The Proverb Construction Kit™ is a writing coach in your pocket.
Use it to transform a complex idea into succinct statements that are interesting, memorable, and repeatable.
Who is it for?
- Communicators who are looking for ways to keep their complex ideas short and sweet
- Enterprises seeking memorable ways of delivering their messages
- Agencies seeking to help their clients take the air out of bloated messaging
What is it used for?
- Creating presentation titles
- Making messages repeatable
- Brainstorming multiple ways to say the same thing…but better.
How Does it work?
The Proverb Construction Kit™ prompts its users through the process of compacting an idea, message or presentation into a sentence (or less). The deck is divided into three suits that represent the three components of any proverb: function, frame, and finish.
Function Cards help you define what you want your proverb to do:
1. Definition
2. Prediction
3. Prescription
Frame Cards add structure to your your proverb.
4. Comparison
5. Conditional
6. Derivative (Rare)
7. Implied (Rare)
8. Metaphoric (Rare)
Finish cards add the linguistic magic that makes proverbs both roll off the tongue and embed deep into the listener’s memory.
9. Conviction
10. Ellipsis
11. Negation
12. Alliteration (Poetic)
13. Assonance (Poetic)
14. Consonance (Poetic)
15. Rhyme (Poetic)
16. Rhythm (Poetic)
17. Association (Wordplay)
18. Double-Use (Wordplay)
19. Opposite (Wordplay)
20. Reversals (Wordplay)
21. Substitution (Wordplay)
What can these cards do for me?
The world needs more brevity to fight TL;DR. The Proverb Construction Kit offers a step-by-step method for boiling a large concept down into a simple statement that conveys more meaning than the words it contains. Use it to:
- find that perfect sentence to cap off a subject
- create headlines
- form a single statement that’s both the premise (opening statement) and conclusion (closing statement)
- coin phrases that people remember
Why Cards? Why not a book or an app?
A physical deck of cards can be…
- used by both individuals and groups
- carried in a shirt pocket or a small purse
- and they never run out of power