CHAPTER 3

Five Ways Word Pictures Ignite the Power of Your Words

WE’VE ALREADY SEEN how a word picture dramatically changed my (John’s) life and marriage, and how a child’s word picture broke through to her father’s heart. History provides numerous examples of their impact as well.

For instance, way back in 1942, Walt Disney demonstrated that a movie-length word picture could blast through a message that would change the culture. Almost overnight, he took thousands of men’s fingers off the trigger, dramatically affecting the deer hunting industry in the process. The year before the animated film Bambi® was released, deer hunting in the US was a $9.5 million business. But when one particularly touching scene was shown —in which a yearling sees his mother gunned down by a hunter —many men’s attitudes changed instantly. And the following season, deer hunters spent only $4.1 million on tags, permits, and hunting trips.[2]

Two more terrible pictures that caused massive change were the mostly black-and-white footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, and the terrible, HD-color pictures of the Twin Towers falling to terrorism on September 11, 2001. In both cases, scores of men showed up the next day to enlist in the armed forces.

We know that literal pictures can move us. But why word pictures? It’s because, according to Cal-Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff, “All we know is physically embodied in our brains.”[3] In short, we have, in our minds “frames, mental structures” that shape the way we see the world. And when we hear a story or word picture, it “sticks” and makes a frame we can understand.

With those reminders of the value of word pictures, let’s dig into why this communication method has such a dramatic impact on people.

Five Reasons Word Pictures Work So Effectively

1. Word Pictures Have Been Time-Tested by the World’s Greatest Communicators.

Your destiny may not lie in making front-page news. But if you want to leave a lasting impression on your own page of history, you’ll do well to follow the lead of the world’s greatest communicators.

Take Cicero, the silver-tongued orator of the Roman Empire. He believed word pictures are “lights” that illuminate truth. As he told his students, “The more crucial the message, the brighter the lights must be.”[4]

In fact, he reported that a man was considered wise only if he could fit his thoughts within the frame of a word picture.[5] Aristotle, one of the most respected scholars of early Greece, was a master at doing that very thing. For example, he once said of a fallen hero that he entered the combat in body like the strongest bull, in spirit like the fiercest lion. Proving the old adage, “A soldier is to come back from battle with his shield, or on it.”[6]

Centuries later, Benjamin Franklin challenged the heart of his young country by crafting his thoughts with this same communication technique. Word pictures filled his speeches and writings, but perhaps the best example of his skill at using them is the epitaph he wrote for his own tombstone:

“The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding), lies here, food for worms; but the work shall not be lost, for it will (as he believed) appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.”[7]

Prior to the Civil War, Harriet Beecher Stowe was enraged at the system of slavery down South. But who would listen to her? During the early years of American history, no public platform existed from which a woman could speak. Yet an entire nation was greatly moved when she penned a book-length word picture called Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

When her book was released, it inflamed those in the North. Her vivid description of the cruelest of slave owners fanned widespread opposition. Her message caused such white-hot fury that Abraham Lincoln felt the Civil War was inevitable.[8]

Nearly a century later, as World War II raged throughout Europe, another great communicator stepped forward. Winston Churchill always carried a look of utter defiance. It showed itself in the cigar shoved to one corner of his mouth and the warrior’s glint in his eyes. But for a nation under siege, it was Churchill’s picture-filled speeches that rallied the fighting spirit of his shaken countrymen.

Soon after the humiliating retreat at Dunkirk, Britain faced the discouraging news that Italy had joined ranks with the Nazis. But in typical style, Churchill went on the radio with these words:

“Mussolini is a whipped jackal, who, to save his own skin, has made of Italy a vassal state of Hitler’s empire. Today, he is frisking up by the side of the German tiger with yelps not only of appetite —that could be understood —but even of triumph. . . . It shall do him no good. Dictators may walk to and fro among tigers, but they dare not be deceived. The tigers are getting hungry too.”[9]

If Churchill was a master of motivating his countrymen, across the English Channel was his evil equal, Adolf Hitler. As we’ll see in a later chapter, he tragically grabbed the soul of a nation and turned it to evil with his gripping word pictures. We’ll also illustrate the tragic way some people still twist the language of love into a language of hate. In so doing, they use something intended for good to manipulate, intimidate, and destroy others.

