Thursday, May 21, 2015

'CONNECT' 40 - Tips on Public Speaking - Using Similes

'Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak'
Ralph Waldo Emerson
How to use similes

Use of similes is also another way to make your speech interesting and attractive. Just as in metaphors, in similes also two things are compared. But the difference is we use 'connecting' words such as 'like', 'as' in a simile which is not the case in a metaphor. In metaphor we say 'A' is 'B' as though the two are identical. But in a simile, we say 'A' is like 'B' since A may not be identical to B.
I give below some examples of similes:
  • He marched off to the field like a soldier on a mission
  • His laughter was like a thunder
  • My child screamed like a police car siren
  • He ran like a race horse across the finish line
  • He looked as proud as a peacock
  • Like a newly hatched chick, the infant stared at her proud parents
  • My son is as smart as Albert Einstein
  • She sang as a cuckoo
The purpose of metaphor and simile is to paint a vivid picture in the mind of the listener. However, we should use them as naturally as possible. We should read a lot of novels and stories and understand how to use them with a natural flow.
N C Sridharan


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