Copywriting tip

Vince Cable has been a surprising success as temporary leader of the Lib Dems. Following his 'from Stalin to Mr Bean' jibe, here's his advice on using striking, visual language (quoted in The Observer):

I've begun to realise that you can't use academic language; you have to think in images. So when I was trying to describe the crisis of Northern Rock, I felt that the amount of money that had gone into it, £24bn, wouldn't mean a lot to people because it's so vast, so instead I likened it to 30 Millennium Domes.