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  • Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds

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Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds Paperback – Illustrated, October 24, 2008

4.6 out of 5 stars (277)

Would you like better relationships, a deeper understanding of the people around you, and a simple yet powerful way to help them achieve their life goals?

Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds can offer all this and more. 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.

Devised by David Grove, this elegant and powerful questioning technique is simple to learn and opens a door to a new way of thinking about how people's minds actually work by using metaphor. If you want to truly understand people, to motivate them, or to help them to change, you'll find it much easier when you use Clean Language to ask the questions that really matter.

The approach was originally used to help clients to resolve deep trauma. It is now being used to get to the truth and to cut through complex problems by some of the sharpest and most innovative people in the world, such as business people, coaches, educators, health professionals and many others. In this book, two of the world's top specialists in Clean Language bring this fascinating new approach within reach. Expect to change the way you think about the way we think!

Essential reading for coaches, healthcare professionals, parents, business people, teachers, therapists and anyone who wants to improve his or her communication skills.

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Would you like better relationships, a deeper understanding of the people around you, and a simple yet powerful way to help them achieve their life goals?

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Clean Language is one of the most fundamental and important tools available in NLP and coaching. This book stands out for the clarity of it's explanations and makes Clean Language commonsense. This book is to be used as the communicators bible. --Toby McCartney, WestOne Training, Author of Mastering Memory

In their excellent book,
Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds, Wendy Sullivan and Judy Rees give an in-depth yet highly accessible route-map for understanding the metaphorical nature of human perception, and for developing powerful skills for working in the domain of personal metaphor. While I expected the subject to be covered in masterful detail, what I didn't anticipate was such a cogent and useful introduction to the role metaphors play in perception. Wendy and Judy present this material in a way that's easy to grasp, and pull together understandings and realizations that you would otherwise have to piece together from diverse sources. Of course, the core of the book is the application of the clean language questions. There are numerous exercises for developing intuitions about what to ask when, and for what purpose. If you've been wondering about what Clean is and how you can use it, or you've already got some skills in this powerful domain, Wendy and Judy's book will provide you with new depths of insight, skill and effectiveness. --Jamie Smart, Licensed NLP Trainer, CEO of Salad

Clean Language is one of the most fundamental and important tools available in NLP and coaching. This book stands out for the clarity of it's explanations and makes Clean Language commonsense. This book is to be used as the communicators bible. --Toby McCartney, WestOne Training, Author of Mastering Memory

Clean Language is one of the most fundamental and important tools available in NLP and coaching. This book stands out for the clarity of it's explanations and makes Clean Language commonsense. This book is to be used as the communicators bible. --Toby McCartney, WestOne Training, Author of Mastering Memory

About the Author

Wendy Sullivan is an international trainer of Clean Language and Symbolic Modelling who has worked extensively with the founders of that field. Judy Rees is a certified Clean Facilitator an expert in Clean Language and Symbolic Modelling, and runs a London-based Clean Language Company with Wendy Sullivan.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown House Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 24, 2008
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 235 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1845901258
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1845901257
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #399,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars (277)

