SAFILT Tools and Resources: Clean Language

Introduction

Clean language is a questioning and discussion technique which explores and works with people’s personal metaphors.  Most people talk in metaphor.

These are mainly ‘dead’ metaphors, which are so common to us we don’t even realise that they have been spoken, and there are other metaphors that are used in new ways that are resonant and meaningful to us. A metaphor is basically the use of imagery to represent thoughts and feelings, and it is now considered that we think unconsciously through metaphor. Metaphors such as ‘Sick as a dog’ or ‘over the moon’ are well known and oft-quoted examples of feelings of upset or euphoria, particularly by professional football players. There are other examples of metaphors used to define the functionality of things – ‘It does what it says on the tin’, and there are those which are used as indicators of individual’s personalities – ‘You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’. Generally, if someone begins or includes within a sentence a phrase such as ‘it felt like I was…’ then it is likely that a metaphor will follow. However, we do not always follow the implication of the metaphor in the way in which the speaker constructed it because we are all unique individuals with our own interpretation of what is meant. And this is where Clean Language can be used as a tool to explore people’s experiences through using metaphor as a tool to dig deeper.

The Origins of Clean Language

Clean Language has emerged out of psychotherapy, particularly the work of David Grove. It is now used across different disciplines, such as market research, counselling, and business strategy. It is essentially about trying to create questions which are as ‘clean’ as they possibly can be. This means trying to ask questions which have as little metaphor, assumption, or personal preference to them as is possible. This leaves the client/patient, or in this case the debrief participant, with the maximum freedom for their own thinking.

Clean Language attempts to enable our thinking (or more particularly the other person's thinking if viewed from the questioner's viewpoint) to be as pure and clear as possible so that clarity of awareness, understanding, decision-making and human relations is optimised. The fundamental principles of Clean Language are quite simple:

• Listen attentively
• Keep your opinions and advice to yourself as far as possible
• Ask Clean Language questions to explore a person's metaphors (or everyday statements)
• Listen to the answers and then ask more Clean Language questions about what the other person has said.

There are twelve core clean language questions that were devised by Grove that fit within three distinct areas. It is also important (given the psychotherapy roots to this process) that the focus is on generating positive rather than negative metaphors. The questions set out by Grove are:

Developing Questions
"(And) what kind of X (is that X)?"
"(And) is there anything else about X?"
"(And) where is X? or (And) whereabouts is X?"
"(And) that's X like what?"
"(And) is there a relationship between X and Y?"
"(And) when X, what happens to Y?"
Sequence and Source Questions
"(And) then what happens? or (And) what happens next?"
" (And) what happens just before X?"
"(And) where could X come from?"

Intention Questions
"(And) what would X like to have happen?"
"(And) what needs to happen for X?"
"(And) can X (happen)?"

In these questions, X and Y represent the person's words (or non-verbals)

What we can see in these questions is the gentle encouragement to use metaphors as a response to the question. Once that occurs then the possibility of opening up the understanding or the progression of the experience becomes more available. This can be done by extending the metaphor further using the exact words that the respondent uses to ask the next question. A model developing a way in which this is more visually understood and applied has been developed by Tompkins and Lawley (1997), which is found below:

Tompkins and Lawley (1997) use the term ‘less is more’ to describe the way in which clean language works. By keeping language as neutral as possible as the facilitator, the respondent is able to deepen their own understanding of the metaphors used and their symbolic interpretation. The article to which this diagram belongs is found here: http://www.cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/109/1/Less-Is-More-The-Art-of-Clean-Language/Page1.html It also contains a small animation of clean language in action
This concept of neutrality of language may be useful as a way of letting individuals and the group to lead themselves to certain conclusions in the scenario debriefing process.

Conclusion

Clean Language offers a different way of exploring the subject more fundamentally through the eyes of the participant. Its aims of trying to avoid contaminating the responses by not directing the way in which they are explored can make this a more authentic form of self-discovery in the learning process, as was discussed in the introduction to Learner Centeredness. It may be that the relationship with metaphor is not one that you particularly wish to follow. However, the principle of clean language is to follow a lead into a deeper appreciation, and by using and repeating back the terms expressed by the candidate to follow a path to greater understanding then an equally positive outcome may be achieved without direction from yourself.

ACCESS VIDEO FILE CLEAN_LANGUAGE NOW USING THE BUTTON AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS WEBPAGE

In this clip, Ian picks up on the concept of ‘difficult patient’ as expressed by members of the group.  By exploring the metaphor of ‘difficult patient’ he is able to facilitate a discussion on why the patient may be behaving in the way that they are and the responses to this made by the clinical team.

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References

Thompson, P. Lawley, J. (1997)  Less is More... The Art of Clean Language, Rapport; Issue 35 February