Using Analogy in Grant Proposals

What do you call a seagull flying through the bay? A bay gull (pronounced bagel). This little gem comes from my older son. I begin this blog about analogies with a joke because I think it speaks to the power of double meanings. Even as ridiculous as the joke is, it makes us think a moment and maybe smirk, because we find it clever or even sometimes engaging and intriguing the way we can use words or phrases to mean many things.

Conversely, there are many different ways and words to explain one phenomenon. Here I'm talking about analogies. I can explain a process to you by verbatim walking you through the steps of that exact process or I can find a similar process that you're already familiar with and use that description to explain something new to you.

For instance, I attended a talk by one of our Physics Professors awhile back and she was describing how researchers are going about trying to detect dark matter. To do this she used a pool ball analogy. She said that since we cannot see dark matter, researchers theorize that we can only detect it when it bumps into molecules of regular matter that we can sense and see. She described that this bump is ever so slight, not a direct hit. She then went on to admit that she was not a good pool player and when she hits the cue ball toward a ball she wants to hit in a pocket, sadly she just skims the target ball with her cue ball and jostles it slightly. Such is the interaction with dark matter (the cue ball) and matter (the target ball). So, detecting dark matter is similar to trying to detect the jostling of the target ball (matter), which we can then assume was bumped slightly by the cue ball (dark matter).

Using this analogy, she created a clear visual for her non-expert audience on how she does her work. This analogy gave us an overview of a complicated process using something familiar to us. It was more clear and engaging for her audience than if she'd just stuck to the verbatim explanation of dark matter detection. Other researchers have used military strategy to describe information security or plastic bags to describe cell membranes in their grant proposals. These paint a picture for the reviewers and engage them because you are inviting them to make the connection between the analogy and your research with you. A good analogy can give your audience a sense of discovery and excitement around your research.

So, how do you create a good analogy for your research?

1. Identify the attributes of your research problem and project: Whatever part of your research that you feel is quite complex and needs an analogy, start listing out attributes of how it works, what it does, barriers involved, etc.

2. Compare these attributes with other matching phenomena: As you are listing attributes, you'll likely have some analogous phenomena pop into your head. If, when you're finished listing attributes and you can't think of an analogy, go bug your neighbor or a student and brainstorm with them. Describe the attributes of your research to them and see if you or they can't come up with something in discussion.

3. Test your analogy against your research problem/project: Make sure that you then compare your research to the analogy and that the pieces you're trying to describe line up. If significant pieces of your analogy work differently than your research process, keep digging for a better analogy. As great as a solid analogy is at explaining something, it is confusing when it is not aligned with what you're trying to describe.

It's not simply coincidental that analogies are a strong teaching tool and an effective grant-writing tool. Bottom line is that an analogy is a sense-making tool that allows for more effective communication in whatever form. Beyond that it makes your subject matter far more memorable!

Resources:
The Underused Writing Trick That Makes You More Powerful, Popular and Persuasive - Smartblogger
The Persuasive Power of Analogy - CopyBlogger