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Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds
This book will teach you a new way to communicate which gets to the heart of things! By asking Clean Language questions to explore the metaphors which underpin a person's thinking, you can help people to change their lives in a way that intrinsically respects diversity and supports empowerment. Both you and they will gain profound new insights into what makes them tick. The approach was originally used to help clients to resolve deep trauma. It is now being used to get to the truth and to solve complex problems by some of the sharpest and most innovative people in the world - coaches, business people, educators, health professionals and many others.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 24, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 18, 2009
“Clean” language, developed originally by David Grove, has been an interest of mine since I read “Metaphors in Mind” (Lawley and Tomkins). So, I was very interested to see the approach taken by Wendy Sullivan and Judy Rees. I’m impressed by this book’s, simplicity and practicality. For the uninitiated or novice “clean” user, this book has some great application strategies, techniques and tips.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of “clean” questioning, it is a way of helping another person find answers without giving advice. This may sound similar to the contemporary model of “coaching”, so popular today, particularly in the business context. However, “clean” is substantially different. “Clean” is as clean as possible of the questioner’s assumptions, opinions and metaphors. Furthermore, although listening is an integral component of the process of clean, it definitely does not use techniques such as paraphrasing, summarising etc, for these automatically provide the opinion of the questioner.
Chapter headings are not normally my cup of tea (there’s a metaphor for you!). However, Sullivan and Rees have selected some gems that add to the explanation and the reader’s understanding of “clean”. Two that particularly sum this up are, “No-one ever listened themselves out of a job” (Colin Coolidge, U.S. president) and “The quality of your attention determines the quality of other people’s thinking” (Nancy Kline).
As Sullivan and Rees suggest in their introduction, the book is “designed to put Clean Language in people’s hands, worldwide, ready to be used whenever it could be valuable”. To my mind, they have achieved their aim. The book has 16 chapters, each of which has a select number of practical activities which enable the reader to practise the concepts. There are just 12 “clean” questions and each is covered in detail. They form three clusters, Developing Questions (to encourage a person to become clear about what’s true for them), Sequence and Source Questions (to tease out the sequence of events), Intention Questions (to help the person establish what they would like to change).
This is a great book. If you are really interested in helping other people, then I would suggest reading this book, undertaking the activities, then reading it again. It’s one that I will certainly be using in my role as management and leadership coach and facilitator. Highly recommended.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of “clean” questioning, it is a way of helping another person find answers without giving advice. This may sound similar to the contemporary model of “coaching”, so popular today, particularly in the business context. However, “clean” is substantially different. “Clean” is as clean as possible of the questioner’s assumptions, opinions and metaphors. Furthermore, although listening is an integral component of the process of clean, it definitely does not use techniques such as paraphrasing, summarising etc, for these automatically provide the opinion of the questioner.
Chapter headings are not normally my cup of tea (there’s a metaphor for you!). However, Sullivan and Rees have selected some gems that add to the explanation and the reader’s understanding of “clean”. Two that particularly sum this up are, “No-one ever listened themselves out of a job” (Colin Coolidge, U.S. president) and “The quality of your attention determines the quality of other people’s thinking” (Nancy Kline).
As Sullivan and Rees suggest in their introduction, the book is “designed to put Clean Language in people’s hands, worldwide, ready to be used whenever it could be valuable”. To my mind, they have achieved their aim. The book has 16 chapters, each of which has a select number of practical activities which enable the reader to practise the concepts. There are just 12 “clean” questions and each is covered in detail. They form three clusters, Developing Questions (to encourage a person to become clear about what’s true for them), Sequence and Source Questions (to tease out the sequence of events), Intention Questions (to help the person establish what they would like to change).
This is a great book. If you are really interested in helping other people, then I would suggest reading this book, undertaking the activities, then reading it again. It’s one that I will certainly be using in my role as management and leadership coach and facilitator. Highly recommended.
August 28, 2018
The book is a practical and straightforward introduction to the Clean Language technique. It makes clean language part of your toolbox in a very simple way. Step-by-step introduction to the technique, loads of examples and advice. Highly recommended.
March 29, 2026
Book 5 of 2026
A non fiction text for my doctorate!
This was recommend by a speaker at the BERA conference earlier this week. It’s very much a tool for coaching, counselling and therapy (I recognised a fair bit from my trauma therapy last year!) but I could see how some of it might be applicable to interviewing. For me though, it feels too probing as an approach so is perhaps beyond the scope of my research. It was a bit repetitive too, but I guess I’m not the main target audience 🤷♀️
5/10 from me
A non fiction text for my doctorate!
This was recommend by a speaker at the BERA conference earlier this week. It’s very much a tool for coaching, counselling and therapy (I recognised a fair bit from my trauma therapy last year!) but I could see how some of it might be applicable to interviewing. For me though, it feels too probing as an approach so is perhaps beyond the scope of my research. It was a bit repetitive too, but I guess I’m not the main target audience 🤷♀️
5/10 from me
September 20, 2016
Not sure whether there is a specific use case for this book but I found the questioning techniques basic and some of the structures were quite ridiculous 'what kind of warmth is that warmth?' Sorry but not for me this one.
December 12, 2022
Great advice, examples how to ask questions. Really useful for coaching, but as well useful for daily communication.
June 15, 2021
A great intro into the world of Clean Language. Easy read and straight to the point. Regular readers won't enjoy, coaches and therapists with an interest in expanding their toolbox would.
December 18, 2022
I’m exploring metaphor in facilitation, hence reading this book. I also went on a training course recently and recognised a weakness in some of my questioning approaches.
The clean questions are simple and no doubt effective - I have started to consciously use some of them, but most of the book seemed formulaic and overly verbose. A few pages would have sufficed.
Also the questioning in the book was taken to an extreme where they felt convoluted and unnecessary and didn’t really feel as universal as implied, for the way I coach.
I will continue to consciously use some of the questions and maybe I’ll see the light in a coaching conversation one day.
The clean questions are simple and no doubt effective - I have started to consciously use some of them, but most of the book seemed formulaic and overly verbose. A few pages would have sufficed.
Also the questioning in the book was taken to an extreme where they felt convoluted and unnecessary and didn’t really feel as universal as implied, for the way I coach.
I will continue to consciously use some of the questions and maybe I’ll see the light in a coaching conversation one day.
September 20, 2020
Really enjoyed this book, a good set of strategies that really make you pause and consider how to use them properly. Will be giving these ideas a twirl going forward. Spot the metaphors in the above review if you really understood the book, lol
October 26, 2020
Super interesting and user friendly for relationships, career, life- Pushes me to continue to practice being a better listener.
October 17, 2022
Not what I was expecting from the book about clean language. Wendy refers to David Grove in most of the cases where examples of language are given. I found it too vague to be useful in real life.
April 25, 2024
In my opinion every coach, therapist, hypnotist should read this book. This helps so much to understand how to interakt with people and help them on the right mental level.
December 6, 2024
Not convinced re the magnitude of impact they say this will have. Also very repetitive and the vignettes seem unrealistic.
November 14, 2013
Excellent resource for doing sessions with people to avoid using leading questions and find out what it is THEY mean when they use a metaphor (or simply describe anything). It seems so simple and yet it's immensely powerful in practice.
September 1, 2013
Straightforward approach to asking questions that are free of judgement or influence and which encourage people to speak openly. Really interesting insight to the use if metaphor in language.
March 27, 2025
One of the best books I’ve ever read. Helps to hone your echoing technique and connect to others on a deep level extremely quickly. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews