258. Making Concepts Tangible: An Introduction to Cognitive Semiotics (Refreshed Episode)

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today’s episode is all about making concepts tangible (what that means and why it matters in life and business). I am so excited to refresh this episode for you today because it shows how I was excited about something I didn’t have a word for several years ago, but was already searching for. Now I know this was at the root of my interest in cognitive semiotics, something we are digging into on this coming Friday’s episode with Sarah Thompson. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cognitive semiotics may sound super technical, but it is essentially about how the mind makes meaning, and we talk a lot about metaphor in that conversation. These brain associations and the concepts like a blue square or yellow triangle, which I introduce in this episode are from George Lakoff (I read about in his book</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The Political Mind</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, which was part of the reading in my master’s program. I wish they would have included</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Metaphors We Live By</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">as that would have changed my entire life if I had encountered it all these years ago, but I think things turned out ok so I’m not too mad about it.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While I didn’t realize it at the time, this episode from 2019 was my first real dive into cognitive semiotics and metaphor elicitation. This episode is all about what it means to make a concept “tangible” or a physical manifestation or physical representation of a concept, and why that is important for all kinds of businesses. Listen in for tips on making things more tangible (and making it easier for people to buy from you). </span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Show Notes:</span></h3> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[00:38] Today’s episode is all about making concepts tangible.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[02:43] This isn’t really a topic you can