David Grove's Clean Language

• He has a stormy disposition.
• I'm over the moon about my promotion.
• Sam is the heart of his team.
• Efficiency is the driving force for our department.
• The competition changed, but we buried our heads in the sand.
• I can't digest what you're telling me.

We all use metaphors far more than we realize, and our choice of metaphors says a lot about us as individuals. Metaphors reflect and help to shape our view of the world.

David Grove observed that when therapists use metaphors while working with clients, it can affect the client's decision making and limit their ability to resolve issues for themselves.

The same is true at work. When we use metaphors to "frame" an issue in a certain way, we direct people toward our own interpretation of the situation.

Clean Language Questions

When someone uses a metaphor in conversation, there are nine basic Clean Language questions that you can use to ensure that you understand their meaning correctly:

• And is there anything else about …?
• And what kind of … is that …?
• And where is …?
• And whereabouts?
• And what happens next?
• And then what happens?
• And what happens just before …?
• And where could … come from?
• And that's … like what?

Reproduced from 'Metaphors in Mind' by James Lawley and Penny Tompkins. For more information about the "Symbolic Modeling" process, which uses the Clean Language questions, visit their website. We have made every effort to contact the copyright holder. If you are the copyright holder, please contact us here.

The Benefits of Using Clean Language

Although Clean Language originated in psychotherapy, there are many benefits to using it in the workplace. This is particularly true in one-on-one situations, where you need to find out how a team member is really thinking and feeling.

First, the technique helps to increase your team member's self-awareness. When you reflect a person's own metaphors back to them, you enable them to spot patterns and associations in their thinking. This can give them new insights into their own thoughts and behaviors.

Clean Language also helps you to build rapport, or personal connections with people. When you mirror their language, they will likely feel supported, respected and listened to. And they'll be more motivated to improve their situation.

Using Clean Language at Work

Clean Language can be useful in coaching or mentoring sessions. It can reveal hidden or unconscious thoughts, which you can use to explore a situation or problem.

You can apply Clean Language in other settings, too. For example, you could use it in recruitment interviews, to probe more deeply into candidates' answers to your questions. It's also useful when resolving conflict, as it can help both parties to understand a situation from different perspectives.

Using Clean Language does take practice, and it may feel awkward or unwieldy at first. A good way to practice the technique is to pay attention to the metaphors that people use in everyday conversation. Try it, and see how many you can spot!

Then, count how many metaphors you use during the day. Try to reduce this number by using Clean Language when you're speaking with others. Role-Playing the technique with a co-worker can also help you to become more comfortable with it.

Using Clean Language for Coaching

When you use Clean Language for coaching, be aware of the other person's gestures and vocal tones, as well as what they are saying.

Speak more slowly and in a slightly deeper voice than the other person. Try to mirror their intonation and body language as much as possible, but without making it feel awkward or unnatural. This can help the speaker to relax and talk more openly.

Practical Application of Clean Language

Applying the principles of Clean Language has an established sequence, which you can use in any one-on-one situation.

1. Listen for Metaphors

Pay close attention to what the other person says. Your goal is to identify the metaphors they use to define their experiences.

Metaphors are often preceded with the word "like." These are known as similes. For instance, "I feel like a sick dog" or "This department is like a sinking ship" are both similes, but they're still examples of metaphorical language.

Of course, a department isn't literally like a sinking ship. Someone who uses this metaphor is not describing the facts of a situation; they're describing what the situation feels like to them.

Here's a more subtle example. In the phrase, "Samira needs to build her confidence," "build" is a metaphor. Samira is not literally building her confidence in the same way you would build a house. It's a figure of speech.

Metaphors can also be single words that don't make sense when the phrase is taken literally, such as, "He's nuts!" Again, you're not saying someone's a nut – it's just an expression.

Identifying metaphors can be challenging at first. Many metaphors are common to the point of cliché, and we don't think twice about using them. This makes Active Listening skills very important.

2. Ask a Clean Language Question

When the person has finished speaking, use one of the nine Clean Language questions to clarify what they're saying. Out of the nine, the first two are used most often.

And is there anything else about …?

And what kind of … is that …?

3. Keep Going

Each Clean Language question you use will likely provoke new insights in the person you're talking to. Keep asking questions until they have explored their feelings fully, or they have found their own way to understand the situation.

Clean Language Example

Clean Language is often best understood by comparing it with "regular" questioning techniques, which can be described as "Unclean." Here's an example of what can happen when each technique is used.

Unclean Language Example

Team member: "I feel stuck in my department."

Coach: "Is your manager hard to work with? Or are there no opportunities for you to advance?"

Team member: "I guess there's little opportunity for advancement. I'm not sure. I just feel like I'm stuck there."

In this conversation, the coach added their own ideas to the conversation before the team member could communicate exactly why they felt stuck.

The coach has led the coachee to the idea that they have little opportunity to advance, instead of allowing them to arrive at this explanation on their own. With a different use of language, they might have reached a deeper understanding of why the team member felt this way.

Clean Language Example

Team member: "I feel stuck in my department."

Coach: "You feel stuck. And what kind of stuck does that stuck look like?"

Team member: "I work on the same projects all the time. It's like I don't really matter."

Coach: "And is there anything else about feeling like you don't matter?"

Team member: "Well, I used to feel like I was valued. My boss always asked my opinion about big projects. But my new manager never seeks my advice or sends me challenging assignments. So I'm just spinning my wheels there."

When the coach used the Clean Language approach, the team member realized that the real reason they felt stuck was that they no longer felt valued. The root of the problem was their relationship with their new boss.

Clean Language calls for the questioner to keep their own thoughts, assumptions and metaphors out of the conversation as much as possible. This allows the team member to explore their own thoughts and feelings about the situation.