Hyperbole is a tricky thing. In a joke, it works great. Its the foundation of a tall tale (TO BRASKY!). But in a conversation of ideas, it can backfire.
The trick about humans is that we rarely know exactly what the humans around us are thinking. Do they agree with what I’m saying? Are my jokes bombing? Is this presentation interesting or is the audience playing on their phones?
So the trick with hyperbole is that I might make an exagerated statement to move things along. But the other people in the conversation might think I actually mean what I said. Maybe they understand the thought behind the hyperbole, but maybe I end up unintentionally derailing the conversation. More times than I can remember, I’ve said something bold to move things along and it totally backfired. Hyperbole backfired.
Nothing beats concise language.