About the authors

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
277 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book's techniques practical and well-explained, with good examples provided. Moreover, they consider it a fascinating read that serves as an excellent follow-up to Metaphors In Mind, and one customer notes it's a great way to continue exploring clean language. Additionally, the book is easy to read.
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14 customers mention techniques, 14 positive, 0 negative
Customers find the book's techniques practical and useful, with good examples provided throughout. One customer specifically mentions how it helps in understanding other people's ideas.
...It provides powerful and useful information. Recommended for those who want to help others or themselves. Give it a read.Read more
Fantastic technique. I have had success in applying Clean Language to "normal" business and personal social settings....Read more
good read and lots of good examples i useRead more
Very interesting and useful resource in my practiceRead more
13 customers mention content, 13 positive, 0 negative
Customers find the book fascinating and highly recommend reading it, noting it is an excellent follow-up to Metaphors In Mind and very easy to enjoy.
Great book that introduce you to another kind of language, really fundamental to generate change.Read more
Well written and very easy to enjoy....Read more
good read and lots of good examples i useRead more
Such a great read! I love concise direction and methodology. Highly recommend reading.Read more
8 customers mention clean language, 8 positive, 0 negative
Customers appreciate the clean language approach, with one mentioning it's a great way to continue exploring this method.
CLEAN LANGUAGE: REVEALING HIDDEN METAPHORSRead more
...Clean Language is an approach to soliciting information and facilitating discussion that recognises this central role of metaphors, helps us spot...Read more
...I love the use of clean language mostly because I'm a screenwriter and I would like to make my therapist characters more authentic.Read more
Fantastic technique. I have had success in applying Clean Language to "normal" business and personal social settings....Read more
6 customers mention readability, 5 positive, 1 negative
Customers find the book easy to read.
...The book is easy to read, full of exercises and examples, which will take you through the different ideas and techniques....Read more
...Read it slowly, learn the principles of the approach, and apply it gingerly and you will get it.Read more
Easy to read. Gets you going right off the bat. No getting bogged down with the more technical side of things....Read more
...This book is easy to read and gives very good examples of how to approach therapy of any kind using appropriate phrases and words to get the...Read more
You think you know how to ask questions? This will make you better.
5 out of 5 stars
You think you know how to ask questions? This will make you better.
I used to think I was pretty good at asking questions until I read Wendy Sullivan's and Judy Rees' book Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds. The book to me was a revelation. Here's an example, someone comes to you and says, “Hey, I'm having problems in a relationship.” You ask, innocently enough, “Do you have the courage to stand up to them?” Now it turns out this response, even though it's a question, is injecting many of your own biases into the way the question is asked. First of all it's a binary question which they call a closed question -- Do you? This limits the responses to yes or no. Next, “do you have the courage…” The implication is that courage is the scarce resource that you need to draw upon. …and finally, “to stand up” to them, which implies that you need to resist or respond to them and that “standing up” is the correct metaphor, not push them, or lean into them or lean away from them, or walk away from them. And so with this innocent question you're injecting many of your own biases and assumptions into the question. Clean Language has a set of structured questions which help get away from this. I find it hard to remember the specific questions but the idea of asking questions in a more neutral open way is compelling and one which we all can practice more of. I thoroughly enjoyed Clean Language and lean on it as I wrote my own book.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2015
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Bought this book along with TRUST ME, I'M THE PATIENT because it appeared to compliment each other and further my understanding of what exactly it meant by "Clean Language". Additionally, I had also signed up on UDEMY, which is a Learning Platform on line for a course by Judy Reese and was intrigued with the course. Udemy offers zillions of different courses online. Clean Language was a totally different approach for me which emphasizes a newer way to listen and respond to another, in any relationship. Read it slowly, learn the principles of the approach, and apply
    it gingerly and you will get it.
    11 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2013
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The central idea of the book is that metaphors are a fundamental tool for organising thoughts and we use them subconciously to make sense of the world, without even being aware of it. Some typical examples of that are temperature used for affection ("They greeted me warmly."), size used for importance ("Tomorrow is a big day."), height used for quantity ("Prices are high."), and purpose represented as a physical object of desire ("I saw an opportunity for success and grabbed it."). Though such simple metaphors should be unversally understood, more complex metaphors can be easily understood by different people in different ways. The authors argue that we can get better understanding and awareness of others' and our own ideas by recognising metaphors, pushing them from subconcious processing into concious analysis, understanding the ties between a metaphor and the real situation and reverse-engineering metaphorical solutions into real ones. For example, the next time you feel stuck while working, try thinking about what kind of stuck feeling that really is and what would make you feel unstuck.

    Clean Language is an approach to soliciting information and facilitating discussion that recognises this central role of metaphors, helps us spot metaphors in other people's thoughts and our own ideas and makes those connections explicit. The premise of Clean Language is that such concious analysis of metaphors helps understand other people better. One particularly eye-opening aspect of this approach for me was how much my own metaphors and assumptions can cloud my understanding of clients' issues and situation. Clean Language provides a toolkit, through a set of twelve questions, that prevents polluting communication with our own metaphors, hence the title "Clean". Instead of introducing our own metaphors into the mix, Clean Language questions help people improve active listening.

    Most of the examples in the book are about psychology, and helping people with psychological issues, but I've been able to translate many of those examples easily into software consulting. Since reading the book, I became a lot more attentive to the way others use metaphors and a lot more careful about driving the conversation with my own metaphors that could be easily misunderstood. This hardly makes it a life-changing experience, but anything that improves communication will surely be a useful toolkit for many people in the software industry. Business analysts, team leaders, process improvement coaches and consultants will probably benefit from this book the most.

    I give the book four out of five stars. For all the good content, there is a bit too much repetition for my taste in the book. The example discussion sessions sometimes go on forever and I found myself skipping large portions of those parts.
    27 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2009
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I first learned about Clean Language in my hypnotherapy course at Cambridge last year. I was amazed at how we are all affected by what words we hear. This book is easy to read and gives very good examples of how to approach therapy of any kind using appropriate phrases and words to get the maximum benefits in relationships and in therapy. I was so impressed with this theory that I have sent the book to my sister who works on the crisis line in Arizona in order to help her communicate more effectively with desperate people who call her on the phone.
    13 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Methodological, practical and easy to use tools. The print is good too, not too busy and easy to read.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    As New and delivered quickly. An excellent follow up to Metaphors In Mind
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I used to think I was pretty good at asking questions until I read Wendy Sullivan's and Judy Rees' book Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds.

