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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/45416
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm looking for ways to discover what others might think when they hear or see a metaphor used in a speech. I tend to think a certain way. I have certain prejudices. I think we all do. If I use a metaphor, I'm pretty certain that it will invoke the response I intended to that segment of the audience of like-minded individuals.

What about other people? People who are not like-minded? How will they interpret the meaning behind the metaphor? I want to learn and understand how other people, "non like-minded people" might interpret that same metaphor.

Are there some sort of exercises I can do? Is there a standard set of questions out there I can use to figure out the different interpretations other people might have towards the same metaphor?

**For example:**

I'm a 60 year old male. If I say " **_I am a roll of toilet paper on the inside third._**" I know what 60+ year old people think about that metaphor. I'd like to understand what 20 somethings, or 30 somethings, or 40, and 50 somethings might think.

**Update**

I ordered a book two days ago called "Lead With A Story" by Paul Smith and it came in the mail today. Chapter 24 is titled **Metaphors and analogies**. How ironical is that. Smith tells about using what is called the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET).

[Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaltman_metaphor_elicitation_technique)

I also found some very interesting resources:

[http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/metaphor-speech-examples/](http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/metaphor-speech-examples/)  
[https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/eiaes/Pragglejaz\_Group\_2007.pdf](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/eiaes/Pragglejaz_Group_2007.pdf)  
[http://www.mt-archive.info/CLRU-1959-Wordley-1.pdf](http://www.mt-archive.info/CLRU-1959-Wordley-1.pdf)

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