What Counts As A Clean Language Question?

Someone online asked this week for “a list of The Clean Language questions”.

I offered them this link, which gives a list David Grove’s Core Clean Language Questions, as reported in the book Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors And Opening Minds by Wendy Sullivan and myself.

But really, there is no definitive list. David didn’t work from a list. He worked from a set of principles – but he didn’t have a list.

The lists that are out there were compiled by other people observing his work, notably Penny Tompkins and James Lawley, and by other Clean facilitators noticing the effects of own questions.

Some lists have nine core questions, and some have 12. And then there are the “Specialised Questions” that are used in specific circumstances.

That means that if you’d like to, you can make up your own Clean Language Questions. Here are some general principles.

A Clean Language question:

– contains as few presuppositions and assumptions as possible

– contains as few metaphors as possible

– does not draw attention to the facilitator (eg “Could you tell me…”)

– directs the client’s attention with precision, usually by including some of the client’s own words

– does not attempt to reframe or otherwise adjust the client’s experience

– usually attends to a continuous present, or to other times in relation to that continuous present, rather than to the “official” past or future. For example, we would normally ask: “What kind of X is that?” rather than “What kind of X was that?”

What kinds of Clean Language Question are missing from the published list that would be useful to you?