    The book to me was a revelation.

    Here's an example, someone comes to you and says, “Hey, I'm having problems in a relationship.”

    You ask, innocently enough, “Do you have the courage to stand up to them?”

    Now it turns out this response, even though it's a question, is injecting many of your own biases into the way the question is asked.

    First of all it's a binary question which they call a closed question -- Do you? This limits the responses to yes or no.

    Next, “do you have the courage…” The implication is that courage is the scarce resource that you need to draw upon.

    …and finally, “to stand up” to them, which implies that you need to resist or respond to them and that “standing up” is the correct metaphor, not push them, or lean into them or lean away from them, or walk away from them. And so with this innocent question you're injecting many of your own biases and assumptions into the question.

    Clean Language has a set of structured questions which help get away from this. I find it hard to remember the specific questions but the idea of asking questions in a more neutral open way is compelling and one which we all can practice more of.

    I thoroughly enjoyed Clean Language and lean on it as I wrote my own book.
    Customer image
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    You think you know how to ask questions? This will make you better.

    Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2020
    I used to think I was pretty good at asking questions until I read Wendy Sullivan's and Judy Rees' book Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds.

    The book to me was a revelation.

    Here's an example, someone comes to you and says, “Hey, I'm having problems in a relationship.”

    You ask, innocently enough, “Do you have the courage to stand up to them?”

    Now it turns out this response, even though it's a question, is injecting many of your own biases into the way the question is asked.

    First of all it's a binary question which they call a closed question -- Do you? This limits the responses to yes or no.

    Next, “do you have the courage…” The implication is that courage is the scarce resource that you need to draw upon.

    …and finally, “to stand up” to them, which implies that you need to resist or respond to them and that “standing up” is the correct metaphor, not push them, or lean into them or lean away from them, or walk away from them. And so with this innocent question you're injecting many of your own biases and assumptions into the question.

    Clean Language has a set of structured questions which help get away from this. I find it hard to remember the specific questions but the idea of asking questions in a more neutral open way is compelling and one which we all can practice more of.

    I thoroughly enjoyed Clean Language and lean on it as I wrote my own book.
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    14 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Easy to read. Gets you going right off the bat. No getting bogged down with the more technical side of things. Good starting place even if you have little background in NLP etc. lots of examples. I suggest supplementing the book with the free videos that Judy has on her website.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Very useful concept to improve your communication skills and better understand others, their problems and their challenges. The book is easy to read, full of exercises and examples, which will take you through the different ideas and techniques.

    I enjoyed the reading and how easily you can implement and apply it on your daily personal interactions.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Elisabeth Tepper Kofod
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
    Reviewed in Spain on September 4, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    ¿Por qué elegiste esta valoración? Porque era o que esperaba del libro. Y aun mucho más.
    ¿Qué te gustó y qué no te gustó? Me gusta todo.
    ¿A quién recomendarías este producto? A los que ya conocen de PNL y de metáforas. El Lenguaje Limpio es na excelente forma de ayudar a nuestros clientes a superar sus emociones negativas y encaminarlos hacia lo que desean.
    Report
  • Phil
    5.0 out of 5 stars what kind of ground breaking is that ground breaking?
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2009
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I had never come across this work before and was driven to it from an interview with one of the authors. I have since joined the course and have been amazed by the effects of the material and will be using it the days, week and months ahead. One of the things I noticed is that metaphors now jump out at me and I can use clean language to help, understand and question more effectively. Easy to read and I recommend you do the exercises to get the most out of the book. Excellent material which is just as compelling for business leaders as therapists. Its like a having a super enhanced toolkit in the world of communication. Now I am on a journey the question is more and what would you like to have happen?
  • Muddassir
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book
    Reviewed in India on January 15, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Brilliant book
  • Meslan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Clean langguage to assist client in expressing their traumatic emotion.
    Reviewed in Singapore on January 15, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Very interesting. I used it for Creative Trauma Cleasing Therapy in my couse of work. It makes my more easier as a fascilitator.
  • Graziana
    5.0 out of 5 stars Spero che entusiasmi tanti lettori!!
    Reviewed in Italy on July 4, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Prezioso manuale, ricco di spunti per imparare ad usare questa tecnica di porre domande che si chiama “Domande pulite”. Il metodo inventato da David Grove, qui viene presentato come pratico eserciziario per neofiti, e anche come guida per chi intenda usare il metodo avendone esperienza. Con grande generosità e chiarezza le due autrici ci prendono per mano nell’approfondimento della tecnica.