Clean Language

Clean Language

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Clean Language
I’m new to ACT and would like to hear more, starting with the basics.
I’ve heard about this article from Maarten and from a Clean Language forum. He has asked how a Clean Language trainer might approach the situation above (I’m not a trainer but have facilitated some groups).
Clean Language uses very open questions and almost no assumptions. Because of this, the facilitator works with the client to model or describe their experience ising their words and their structure (their sense of causation, sequence etc.) Clean Language makes use of metaphors and will accept a metaphor as a real description of a client’s experience.
Clean Language won’t make a group talk. It doesn’t use force, but the quality of listening and the (at least temporary) acceptance of the client’s perception and reality can win many people over.
Also, Clean Language tends to use client words or refer to gestures rather than make observations, but objective observations can be used well with it.
So what might I do with this group?
It might start with an observation or focusing in on a seemingly important comment.
Facilitator: “And there are no questions, and when there are no questions, what’s happening now?”
This is very different to a direct question of “Why don’t you answer?”. There is an enquiry, but not a demand, nor an implicit reference to what the group “should” do.
I will imagine the group says something periphery to the real problem, like ” I think we’ve had enough”.
A facilitator can bring more focus onto the immediate situation with “When you think you’ve had enough, and there are no questions, …what kind of enough is that enough?” or “…what happened just before ‘we’ve had enough’?”
The Clean Language facilitator can be there calmly, waiting for anything the group is willing to share and bring it in to model the situation.
After more group comments, a full recap of the model, which just reflects those comments, may look something like this:
“”When you’ve had enough,
and there are no questions
and this isn’t the right sort of session
and the project will go wrong like it did last time
and you’re always being squeezed
and whatever you do is never enough
what would you like to have happen?”
The Clean Language facilitator will seek to focus attention on a relevant part of the model or situation, according to their role. If the discussion was supposed to be about team meetings, then industrial action or potential law suits may be outside your valid role as facilitator.

A facilitator may start or re-start from other angles:
“And you’re always being squeezed; and what kind of squeezed is that squeezed?”
“Where does squeezed come from?”
“When ‘whatever you do is never enough’, is there anything else about ‘enough’ ? ”
Some questions sound funny, but when we’ve just used a metaphor like “squeezed”, then being asked about it seems natural.

Consider the term “stress-reduction”. If you tell me that’s what I need to do then I have a challenge to take something and remove or reduce it. I might not be good at that sort of solution. Phoebe from “Friends” goes to her “happy place”. She may use a journey metaphor to be happy, but might get very confused if told to reduce something called stress.

Good Clean Language facilitators can understand where the attention of a group is and ask a relvant question that encourages the group to share. They will focus on what the group would like to have happen and find out what needs to happen for that to happen.

Clean Language

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A document I, Brian, have stated.  Please add something in here or add a comment box on the wall.

Is Clean Language (CL) useful to project managers?

If so, how?

How clean do we need to be, when many terms are defined with broad consensus?

• http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/glossary.html
• http://www.best-management-practice.com/gempdf/BMP-glossary-PRINCE2.pdf

I’m interested in exploring how useful CL will be with a small number of words that we accept that the client will know and use.  Cleanish or clean in this context if you like, once the facilitator knows a client knows about project management.

Potential benefits

• CL may help focus on the next task, and I wonder if it is as useful as other direct methods to do this
• may help with self-delusion, denial and deceit for people with unrealistic deadlines
• may help adjust perpective from one’s own values to that of a customer
• I’m exploring if CL will address popular project problems

Accepted terms:

• Tasks, risk, assumption, issue, dependency, project, project manager, programme (many projects), workstream (an area of work within the project), timetable/ schedule, deadline, deliverable, customer, quality, estimated or actual cost, staff/ people, estimated task duration,

These questions may be useful

• And what happens next?
• When when [customer] would like to meet the deadline {if there is evidence this is so}, and you would like the [deliverable] to be the best it can be, what happens next?  {encouraging the contemplation of where conflict may occur and the project manager may be justifying a plan contrary to the customer’s stated needs}
• And when you “can’t be bothered” and the deadline is 5pm, what happens now?…what kind of deadline is that deadline?

Wendy Sullivan – http://www.cleanchange.co.uk/

Caitlin Walker & Nancy Doyle – http://www.trainingattention.co.uk/

Angela Dunbar – http://www.cleancoaching.com/

Marian Way - http://cleanlearning.co.uk

Zannie Barrett -  http://www.zanniebarrett.co.uk/9.html

PRACTICE GROUPS

http://brianbirch.com/Dating-Relationship-Singles-ewp/cleanlanguage/skype-and-play-clean-language-practice-group

2012

One Day

Introduction

to

Clean Language

Hampshire:

Feb 13, Mar 31

with Marian Way

http://cleanlearning.co.uk/courses/clean-facilitator-programme/

Cheshire:

Mar 27, Jun 30

with Cheryl Winter

California:

Jan 21, Mar 17, Apr 14

with Sharon Small

====================

Various

http://www.cleancoaching.com/

INTRODUCTIONS

==================

International Clean Conference

19 & 20 May 2012

Clean Conference brings together enthusiasts of Clean Language, Clean Space, Emergent Knowledge, The Power of Six and other aspects of the work of the late, great David Grove.

http://www.cleanchange.co.uk/cleanlanguage/shop/international-clean-conference-2012/

TELECLASSES

http://www.cleanchange.co.uk/cleanlanguage/shop/taster-teleclass/

Module 4 by Skype: Space for Success

Next Date:Starting 12th March 2012

VIDEOS

http://www.cleanchange.co.uk/cleanlanguage/shop/modules-1-to-4-training-dvds/

===============

2013

In a later explanation of this thinking in this video, James Lawley (in this conversation), noticed things like the client’s comments to / for the audience; and a facilitator will generally notice whether the client is experiencing a problem, a desired outcome, a resource or something else.

http://brianbirch.com/Dating-Relationship-Singles-ewp/clean-language-videos/clean-language-3

Rather than it being about how James is, he is tracking the client’s information; his words, metaphors, patterns and what he knows and doesn’t want to admit.

It’s my metaphor, but if I tease someone, I am tracking what they are paying attention to and have a model of how they will react if I say something. Similar observation (used for good as it were) would also mean I can encourage them to focus on their desired outcome and resources.

Untitled from NLP Worldwide on Vimeo.

Clean Language
Thansk to NLP worldwide for putting up the video.