On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

The Magnificent Art of Making Mountains from Molehills

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

In the grand pantheon of human cognitive biases – those delightfully irrational quirks that make behavioural economics so fascinating – our capacity for hyperbole stands proudly as perhaps the most spectacularly magnificent achievement in the entire history of mankind. You see what I did there? The brilliant thing about hyperbole isn’t just its ability to […]

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The Delicious Paradox of Irony: Why Nothing Works Quite Like It Should

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

There’s something wonderfully British about the fact that our most effective solutions often emerge from getting things precisely wrong. Not wrong in the ham-fisted manner of a government IT project, mind you, but wrong in that deliciously counterintuitive way that makes behavioural scientists wiggle their eyebrows with glee. Consider the humble traffic light. Common sense

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The Peculiar Power of Consonance: Why Your Brain Loves a Nice Ring to Things

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

There’s something rather magical about the way certain phrases stick in our minds like particularly stubborn bits of bubble gum to the underside of a desk. “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” “She sells seashells by the seashore.” “Good things come to those who wait.” What these memorable morsels share, beyond their uncanny ability to lodge

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The Peculiar Power of Assonance: Why Your Ears Love What Your Brain Can’t Explain

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

There’s something rather magical about the way certain phrases stick in our minds, isn’t there? Take “rain and pain” or “fleet feet sweep”. They’re oddly satisfying, like a perfectly toasted crumpet or finding exact change in your pocket. But why? As a behavioural scientist perpetually fascinated by the seemingly irrational quirks of human preference, I’ve

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The Magnificent Art of Saying Less Than Necessary

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

There’s something rather magnificent about the British tendency to understate things – a peculiar alchemy that transforms the mundane act of downplaying into an art form of surprising sophistication. It’s a phenomenon that deserves far more attention than it gets, particularly from those of us obsessed with human behaviour and its delightfully irrational quirks. The

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The Peculiar Power of Cacophony: Why Discord Might Be Your Brand’s Best Friend

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

There’s something rather marvellous about cacophony, isn’t there? That glorious clash of sounds that makes your neighbours wonder if you’re hosting an experimental jazz ensemble or perhaps torturing a choir of tone-deaf cats. But here’s the thing: we’ve got it all wrong about noise. For decades, marketers have been obsessed with harmony, consistency, and what

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The Peculiar Power of Properly Placed P’s: Why Alliteration Adds Astronomical Advantage

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

Possibly the most potent psychological peculiarity in the pantheon of persuasive prose is the preposterously powerful practice of precise phonetic parallelism – or what we plebeians simply call alliteration. Now, before you dismiss this delightfully deft device as merely the mischievous machinations of medieval monks or the playful province of poetry professors, consider how consistently

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The Profound Psychology of Repetition: Why Saying Things Twice Works Twice As Well

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

In the grand pantheon of rhetorical devices, there lurks a peculiar beast that advertising folks and persuasion architects have been wielding with devastating effect for centuries. It’s called conduplicatio, and it’s absolutely magical, properly magical, devastatingly magical. The Psychology Behind the Magic Let’s start with a rather wonderful discovery from the world of cognitive psychology.

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The Hidden Power of Metaphor: Why Your Brain Loves a Good Analogy

On Rhetoric and Literary Devices

Remember that ancient mobile phone you had in 1999? The one with the aerial that could take someone’s eye out? Well, that aerial was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. It did absolutely nothing for reception – it was pure metaphor, a visual shorthand that screamed “I am a device for communicating across vast

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