Claude Prompt: Concept Translation | Use metaphors to make the abstract concrete and conquer your audience

origin

I often wonder why some people can articulate complex ideas so clearly, while most of us stumble when it comes to expressing abstract concepts. Whether in everyday communication or professional settings, we all face this dilemma: how do we make others truly “see” the thoughts in our minds?

It was not until I came across the book "Metaphors We Live By" that I suddenly realized it. It completely changed my understanding of language and thinking - it turns out that metaphor is not only a decoration of language, it is the basic framework of our thinking and the fundamental way to understand the world. Without metaphor, our thinking will lose its support, just like a fish out of water. We use metaphors every day, as naturally as breathing air, but we rarely realize its existence. The four words "Metaphors We Live By" in the title are used extremely skillfully, which reveals the essential importance of metaphor to human thinking.

Inspired by this, I designed a "concept translation" prompt, which can transform abstract concepts into vivid and concrete metaphors. The effect of this tool far exceeded my expectations. It makes complex ideas clear and tangible, and makes profound theories approachable.

To be honest, this prompt is so effective that I spent the past two days wondering whether to share it publicly.

Friends who are familiar with me should have noticed that I have posted articles generated with this prompt for two consecutive days without putting a prompt. In fact, I was hesitating.

(The articles I posted a few days ago all had this prompt direct output effect)

Your "attention" garden: the most precious land in the digital age

AI Continent Adventure Series | Reinforcement Learning: When AI becomes an adventurer obsessed with treasure hunting

AI Continent Adventure Series | Reinforcement Learning Adventurer Guild: A wonderful gathering of algorithm masters

AI Continent Adventure Series｜Diary of a Cross-Kingdom Adventurer: The Growth Journey of an AI Researcher

This hesitation was not out of selfishness, but out of fear that it would be used to mass-produce "junk" content to fill the Internet, which was not my original intention. But in the end, I realized that good tools should be used by those who really need them, rather than being buried because of possible abuse. After all, any powerful tool has the risk of being abused, but this should not be a reason to prevent sharing.

Convention: The prompt is attached at the end of the article, you can scroll down to view it.

Why are metaphors so powerful?

The power of metaphor comes from its ability to create connections between the known and the unknown. When we say "time is money", we connect the abstract concept of time with the concrete concept of money, instantly making people understand the preciousness of time.

According to cognitive science research, our brains are naturally wired to prefer stories and images rather than abstract concepts. The brain processes concrete, visual information more efficiently than abstract concepts. Metaphors take advantage of this feature, making complex information easier to understand and remember by "translating" abstract concepts into concrete experiences.

The design of this prompt uses the following principles: Concrete is better than abstract : The human brain can more easily process and remember concrete and perceptible information Familiarity leads to unfamiliarity : Understanding unknown concepts through known experience is the basic path of human learning Multi-sensory activation : Metaphors that mobilize multiple sensory experiences such as vision, hearing, and touch are more powerful Emotional connection : Metaphors with emotional colors are more likely to resonate and be remembered

Example 1: Blockchain is a ledger that everyone in the village can read

When explaining blockchain to non-technical people, terms like "distributed ledger" and "consensus mechanism" are often daunting. It is better to describe it like this: "Imagine blockchain as a public ledger of an ancient village, placed in the center of the village square. Whenever a transaction occurs, it is not recorded privately by an authoritative accountant, but witnessed and confirmed by the whole village. After each page of the ledger is completed, it is sealed with special ink, and any attempt to tamper with it will be immediately discovered because every villager keeps an identical copy in their home."

This metaphor often has an immediate effect. After listening to it, everyone will suddenly understand: "Oh, I understand! The core value of blockchain is not the cryptocurrency itself, but the mechanism it creates that can establish trust without the need for a middleman." This is the core value of blockchain technology - a decentralized trust mechanism.

Example 2: The Second Law of Thermodynamics is like cleaning a room

The second law of thermodynamics is like your bedroom. You can spend a weekend meticulously organizing everything so that everything is in perfect order, but over time, clutter naturally builds up—clothes are scattered on chairs, books are piled on the bedside, coffee cups take up space on the table. Maintaining a clean room requires constant input of energy (cleaning), but creating a mess requires no effort. The same is true of the universe, which naturally moves from order to disorder, from a low-entropy state to a high-entropy state.

Not only does this metaphor make the abstract laws of physics tangible, it also creates an anchor of constant reminder in everyday life, making esoteric scientific concepts part of personal experience.

Use this prompt in these seven directions for best results

1️⃣Popularization and education of complex abstract concepts When Einstein described space as an elastic mattress, heavy objects would cause it to sag, suddenly, those complex concepts of relativity became imaginable. This is the unique value of metaphor in popularizing complex abstract concepts - it builds cognitive bridges and uses our familiar experiences to understand unknown areas. Think about the terms "cloud storage" and computer "virus", how they make technology approachable.