Praise God for the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who fought for change in a segregated society. His words changed a nation. From his famous “I have a dream” speech to the eloquent message below, his words still serve as powerful pictures and are still uniting people today:

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. . . . I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.[10]

Word pictures need not be lengthy to deliver a tremendous punch. Great communicators have used this technique to spice up a single thought in a speech. In his 1961 inaugural address, John F. Kennedy spoke of the need to “let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.”[11]

Or more powerful words spoken by Dr. King: “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”[12]

And Ronald Reagan, called by many “The Great Communicator,” salted his conversations with story after story and analogies such as “Let’s win one for the Gipper!”[13]

A look across the pages of history confirms that word pictures have rocked the world. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in one treasured book.

Without question, the Bible has had the most life-changing effect of anything ever written. It remains the most widely read, circulated, and translated book in history.[14] And of all the communication methods the biblical writers used, word pictures surface on nearly every page.

Consider, for example, one of the Bible’s most familiar passages, the oft-quoted Psalm 23, which begins, “The LORD is my shepherd. . . .” This psalm has provided hope for people everywhere as they crossed through their own “valley of the shadow of death.” God’s Word was quoted on the bridge of the Titanic as lifeboats moved away from the doomed vessel,[15] on a beach at Okinawa and in the jungles of Vietnam in the midst of fighting,[16] in a space capsule orbiting the moon,[17] and it is still spoken every day in hospital waiting rooms where families pray.

What astonished us in our research was finding that throughout the Scriptures, Jesus’ primary method to teach, challenge, and motivate others was word pictures. When discussing love, He launched into a word picture about a good Samaritan. To encourage His disciples, Jesus told them that in His Father’s home, there were many rooms waiting for them. When teaching lessons of faith, He spoke of faith the size of a mustard seed moving a mountain. And to describe the forgiving heart of a father, He shared a story about a prodigal son.[18]

We’ll go into much more detail in chapter 19, but word pictures are also the most frequent biblical means of describing who Jesus is. For example, He is pictured as the Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the Word, the Light of the World, the Vine, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the Bright Morning Star.[19]

Word pictures, we’ll see, are also embedded everywhere in Scripture to show off God’s love for you and me. They’re God’s “can’t miss” way of touching our lives with His love!

We’ve looked at men and women who have conveyed their most important messages with this language of love. By standing in the shadow of these giants, you can gain their advantage —the power to change and enrich lives. But this isn’t the only reason for using word pictures. There are four more that can provide a bedrock foundation for building lasting relationships with others.

2. Word Pictures Grab and Direct Attention because Our Brains Are Wired to React to Stories.

A wise husband or wife can uncover the secret that advertisers have used for years to capture a person’s attention. Advertisers know they have only a few seconds to make their pitch. By wrapping brief word pictures around their corporate slogans, they ensure their message outlives their commercial. Who can forget slogans such as “You’re in good hands,” “Fifteen minutes could save you 15 percent or more,” and “Like a good neighbor”? Similarly, we don’t drive cars; we drive Mustangs and Rams.

Studies show that when we hear a word picture, our brains work faster and expend much more energy than while reading or listening to conventional words.[20] To illustrate, read a page of your favorite novel and an equal amount from the encyclopedia. You’ll find yourself reading the novel much faster, and for good reason.

Your response to a story is like driving into a layer of fog along the California coast. You’re instantly alert, working hard to spot what’s ahead. You strain to see the divider lines, and your eyes ache as they search for brake lights. Your mind won’t let you relax until you emerge from the fog and can see clearly again.

In like manner, an emotional word picture creates a mist in your listener’s mind. It forces him to strain mentally to see what lies beyond your story. And when the fog lifts, the person finally breaks out into a clearer understanding of what you wanted to express. For a weekly example of this, just watch the sleepyheads snap up in the pews when a minister uses a well-timed illustration in the middle of a sermon!

It has been said that the first 30 seconds of a conversation are crucial.[21] Great communicators know that a word picture can give them an advantage from the moment they begin to speak. You can use this attention-grabbing advantage in your communication —even with hard-to-reach people.

Part of why word pictures grab our attention is that when we hear one, it’s like our brain is seeing a picture. In the journal Frontiers of Psychology, brain science experts talk about how powerful images are in stimulating our actions and thoughts. But that’s also true with “emotional pictures,” or word pictures: “In many studies, the amplified processing of emotional pictures is accompanied by activation increases in limbic and para-limbic regions, i.e., the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, and dorso-medial prefrontal cortical regions.”[22]

“The human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor,” social psychologist Jonathan Haidt said.[23] And the scientific evidence of the effectiveness of storytelling is extensive.

