Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds

Very interesting new layer for improving communication quality

This book adds a new and interesting layer for improving my communication skills by highlighting the importance of listening closely to the client and being more present and attentive during interactions. It is easy to read and the examples given make sense in the real world. I was surprised at how simple the overall concept of Clean Language is and I believe that with regular practise, it will assist to make my conversations more effective.

Clean language is all about making the most out of the client's own situation without 'polluting' it with your own advice, opinions or ideas whenever possible. By listening and paying close attention and by using the clean language questions with metaphor, crafted from the client's experience, we can get more information out of the client because they may feel that they're being listened to, understood, and may open up more due to the increased rapport.

Metaphor is discussed a considerable amount throughout the book, the difference I found with this book's take on metaphor compared to my previous thoughts was that the most powerful metaphors can be crafted from the direct experiences of the client. You do not need to have loads of pre-made generic metaphors because the client brings what is relevant to them and their context is much more impactive and important to them than anything that can be bought from outside of their experiences.

By using clean language, we can encourage the client to expand and immerse themselves into their experiences because we can use clean language questions to get more information which can be built into the transformational metaphor which can only aid the client to make the changes that they want or need to make to achieve their outcome.