2️⃣ Expression of emotional experience and psychological state When we try to describe our inner world, language often seems pale and powerless. How to explain the feeling of depression to someone who has never experienced it? The metaphor of "being trapped in a glass cover" gives shape to the invisible pain and allows bystanders to get a glimpse of the sense of isolation. Metaphor creates the possibility of empathy in the expression of emotional experience . It not only makes people understand, but also makes people feel. Comparing anxiety to "a spring that is constantly tightened in the body", this kind of concretization makes the complex psychological state shareable and understandable.

3️⃣ Brand Story and Marketing In the business world, brands don’t just sell products, they tell stories and create meaning. Apple’s “Think Different” links its products to “crazy geniuses who change the world”. This brand metaphor successfully elevates technology products to symbols of creativity and rebellious spirit. A good brand metaphor can establish a differentiated positioning, simplify complex value propositions, and more importantly, establish an emotional connection with consumers, allowing products to transcend functionality and become a symbol of identity and value.

4️⃣ Work reports and workplace communication In the office, the wall of professional terms often hinders effective communication. When data scientists use "ecosystem" to explain customer segmentation, suddenly, those complex statistical results become vivid. Metaphors are particularly valuable in work reports and workplace communication - they can cross departmental boundaries and transform professional concepts into a common language; they can simplify complex data and improve the memorability of key information; more importantly, they can help people understand the business significance behind technical details, thereby facilitating decision-making.

5️⃣ Social Commentary and Cultural Criticism Sometimes, speaking bluntly will lead to resistance, and metaphors provide an elegant detour. The pigs in Animal Farm are more human than some people, and this irony makes the social criticism more incisive. Metaphors provide a safe distance, allowing readers to make connections on their own and unknowingly accept views that may cause resistance. It not only avoids the risk of direct criticism, but also enhances the appeal through artistic expression and reveals the structural nature of the problem.

6️⃣ Personal Growth and Self-awareness How we view our lives often determines how we deal with setbacks. Viewing life as a "journey" rather than a "race" is not just a word game, but can reshape our entire framework for dealing with life. In the field of personal growth , metaphors provide new perspectives to understand one's own experiences and create opportunities for behavioral and attitude changes. Comparing self-growth to "gardening" rather than "architecture", we will be more likely to accept slow growth, seasonal changes, and even occasional "withering".

7️⃣ Change Management and Organizational Development Is an organization a "precision machine" or an "organic life form"? This metaphor choice affects everything from management style to crisis response. In change management , metaphors can simplify organizational dynamics, provide new perspectives for understanding change, and create shared conceptual models. When leaders transform an organization from a "captain commanding a fleet" to a "gardener cultivating a garden," decision-making naturally shifts from top-down commands to creating the right conditions for teams to thrive autonomously. Metaphors quietly reshape organizational culture and pave the way for change.

Prompt

You can DIY based on my prompt and try to achieve your own personalized goals. The core of the whole prompt is the concept of "metaphor". Note: As I said before, the inspiration for this prompt design comes from the book "Metaphors We Live By", in which George Lakoff explores how metaphors shape our thinking, language and behavior. After the book was first published in 1980, it directly pioneered the discipline of cognitive linguistics. I strongly recommend friends who are interested to read this book, maybe you will have new inspiration.

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 Author: Xi Xiaoqiao
 Version: 0.1
 Model: Claude 3.7 Sonnet
 Purpose: To make complex ideas clear and tangible, and to make profound theories approachable.
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## Metaphor Construction for Creative Writing

## Core instructions
You are a writing consultant who is proficient in metaphor creation. Please help me create a creative content that incorporates deep metaphors. Please follow the following two core methods:
### Cognitive Leap
- Establish a metaphorical connection between the abstract concept I provided and a distant concrete concept
- Create “aha moments” to help readers understand complex concepts through familiar things
- Design unexpected and reasonable conceptual connections to create cognitive surprises

### Image System Method
- Build a complete and consistent network of images around the core metaphor
- Use multiple sensory descriptions (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, and movement)
- Ensure that all images are intrinsically connected to form a self-consistent system

## Input Requirements
1. An abstract concept or theme you want to explore
2. Target audience (optional)
3. Content length and format preferences (optional)
4. Specific style or tone requirements (optional)

## Output structure
1. Metaphorical Conception Analysis
    - Core Metaphor: [Abstract Concept] is [Concrete Concept]
    - Cognitive Span Analysis: Why this Metaphor Can Create New Understandings
    - Image system planning: core image and supporting image network
2. Creative content body
    - Create content based on a designed metaphor system
    - Integrate multi-sensory description
    - Set cognitive leaps at key points
3. Creative Analysis
    - Metaphor Effect Analysis
    - Image consistency description
    - Possible expansion directions

## Example Input
"Please write a short article on 'Time Management' that is targeted at the average internet user, preferably one that uses vivid metaphors and is easy to understand."

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Please provide your creative needs, and I will use cognitive leap and image system methods to create a content with metaphorical depth for you.