Clean Language in 10 Minutes or Less: Six Ways for Groups

The fact you’re reading this means you’re probably enthusiastic about Clean Language and keen to introduce it to others.

Maybe you’re already using Clean Language questions in your work, especially in one-on-one situations (as Zoe Hepper, Siobhan Aris and Helen Slocombe do - check out the links to their stories on YouTube).

But what about in meetings? The kind where people are expecting a warm-up activity?

How might you quickly and easily give people an experience of Clean principles and practices that makes them curious to learn more? Read on for six reliable techniques.

(Here’s why you should start with experiences, not explanations, for best results.)

Off the Shelf

If you’ve got at least 20 minutes, with breakouts available if online, I strongly recommend the candidate Liberating Structure Revealing Metaphors (also known as Jediplication or Speed Clean).

If you’ve got 15 minutes, and a lengthy list of problems or challenges to start from, you want Mike Burrows’ 15-minute FOTO. (FOTO stands for From Obstacles To Outcomes)

All these formats give people an experience of both asking and being asked Clean Language questions. Plus they’ll get direct value from the experience: getting Clean is a bonus.

Who’s Asking?

If you haven’t led Clean activities before, you might be surprised by how difficult some people initially find it to:

1. Remember the question(s) they are supposed to be asking while

2. Listening to someone else’s words and

3. Choosing a word to ask about.

So, one way of making your demo super-swift is to take on the role of question-asker. That way, your participants get the experience of being asked Clean Language questions, without the slight discomfort of asking.

You could try Think of a Flower, for example, which helps people to grasp that we really are guessing about what people mean by what they say.

• Ask the whole group to think of a flower.

• Ask each person in turn, “What kind of flower is your flower?”

• Keep going until you have two “the same” (eg. two roses, two sunflowers)

• Focus on those two people, alternately asking them Lazy Jedi questions to tease out the fact that their two flowers are not, in fact, the same.

  

Or, you could do a Go-Around on a topic, such as what each person would like from the meeting, or what brings them there.

After each person answers, you ask a Lazy Jedi question about what they’ve said.

Getting Them Asking

The next level, IMO, is to get group members asking the questions in the main group, rather than in breakout rooms.

Bear in mind how hard asking the questions can be for some people, especially the first time they try it. They may feel put on the spot, leaving them struggling even to hear what they are being asked to do, let alone actually doing it.

So to work well, this needs a fairly high level of existing psychological safety. If your group already knows each other really well, and is used to playing, experimenting and laughing together, it’s worth a try.

Reliable options are 1. Go-Around or 2. On-The-Spot.

In both cases, participants need to be in a fixed, known order.

For example, in person they might be sitting around a table. On Zoom, the relevant button is “follow host’s order”.

Go-Around

• A topic/question is named up front, for example “What’s something you’d like from the meeting?” or “What’s top-of-mind for you?”

• The first person in the circle gives their answer

• The second person in the circle asks them one of the Lazy Jedi questions about it, and everyone listens to their answer

• The focus moves to the second person, who now gives their answer to the original question

• The third person in the circle asks them one of the Lazy Jedi questions about it, and everyone listens to their answer

• And so on, around the circle.

On-The-Spot

In this variation, a person who holds information of shared interest is the focus throughout. This person should be confident and very well-informed: ideally the boss or other high-status person.

• The focus person says a sentence or two about the topic

• Each person in the circle takes a turn to ask a Lazy Jedi question about the topic, using any of the focus person’s words in their question

• Keep going around the whole circle or until no new info is emerging.

Getting Started

Whatever activity you choose, make sure you set it up confidently. “I’ve found this approach really useful, and I think you might find it valuable, too,” is the kind of vibe you want.

Go straight in as far as you can, providing the smallest amount of explanation that will get people doing the activity. For example, “For our warm up this week everyone needs to think of a flower…”

Don’t start with an explanation including the words “psychotherapy”, “metaphor” or “coaching”, or allow anyone to introduce you using those words, if you’re on a time limit!

• Give it a go and let me know what happens! I love to hear stories of #CleanInThe Wild