I got excited when I heard Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s special address at The World Economic Forum in Davos[1] .
It was his reference to Havel’s greengrocer sign that caught my attention.
I wasn’t familiar with the original parable, but I noticed Carney used it as a metaphor throughout his speech, which gave me the idea for this post.
He went on to use a wide range of rhetorical devices - linguistic techniques you can use in speech and writing to persuade, engage, or influence your audience.
Chances are you’ve used some of these in your own writing without consciously naming them.
Let’s examine some together.
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1. Extended metaphor: running a single image throughout
We’re all used to the simple, textbook example of a metaphor: a straightforward comparison like “Time is money.”
But Carney does something more expansive. He borrows an entire parable - Václav Havel’s greengrocer and his sign - and uses it as a metaphor for how countries behave on the world stage.
Havel wrote his essay “The Power of the Powerless” in 1978, in response to the oppressive communist regime of Czechoslovakia.[2] Carney introduces the metaphor after opening his address with a direct and blunt statement about “a rupture in the world order.”
The greengrocer, Carney goes on to explain, places a sign in his shop window which reads, “Workers of the world unite.” Not because the greengrocer believes the sign, but to avoid trouble.
Carney returns to the metaphor partway through the address: “…we placed the sign in the window. We participated in the rituals, and we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality.”
And much later in his address, he concludes the metaphor with, “We are taking the sign out of the window. We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it.”
Why an extended metaphor works
By cleverly borrowing the metaphor and extending it throughout his address, Carney does four things:
- He makes abstract politics concrete and easier to grasp. You can visualise a shop window. You can visualise the sign. You are immediately drawn into what he has to say on the topic.
- Second, he creates moral clarity. Carney explains that keeping the sign up means “living within a lie.” Taking it down thus becomes an act of courage.
- Third, he creates a narrative that listeners can easily follow. He doesn’t need to explain his point each time he alludes to the sign. By the end of his address, “taking the sign down” clearly means an entire shift in worldview.
- And fourth, he turns the metaphor into a call to action. The sign is no longer just an image. It’s a moral decision. Everyone understands that figurative signs have been displayed in geopolitical windows around the world. Whoever has must take theirs down.
How to use extended metaphor in your writing
Choose one central image that captures the core argument you are making - or borrow a well-known one and turn it into your own, as Carney did.
Return to the metaphor throughout your chapter or essay, and try adding new layers each time to enrich its meaning.
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2. Anaphora: the power of repetition
Anaphora repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
A famous example is Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have A Dream,” in which the phrase is repeated at the beginning of six successive clauses.[3]
Similarly, Carney uses the expression, “It means,” five times in quick succession:
- “First, it means naming reality…”
- “It means acting consistently …”
- “It means building what we claim to believe in… “
- “It means creating institutions and agreements …”
- “And it means reducing the leverage that enables coercion…”
Why anaphora works
Anaphora creates rhythm. It also builds momentum and gives you, the writer, a sense of authority - almost like a framework you are setting others to follow.
The repetition is deliberate. When your reader catches the rhythm, their ear instinctively listens for the next beat, which in turn, reinforces the message.
How to use anaphora in your writing
When making multiple related points, try starting each consecutive sentence with the same phrase. It will create a rhythm that will drive your argument.
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3. Tricolon: the rule of three
A tricolon presents three parallel elements in a balanced structure to create a sense of completeness.
Famous examples are Julius Caesar’s “Veni, vidi, vici” - ”I came, I saw, I conquered,” and Abraham Lincoln’s, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”
Carney uses tricolon early in his speech when he explains why the greengrocer places the sign in his window: “to avoid trouble, to signal compliance, to get along.”
He uses the technique again later with, “A country that can’t feed itself, fuel itself, or defend itself, has few options.”
Why tricolon works and how to use it in your writing
Using the power of three can make a statement feel shaped, compact, and complete.
To use this technique in your writing, try to group ideas or actions in threes to create a sense of balance and closure.
Compare the two examples below. The first is not a tricolon, the second is:
- “I kept revising, asking for feedback, and worrying whether it was good enough.”
- “I kept revising, asking for feedback, and second-guessing myself.”
While the first statement works, the second is pithier because the sentence has three elements that share the same grammatical structure.
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4. Aphorism: a memorable truth bomb
An aphorism expresses a general truth, a complex moral principle, or a political idea in a concise, memorable statement.
A well-known example is by Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Acton’s statement is concise, quotable, and compresses an idea about human and political behaviour into a memorable line..
Carney presents an aphorism early in his speech: “The power of the less powerful starts with honesty” (translated from French). This frames the rest of his speech - honesty is fundamental to the power dynamics between nations.
He gives us another aphorism later: “If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
It’s superb. This single line turns his entire argument about power, leverage, and marginalisation into a vivid, everyday scenario. Negotiate and work together, or be gobbled up. There’s nothing in between.
He follows each of these aphorisms with an expansion of the logic, but both expertly condense the argument to make it feel immediate, personal, and, frankly, unavoidable.
Why an aphorism works and how to use it in your writing
An aphorism is memorable. It compresses wisdom into a little nugget - and often, sounds like good old common sense.
- “All that glitters is not gold.”
- “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
But crafting an original aphorism takes practice. Here’s a tip if you want to try to create one:
- Start with the expanded statement, the argument you want to compress, for example: “I kept saying yes to work that drained me because I was afraid turning work down would make me look difficult.”
- Identify the main sentiment you want to convey: “Fear of saying no can lead to a loss of control over your time.”
- Strip it down further to an even simpler truth: “Always saying yes hands your time to other people.”nd keep playing around with your line until you have one that you’re happy with: “If you never say no, your time is never yours.”
You may need more steps depending on the complexity of the argument you’re trying to condense, but the principle remains the same.
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5. Asyndeton: cutting the fat
We use asyndeton when we intentionally omit conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses to speed up the rhythm and heighten urgency.
The tricolon I used earlier, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” is also an example of asyndeton, as it contains no conjunctions. (To avoid any confusion, a tricolon can have a conjunction - the emphasis is on structure and rhythm).
Carney uses asyndeton when he highlights how middle and great powers must negotiate to create a better worldview:
“But when we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what’s offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating.”
Each clause beginning with “we” stands beside the other with no conjunction, so we get rhythm and punch.
Why asyndeton works and how to use it in your writing
Asyndeton is a clever way to speed up your writing. By stripping away conjunctions, you force each phrase to land with greater weight.
To use asyndeton in your writing, try placing two, three, or even four short statements side by side without using conjunctions, and notice how the pace increases.
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The bigger picture: transforming your writing from good to great
Beyond these five rhetorical devices, Carney’s speech is packed with others, such as allusion, antithesis, and parallelism - along with contrast and narrative framing.
What makes his speech so compelling is how he shapes his ideas for the ear, the memory, and the emotions of his audience - the makings of a brilliantly written speech. And in case you’re wondering, Carney wrote the speech himself.[4]Great speeches offer us, as writers, a masterclass in crafting a message that resonates with our audience.
We’re not just writing to fill the page with content. We’re writing to engage, to persuade, to motivate, to entertain. To wow our readers and have them wonder.
It’s how we shape our writing - through repetition, through rhythm, through contrast, and through images that carry more than one meaning.
Ideas matter. Structure makes them memorable.
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References
[1] Forum in Focus, Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, January 20, 2026 https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-by-mark-carney-prime-minister-of-canada/
[2] HAC Bard: “The Power of the Powerless,” by Václav Havel https://hac.bard.edu/amor-mundi/the-power-of-the-powerless-vaclav-havel-2011-12-23?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[3] The Gilderman Lehrman Institute of American History, “I Have a Dream” Speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the “March on Washington,” 1963 (abridged) https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/Abridged%20MLK%20Dream%20Speech_0.pdf
[4] The Guardian, “‘Nostalgia is not a strategy’: Mark Carney is emerging as the unflinching realist ready to tackle Trump” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/21/nostalgia-is-not-a-strategy-mark-carney-is-emerging-as-the-unflinching-realist-ready-to-tackle-trump