Figurative language, or figures of speech, refers to the techniques that speakers employ to word specific types of claims or ideas. Although there are literally hundreds of kinds of figures of speech,4 we focus on four of the most commonly used—anaphora, antithesis, simile, and metaphor.

Anaphora—the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences—is used to achieve emphasis and clarity, as well as a rhetorical sense of style. For example, in a special occasion speech known as a eulogy, a surviving relative of the deceased said the following:

He is watching over us now, listening to me give a speech I wish I never had to give. And so it will go for everyone. He is watching over us as we drive his youngest daughter to school every morning. He is watching over us as we face the uncertainty of continuing to run the business he built.

Here the repetition of “He is watching over us” allows the speaker to imply that the deceased is not really gone and that those who grieve for his loss can be consoled by the suggestion of his continued presence.

Speakers may occasionally wish to compare or contrast topics in a speech, even if they know in advance how they would like their audience to resolve the points in conflict. When speakers do this, they employ antithesis—clauses set in opposition to one another, usually to distinguish between choices, concepts, and ideas.5

For example, a student named Stephen employed antithesis to persuade people to invest in solar power:

Do we want to go forward or backward? Live in the future or be stuck in the past? Continue to be dependent on oil from other countries or invest in safe, free sunshine right here to meet many of our electricity and power needs?

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Here Stephen contrasts “forward” and “future” with “backward” and “stuck in the past.” He wants his audience to choose “safe, free sunshine” over being “dependent on oil from other countries.”

Similes and metaphors suggest similarities between objects that are not alike. A simile makes explicit comparisons and contains the word like or as. Examples include “His mind works like an adding machine” and “The baby’s crying was as sweet as music to his ears.”

A metaphor makes implicit comparisons of unlike objects by identifying one object with the other. The comparisons, however, are not meant to be taken literally.6 For example, the phrase “innovation is the engine that drives our economy” doesn’t mean that innovation is an actual engine.

Similes and metaphors can add color, vividness, and imagery to your speech. When you use these devices, be sure to use clear and consistent terms so that the images make sense. Mixed metaphors—such as “it’s not rocket surgery” or “he nailed that one out of the park”—can conjure images that either don’t make sense or are unintentionally funny. Further, overly complicated metaphors can become tiresome in a speech.

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Likewise, avoid mixing comparisons—that is, using more than one simile or metaphor at a time. Otherwise, you might produce some unintentionally funny statements. Here’s an example of a mixed metaphor:

Outlawing the possession of marijuana paraphernalia was exactly the bullet the House of Representatives needed to cook the new drug bill and drive it over to the Senate.

When used properly, a simile or metaphor can help your audience understand one idea through its reference to another. A metaphor also can help listeners experience a new idea “in terms that resonate with their past experience.”7