ILLUSTRATIONS and examples are powerful teaching devices. They often command and hold attention with remarkable effectiveness. They stimulate the thinking faculties. They stir up emotions and thus may reach the conscience and the heart. At times, illustrations may be used to overcome prejudice. They are also an effective memory aid. Do you use them in your teaching?

Figures of speech are illustrations that usually require only a few words; yet they can paint vivid mental images. When they are chosen carefully, much of their meaning is self-evident. But a teacher may reinforce their value by adding a brief explanation. The Bible is filled with examples from which you can learn.

Start With Similes and Metaphors. Similes are the simplest figure of speech. If you are just learning to use illustrations, you may find it helpful to start with these. They are usually introduced with the word “like” or “as.” While comparing two things that are quite different, similes highlight something these have in common. The Bible is rich with figurative speech that draws on created things​—plants, animals, and heavenly bodies—​as well as human experience. At Psalm 1:3, we are told that a person who regularly reads God’s Word is “like a tree planted by streams of water,” a tree that is fruitful and does not wither. The wicked one is said to be “like a lion” that lies in wait to seize prey. (Ps. 10:9) Jehovah promised Abraham that his seed would become “like the stars of the heavens” for number and “like the grains of sand that are on the seashore.” (Gen. 22:17) Regarding the close relationship that Jehovah made possible between himself and the nation of Israel, God said: “Just as a belt clings to the hips of a man,” so He caused Israel and Judah to cling to Him.​—Jer. 13:11.

Metaphors too highlight a similarity between two very different things. But the metaphor is more forceful. It speaks as though the one thing were the other, and thus it imparts some quality from one thing to the other. Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the light of the world.” (Matt. 5:14) Describing the damage that can be done by uncontrolled speech, the disciple James wrote: “The tongue is a fire.” (Jas. 3:6) To Jehovah, David sang: “You are my crag and my stronghold.” (Ps. 31:3) A metaphor that is well chosen usually needs little or no explanation. Its forcefulness is enhanced by its brevity. A metaphor can help your audience to remember a point in a way that a simple statement of fact does not.

Hyperbole is exaggeration, which must be used discreetly or it could be misunderstood. Jesus used this figure of speech to paint an unforgettable picture when he asked: “Why . . . do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3) Before you try to use this or other figures of speech, learn to make effective use of the simile and the metaphor.

Use Examples. Instead of using a figure of speech, you may choose to employ examples, whether fictional narratives or real-life experiences, as teaching aids. These tend to get out of hand, so they need to be handled well. Such examples should be used only to support points that are truly important, and they ought to be presented in such a way that the point of instruction is remembered, not merely the story.

Although not all examples have to be actual occurrences, they should reflect true-life attitudes or situations. Thus, when teaching how repentant sinners ought to be viewed, Jesus illustrated his point by telling about the rejoicing of a man who found his lost sheep. (Luke 15:1-7) In reply to a man who was failing to get the full import of what the Law meant by the command to love one’s neighbor, Jesus related a story about a Samaritan who helped an injured man after a priest and a Levite failed to do so. (Luke 10:30-37) If you learn to be a keen observer of people’s attitudes and actions, you can make effective use of this teaching device.

The prophet Nathan related an imaginary situation as a means of reproving King David. The story was effective because it avoided a situation that might have led David to react with self-justification. The story involved a rich man who had many sheep and a man of little means who had just one female lamb that he was raising with tender care. David himself had been a shepherd, so he could understand the feelings of the owner of that lamb. David reacted with righteous indignation against the rich man who had seized the poor man’s cherished lamb. Then Nathan straightforwardly said to David: “You yourself are the man!” David’s heart was reached, and he sincerely repented. (2 Sam. 12:1-14) With practice, you can learn to deal with emotional issues in an appealing manner.

Many examples that are valuable for teaching can be drawn from events recorded in the Scriptures. Jesus did this in a few words when he said: “Remember the wife of Lot.” (Luke 17:32) When detailing the sign of his presence, Jesus referred to “the days of Noah.” (Matt. 24:37-39) In Hebrews chapter 11, the apostle Paul referred to 16 men and women by name as examples of faith. As you become well acquainted with the Bible, you will be able to draw powerful examples from what the Scriptures say about the events and people named in its pages.​—Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11.

At times you may find it beneficial to reinforce a point of instruction with a real-life, modern-day experience. When doing this, however, be careful to use only experiences that have been verified and to avoid those that would unnecessarily embarrass anyone in your audience or that would draw attention to a controversial subject that is not at issue. Remember, too, that the experience should serve a purpose. Do not relate needless details that tend to divert attention from the objective of your presentation.

