How to Coach Yourself and Others Better Coaching Through Visualisation | Page 228

A metaphor takes us into a state of liminality, where we work at
creating sense: “It pre-empts our attention and propels us on a quest
for the underlying truth. We are launched into a creative, inventive,
pleasurable act” (Swanson, 1979, p. 162). The effect is greatest
when the similarity is perceived to be not total but significant, so
that meaning is created.
For example, Barack Obama’s generation is now described as
“Generation Jones” instead of the “late baby boomers.” Wells (2009)
indicates that “Generation Jones” reflects the “yearning (or
‘jonesing’) of its members for the coolness of the 1960s and their
parents’ efforts to keep up with the Joneses” (p. 36).
2. The second aspect of the use of metaphor is that it constructs a
relationship between the user and the receiver.
Cohen (1979) believes that by using a metaphor the writer or speaker
extends a kind of invitation. To respond, the reader or listener must
actively engage and, by doing so, a degree of connection and, to
Cohen, empathy and trust, is created. Such trust has the potential to
be a positive or negative in creating acuity in the receiver. For
example, Schapper’s (2009) title, "Investing in a Girl’s Education is
Like Watering a Neighbour’s Tree" invites the reader to consider in
what ways watering the tree of a neighbour might be like the
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