Saying that you can ‘connect the dots’ just is a silly cliche

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wikipedia page for the phrase connect the dots says that:

 

“The phrase ‘connect the dots’ can be used as a metaphor to illustrate an ability (or inability) to associate one idea with another—to find the ‘big picture’, or salient feature, in a mass of data; it can mean using extrapolation to solve a mystery from clues, or else come to a conclusion from various facts.”

 

But, as is shown above, there can be more than one way to connect even four or five dots.   

 

A post on July 15, 2026 by David Murray at his Writing Boots blog is titled Communicators, stop saying you ‘connect the dots’; It’s dumb.

 

He says that:

 

“1.  In a dynamic and ever-evolving world, there are no fixed dots to connect. If there were, you  wouldn’t hire a communicator to connect them, you’d hire the sort of slightly weird person who you might bring along to an escape room. But luckily for communicators, dots aren’t a thing.

 

2.  Even if there were dots, it’s laughably arrogant to anoint yourself the only one who can connect them. Imagine telling an intelligent colleague from another discipline, ‘Don’t worry, I’m here to connect the dots. Gotcha covered, Buttercup.’

 

3.  It’s insufferable, listening to communicators telling each other on LinkedIn and at conferences that their value has nothing to do with the actual skills and philosophies and strategic approaches we have developed over years of studying and working on difficult communication problems. Rather, we just magically ‘connect the dots.’ (We must have a lot of free time, in between).”

 

He says we need to find a far richer and more meaningful metaphor.