Will It Be Understood? Whatever illustration or example you use, it ought to accomplish some definite objective. Will it do that if you do not make application of it to the subject under discussion?

After referring to his disciples as “the light of the world,” Jesus added a few remarks about how a lamp is used and what responsibility this implied for them. (Matt. 5:15, 16) He followed up his illustration of the lost sheep with a comment about the joy in heaven over a sinner who repents. (Luke 15:7) And after his story about the neighborly Samaritan, Jesus asked his listener a pointed question and followed it up with some direct counsel. (Luke 10:36, 37) In contrast, Jesus explained his illustration about the various kinds of soil and the one about the weeds in the field only to those humble enough to ask, not to the crowds. (Matt. 13:1-30, 36-43) Three days before his death, Jesus spoke an illustration about murderous vineyard cultivators. He made no application; none was needed. “The chief priests and the Pharisees . . . took note that he was speaking about them.” (Matt. 21:33-45) So the nature of the illustration, the attitude of the audience, and your objective all have a bearing on whether application is required and, if so, how much.

Developing the ability to use illustrations and examples effectively takes time, but the effort is well worth it. Well-chosen illustrations couple intellectual appeal with emotional impact. The result is that the message is conveyed with a force that is not often possible with simple statements of fact.

IT IS important, of course, that whatever illustrations you use fit the material you are discussing. For them to be most effective, however, it is equally important that they fit your audience.

How might the type of audience influence your selection of illustrations for speaking to a group? What did Jesus Christ do? Whether he was speaking to the crowds or to his disciples, Jesus did not take his examples from ways of life unique to lands outside of Israel. Such examples would have been unfamiliar to his audience. For instance, Jesus made no mention of the court life of Egypt or the religious practices of India. Still, his illustrations did draw on activities common to people in all lands. He spoke of mending clothes, carrying on business, losing something precious, and attending marriage feasts. He understood how people react under various circumstances, and he made use of this. (Mark 2:21; Luke 14:7-11; 15:8, 9; 19:15-23) Since his public preaching was directed particularly to the people of Israel, Jesus’ illustrations most frequently alluded to objects and activities that were part of their daily lives. Thus, he referred to such things as farming, the way sheep respond to their shepherd, and the use of animal skins to store wine. (Mark 2:22; 4:2-9; John 10:1-5) He also pointed to familiar historical examples​—the creation of the first human couple, the Flood of Noah’s day, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the death of Lot’s wife, to mention a few. (Matt. 10:15; 19:4-6; 24:37-39; Luke 17:32) Do you similarly consider carefully the activities common to your audience and their cultural background when selecting illustrations?

What if you are speaking, not to a large group, but to one person or perhaps to just a few? Endeavor to select an illustration that is especially appropriate for that small audience. When Jesus witnessed to a Samaritan woman at a well near Sychar, he spoke of “living water,” ‘never getting thirsty again,’ and “a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life”​—all of which were figures of speech directly connected to that woman’s work. (John 4:7-15) And when he spoke to men who had been washing their fishing nets, the figure of speech that he chose involved the fishing business. (Luke 5:2-11) In either instance, he might have made reference to farming, since they lived in an agricultural area, but how much more effective it was to allude to their personal activity as he painted a mental picture! Do you endeavor to do that?

Whereas Jesus directed attention to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” the apostle Paul was sent not only to Israel but also to the Gentile nations. (Matt. 15:24; Acts 9:15) Did this make a difference in the way Paul spoke? Yes. When writing to Christians in Corinth, he referred to foot races, mentioned the practice of eating meals in idol temples, and alluded to the triumphal processions, things with which those Gentiles would be acquainted.​—1 Cor. 8:1-10; 9:24, 25; 2 Cor. 2:14-16.

Are you as careful as Jesus and Paul were in selecting illustrations and examples to use in your teaching? Do you consider the background and the daily activity of your listeners? Of course, there have been changes in the world since the first century. Many people have access to world news by means of television. Situations in foreign lands are often familiar to them. Where that is the case, it certainly is not amiss to draw on such news items for illustrations. Nevertheless, the things that touch people most deeply usually involve their personal lives​—their home, their family, their work, the food they eat, the weather in their area.

If your illustration requires a lot of explanation, you may be talking about something that is not familiar to your audience. Such an illustration can easily overshadow the point of the instruction. As a result, the audience may remember your illustration but not the Scriptural truth that you were endeavoring to convey.

Instead of making complicated comparisons, Jesus used simple, everyday matters. He made use of little things to explain big things and easy things to make hard things plain. By making connections between everyday events and spiritual truths, Jesus helped people to grasp more readily the spiritual truths he was teaching and to remember these. What a fine example to follow!