Similes in speechwriting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a simile as:

 

“a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses)”

 

Of course, there also is a Wikipedia page. And there is a brief, humorous article by John Cadley in the August 2019 issue of Toastmaster Magazine on page 30 titled Silly Similes - those wonderful idioms that don’t say what they mean.

 

A song by John Prine titled It’s A Big Old Goofy World is stitched together from similes. You can listen to it here at YouTube. And Mickey Cheatham posted about it in his STEAMD blog on January 1, 2021. The first verse is:

 

“Up in the morning
Work like a dog
Is better than sitting
Like a bump on a log
Mind all your manners
Be quiet as a mouse
Someday you'll own a home
That's as big as a house”

 

Chapter 17 – Professional Speechwriting: Metaphor, Simile, and Theme by Lynn Meade in her Advanced Public Speaking book has a discussion of similies (and more on metaphors).

 

The mouse cartoon came from OpenClipArt.

 

What rhetorical devices are in your toolbox?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My previous post on May 22, 2024 titled Being siloed is a problem for communication referred to an article in the October 2019 issue of Toastmaster magazine by Beth Black on pages 22 to 25 titled The Crafting of Eloquence and subtitled How rhetorical and literary devices turn basic communication into soaring works of art. She mentioned tmesis, hendiadys, and anaphora. There is another brief article by Bill Brown on page 15 of the November 2017 issue of Toastmaster magazine titled Say it with Flair. He mentions seven rhetorical devices: anaphora, alliteration, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, antithesis, and triad (trichotomy).

 

There is another recent article by Jacob Lee at CustomWritings.com on November 2, 2023 titled 10 Highly Popular and Extra Powerful Rhetorical Devices for Speeches in College. Still another article at Thesaurus.com on January 30, 2023 is titled The Top 41 Rhetorical Devices That Will Make Your Words Memorable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there is an eight-page pdf article titled Rhetorical Devices in Public Speaking with 32 of them, as shown above.

 

The image of Joe Kachler and his toolbox came from the Library of Congress.