Stop Explaining Clean Language. Start Creating Tasty Experiences
Twenty years of ‘start with practice’, and I'd pretty much stopped asking why. Then Caitlin Walker reminded me on Friday's call: police officers who began with uncomfortable, hands-on experience used Clean Language more than those who got theory first.
Then yesterday, out of the blue, a colleague asked me to show her how to create compelling Clean Language experiences for her prospects in sales meetings. She'd got the 'show, don't tell' message but needed practical help to make it happen.
Two conversations, a few days apart, both pointing to the same truth.
When it comes to introducing Clean Language, tasting the difference makes the difference! Whether you're training police officers to interview vulnerable witnesses Cleanishly (as Caitlin was), trying to convince the boss to hire me to run your awayday, or pitching your facilitation services, experience is much more compelling than explanation.
But not just any experience will do. After plenty of trial and error, I've learned that Clean Language experiences that work need to be swift, safe, and personally meaningful. Not mystical metaphorical journeys into inner space - just demonstrations that let people feel the difference immediately.
What Not To Do
I’ve made plenty of mistakes through the years. Here’s what really doesn’t help:
Too personal/exposing - making people share vulnerable stuff in front of colleagues
Too long - hour-long metaphor explorations that lose busy people
Too mystical - anything that triggers the "woo-woo" alarm
Wrong context - trying to do deep personal work in a business meeting.
Usually, that means NOT doing ‘pure’ Symbolic or Systemic Modelling. You need to craft a specific kind of Clean experience: one that you feel confident delivering, they feel OK about participating in, and yet really gives them a taste of the difference Clean can make.
Experience In Action
Helen Slocombe’s got the hang of this. The other day she was running a session on difficult conversations for 15 colleagues working in end-of-life care. Instead of explaining Clean Language theory, she told a story about 'Bob' - a patient she'd worked with - then asked for a volunteer to practice the questions with her.
The volunteer's response? “I was really surprised at the power of the questions and how by using the words that had been said to then say them back in the next question, that really demonstrated being heard.”
Mission complete, as Helen put it. No lengthy explanations needed - just a swift demonstration that let people feel what Clean Language actually does.
Compelling Clean Experiences
Helen makes it sound easy: she has a 'just do it' instinct and the confidence to dive straight in.
But what if you're more like my colleague from yesterday - you understand the principle but need the practical know-how?
What if you’re still just wishing you could walk into your next meeting confident you can create that same 'mission complete' moment?
That's exactly what my colleague and I will be working on in Compelling Clean Experiences, a half-day, online intensive training I’ve put together for her.
She needs to master the craft of turning any conversation into a compelling Clean Language demonstration, and we've got a few spots open for others who want to learn the same skills.
At $60 for the intensive, it's designed to be accessible, because I’m all about advocating for Clean in the real world. I want everyone in my network to know how to do this!