped out, I would never have dropped in..”
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”
“Death is very likely the single best invention of life.”

5. Don’t get caught up in your own cleverness at the expense of making your point. I know someone who is always tossing out obscure French sayings and Shakespearian lines. OK, we all understand you are literary, but that is all we know as we murmur away in our thought bubbles, wondering what the heck is he talking about.

Any comments on figures of speech? I am particularly interested in faux pas (mistakes ☺) that you have observed. Next week we move on to compelling communications with The Sunshine Tale.