Metaphor Work

Come eseguirlo

1. 1

   Introduce the invitation: 'Instead of discussing [topic] head-on, I'd like us to work through images or metaphors. This often unlocks things that direct conversation misses.'

2. 2

   Choose one of three entry points depending on group and time: (a) Open metaphor prompt: 'If our team/project/situation were an animal / vehicle / building / weather, what would it be right now — and why?'; (b) Image card selection: lay out a deck of visual image cards face up and ask each participant to choose one that resonates with the current situation; (c) Story prompt: 'Tell a short story — real or fictional — that captures how this situation feels.'

3. 3

   Give participants 3–5 minutes to reflect individually, then share in pairs or small groups.

4. 4

   In plenary, collect the metaphors on a flipchart. Look for themes: what images recur? What elements of the metaphor feel most alive?

5. 5

   Invite deepening: 'What would need to change in your metaphor for it to feel better? What resources does your metaphor suggest?'

6. 6

   Bridge back to the real situation: 'What does this tell us about what we actually need?'

7. 7

   Optional: invite the group to build a shared metaphor together ('if we were all describing the same ship, what would it look like?').

Suggerimenti

• Image card decks (Dixit cards, Oh Cards, STRIM cards) dramatically lower the threshold for participation — people point rather than explain.

• Never interpret someone's metaphor for them — ask what it means to them.

• Protect metaphorical distance: if someone says 'the ship is sinking', don't immediately ask 'so you mean the project is failing?' — stay in the metaphor a little longer.

• Humour often emerges naturally ('we're a hamster wheel') — welcome it, it relieves tension and is itself a form of insight.

• Works especially well when groups are reluctant to give direct feedback or when hierarchy makes honest speech difficult.

Variazioni

Future metaphor: ask participants to describe where they want to be in 6 months as a metaphor — then bridge to what needs to change. Group story: build a collaborative narrative ('once upon a time there was a team that...') that reveals collective concerns and aspirations. Pre-mortem via metaphor: 'If this project were a disaster movie, what would it be called? What's the plot?'

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