Experts can fi nd it difficult to explain their ideas to non-experts. Even when people work in the same industry and use similar vocabulary, communication is chancy. One approach for explaining complex ideas is to use effective metaphors and analogies. Creative metaphors can be far more helpful and convincing than exhaustively detailed explanations. Take, for example, terms like the web, cloud computing, and data mining. They convey technical concepts using words that people can at least partially understand and explore.

Years ago, I listened to an SME talk about the importance of information security at his company. He was trying to make the point that despite common perception, proper data security is not designed to slow everything down inside a company. He argued that effective security should help accelerate the business. Unfortunately, his colleagues weren’t buying it. They quickly enumerated several information security policies that, in their judgment, slowed them down and made it more difficult to perform their jobs. One colleague said, “I got locked out of the network last week and it took hours for my account to be restored.”

Fortunately, the SME had a masterful analogy prepared. “Information security is like the brakes in your car,” he explained. “Yes, brakes slow you down, but without them, you could not drive the way you do. It is the combination of brakes and the engine that enable fast transportation; neither is effective without the other.” With one carefully placed analogy, the argument was over.

As an SME, you might find it helpful to have a repertoire of pithy analogies and metaphors. Rather than using verbose commentary about complicated subjects, allow these abstractions to make your points for you. Try them out and discard the ones that don’t work effectively. Adjust the ones that do. Write them down.

A metaphor or an analogy, you see, is like computer memory; it stores massive amounts of information in a tiny package.