The Metaphor Game is a creative brainstorming exercise that sharpens your ability to create meaningful metaphors.
The Metaphor Game is a creative brainstorming exercise that sharpens your ability to create meaningful metaphors.
What is it?
The Metaphor Game is a simple exercise to help you practice creating effective metaphors.
Metaphors compare one thing to another to make ideas easier to understand or more relatable. For example, calling a difficult project "a mountain to climb" instantly communicates its challenge in a visual and memorable way.
This activity is especially useful for presentation writers and designers who need to simplify complex ideas and connect with their audience. By using metaphors, you can make abstract concepts clearer and more memorable in your presentations.
The activity works best in pairs. One person secretly selects a word related to a chosen theme, while their partner generates random nouns within a set time. Using one of the nouns, the first person creates a metaphor that ties back to their secret word. After swapping roles and refining their metaphors, the pair shares their most creative results with the group. This process encourages thinking outside the box by forming connections between unrelated ideas.
By engaging in this exercise, you sharpen your creative thinking skills and enhance your ability to make abstract connections. It’s a valuable tool for anyone looking to bring fresh perspectives and creativity into their work—whether you’re a writer, a designer, or a problem solver. Over time, you’ll find that your mental associations become more diverse and expansive, making it easier to draw meaningful connections in all areas of life.
Why it works
Metaphors are a powerful tool for connecting with your audience. They make your content clearer, more relatable, and more compelling, which is exactly what a good presentation should do.
When to use it
It's great warm-up exercise to overcome creative blocks and get into a more innovative mindset before tackling significant tasks. Additionally, it works well as a team-building activity to kick off new projects, encouraging collaboration and fresh ideas by fostering a creative and open environment.
Remember to
Create a judgment-free environment where participants feel comfortable experimenting with ideas, even if they seem far-fetched or unconventional. Encouraging creativity without fear of criticism allows for more innovative and meaningful connections to emerge.
Step-by-step
How to play the metaphor game
Collect index cards or scraps of paper, writing utensils, and a notebook or paper for each team.
Select a theme or focus for your metaphors. For example, "emotions" or "nature."
Brainstorm 30 nouns based on your chosen theme. Chose your favorite 20, and write each one on a separate index card or scrap of paper.
For example, if “emotions” was the theme, this list could include words like Joy, Happiness, Laughter, Melancholy, Fury, Serenity, Confusion, Elation, Anxiety, Anger, Contentment, Bitterness, etc.
Shuffle the list on a table or in a box.
Divide participants into teams of two. Each team chooses one member to start. The selected team member draws a word from the pile of related words without showing it to their partner.
On their own paper or index card, the first team member writes "[the word they drew] is a ____________________" 15 times, leaving a blank space for the metaphorical comparison.
Set a timer for 2 minutes and have the other team member provides 20 random nouns (objects, animals, places, etc.) to their partner.
The first team member fills in the blank with each of the provided nouns to create 20 different metaphors. The emphasis here is on quick, spontaneous creativity.
Switch roles within the team. Now, the second team member draws a related word and the first team member generates random nouns.
As a team, review both sets of metaphors created. Look for opportunities to combine, expand, or refine them into more elaborate and compelling metaphors.
Have teams share their most intriguing metaphors with the group. Encourage discussion and exploration of the metaphors' meanings and possible imagery.