We’re “wired” to have a “picture” influence whether we choose one product over another at the store. At least according to some, we pick one candidate over the other based on whether we “get the picture” they’re selling. Or, in Alyssa’s case, her picture grabbed her father’s attention and turned it back to their family.

3. Word Pictures Get Us to Feel What Another Person Is Sharing.

Another major reason for using word pictures is that they activate a person’s emotions, which can lead to positive change. Up until the onset of puberty, children experience change primarily through straightforward teaching and instruction.[24] But once puberty hits, words alone have far less impact. For adolescents and adults, life changes occur mainly through significant emotional events, such as a death, marriage, birth, loss of a parent, breaking off of a relationship, winning or failing to win an award, or making a religious commitment.[25]

Word pictures simultaneously tap into a person’s emotions, intellect, and will by creating a “theater of the mind,” or “mental journey.” As we read earlier, hunters who saw Disney’s movie Bambi® got more than they paid for. Many of them emotionally experienced the dark side of their sport for the first time. Instead of reveling in the thrill of the hunt, they felt the emotions of a youngster seeing its mother gunned down.

Studies have shown that word pictures not only activate our emotions, but they also physically affect us.[26] That is, when we hear a story about either a real or imaginary event, our five senses are triggered almost as if we experienced the event ourselves.[27]

This helps explain why you can feel so drained after reading a thrilling book or watching a suspenseful movie. In reality, you’re safely curled up in your chair, far removed from the crazed tribe of cannibals. But physiologically, you experience the same shortness of breath and the release of chemicals that pour into the hero’s bloodstream.[28]

Not only does fear prompt this reaction, but so also do love and other positive emotions. Many women are in marriages devoid of emotional warmth. Where do they turn for romance millions of times a year? To the picture of love painted in romantic novels. Reading about someone else’s romance (real or imagined) causes these women to experience, at least in some measure, the longed-for feelings of love.

When Alyssa mailed her word picture to her father, she actually sent him a time bomb. Her words exploded inside him, forcing him to experience physically and emotionally the damage he had caused others. And, as mentioned earlier, awakened emotions can prompt changes in one’s thinking. What’s more, we plant within the listener a lasting seed that can grow into a changed life —even if that person rejects our words at first hearing.

4. Word Pictures Lock Thoughts into Our Memory.

We typically hear one or both parties in a struggling marriage complain, “Why can’t he (or she) remember what I say?” Actually, frustrated spouses aren’t the only ones who feel they’re talking to deaf ears and forgetful minds.

A constant complaint of ministers, teachers, and other educators is that people don’t remember what they’ve been taught. In part, this is because so much teaching is done by straight lecture. There are certain advantages to this mode of instruction. However, just a few hours after a half-hour speech, the average person will remember only 7 percent of the message.

As you might suspect, researchers have shown that people remember concepts and conversations far longer and much more vividly when a word picture is used. In fact, the more novel or bizarre the story or object, the longer the concept is remembered.

Corrie ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor and noted worldwide speaker, impressed this principle on us. “Don’t ever step in front of a group without an object or story that illustrates what you’re saying,” she would tell us in her firm, heavily accented voice. “Every place I speak, I use one. And even when I’ve been away for years, people still remember what I’ve said.”

In her travels, Corrie became a symbol of hope to anyone in spiritual or physical bondage. When she spoke before a group, she often held up a large piece of embroidery with the back side showing. Strings hung every which way, and no clear pattern could be discerned.

“This is the way our lives often look,” she would say. “When I was in the concentration camp, it seemed there was nothing but ugliness and chaos. But then I looked to God to make sense of my world” —at that point she would turn the tapestry around, revealing to her audience a beautifully embroidered crown —“and at last I could see why He added a certain thread or color, no matter how painful the stitching.”

Like the memory of a moonlit walk, word pictures linger long after they’ve been spoken. When Alyssa sent her letter to her father, it made an immediate impact on his life. However, he told us later that it was its lasting impact —the way it stayed in his mind for days and continued to convict him —that broke through to his heart.

5. Word Pictures Provide a Gateway to Intimacy.

As powerful as these four reasons are to use emotional word pictures, they’re overshadowed by the fifth: Word pictures open the door to meaningful and intimate relationships.

In nearly every home, major problems can surface because men and women have markedly different ways of thinking and talking. But emotional word pictures help couples find common ground. Time and again we’ve seen dull, unfulfilling marriages transformed into vibrant, mutually satisfying relationships. It doesn’t happen by magic or without consistent work. It happens because people discover the gateway to intimacy through the language of love. And we’ll show you how in the next chapter.