It can be quite revealing to tune in to the kind of imagery people use when talking. Consider, for example, how people speak about the current economic crisis. Some view the economy as a complex ...

Sometimes a complex health concept is best explained through an analogy—an easily understood comparison of two different ideas. A medical analogy can be an effective communicative tool for any ...

Thomas Edison famously said that genius requires “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Edison’s third criterion for would-be innovators is less well-known but perhaps even more vital: “a logical mind ...

We have plumbed the depths of abstract words, but what about abstract ideas? Abstractions are a fact of professional life. The law is littered with them. Think of the legislative process, intellectual ...

Richard Fontaine and Vance Serchuk consider the different historical examples that policymakers and politicians cite in their foreign policy arguments: In their choice of historical analogy, ...

Every business needs a vision statement that summarizes its purpose. Your vision statement should also neatly wrap up your strategy or what’s special about you — that is, your market differentiators.