! Q U E S T I O N S A N D M E TA P H O R S C L E A N L A N G U A G E F O R T H E B U S I N E S S A N A LY S T Andrea Chiou
 April 16, 2014
 IIBA DC Meetup 

T O D AY ’ S C L E A N L A N G U A G E J O U R N E Y • Perceptions • 2 Questions +Exercise • People, Books, and History • The Brain • Metaphors • Wrap up 

W H AT K I N D O F P R O B L E M D O E S T H I S R E P R E S E N T ? 

P E R C E P T I O N S A N D P R O B L E M S AT W O R K Themes Stakeholder Expectations Clarity on Direction/ Product Interactions/Facilitation Note Your Specific Problem Here 

W H AT W E H AV E - W H AT W E N E E D 

C L E A N L A N G U A G E Q U E S T I O N S • And X, is there anything else about (that) X? • And X, that’s X …. like what? • And when X, what would you like to have happen?
 (use this question when X is a problem statement after you have explored the problem enough and want to get to an outcome orientation)
 
 
 The X, above, represents the exact word, phrase used by the person you are listening to. Parrot - phrasing, not para-phrasing. 

L I S T E N I N G WA R M U P 

L I S T E N I N G E X E R C I S E Person A
 Ask your partner about their work issue. 
 
 Listen for 2 minutes
 
 Don’t interrupt
 
 Notice your thoughts/impulse to react If there are pauses, try one of the 2 questions Person B
 Select a work issue which you are concerned about. Describe it and what you might like to have happen. Take note how your partner is listening, or paying attention. 

I M P R E S S I O N S Jot down, as you might in a journal, your thoughts about that exercise. How did it feel? 
 Did you ask either of the questions? 
 Ask your partner how they felt?
 Notes
 

J U D Y R E E S A N D W E N D Y S U L L I VA N Judy was my first CL coach. She was a reporter in her first career. She loves to help people love their work.
 She does all her work over Skype Check out her 
 learncleanlanguage.com and
 xraylistening.com 

H I S T O RY O F C L E A N L A N G U A G E • David Grove - hugely successful psychotherapist • James Lawley and Penny Tompkins - modelled how David did this. • Others learned, became fascinated and have applied it to other domains Check out cleanlanguage.co.uk.
 It is the most 
 comprehensive 
 

W H E R E H A S I T B E E N A P P L I E D ? 

G R O U P A P P L I C AT I O N S Caitlin Walker’s focus is fostering learning, action, and reflection in all sorts of group settings
 Watch her TedX 

M A R I A N WAY This book is an excellent guide to Clean. Laid out simply with beautiful illustrations and examples. 

P H I L L I P H A R L A N D 

S E N S O RY I N P U T S • Visual • Auditory • Kinesthetic • Olfactory • Gustatory 

W H AT H A P P E N S N E X T ? • Sensation - Signals from Sensory input relay through the thalmus: bodily response (hormonal, cardiovascular, motor, gastroenteric) • Processing - emotional fast-track signals & slow-track cognitive signals 
 (filtering for past associations, events, feelings, conditioned responses, present beliefs, values, needs, attitudes, and goals) • Construction - pleasant/unpleasant & toward/away-from preferences • Reaction - respond via behavior and language 

W H AT H A P P E N S N E X T ? • Sensation - Signals from Sensory input relay through the thalmus: bodily response (hormonal, cardiovascular, motor, gastroenteric) • We process emotional fast-track signals and slow-track cognitive signals (filtering for past associations, events, feelings, conditioned responses, present beliefs, values, needs, attitudes, and goals • We build pleasant/unpleasant and toward/away-from preferences • We have an impulse to react and then we respond via behavior and language A LL IN SEVEN M ILLISEC O N D S 

• What we need is a bridge between our different perceptions and mental models.
 
 And metaphors and inquiry help us get there faster than analytical thinking. 

M E TA P H O R WA R M U P 

M E TA P H O R S AT W O R K Current Ideal Team, Project, Product, Organization, You (when working at your best). 

W H AT W O U L D Y O U L I K E T O H AV E H A P P E N N O W ? 

H A P P Y L E A R N I N G J O U R N E Y T O E V E RY O N E 

T H E O T H E R C L E A N Q U E S T I O N S Attributes:
 …what kind of ___ is that?
 …is there anything else about____?
 …does ____ have a size or shape?
 
 Time:
 …what happens next?
 …then what happens?
 …what happens just before?
 …where does (or could) ___ come from?
 
 Location:
 … where is _____?
 … whereabouts is ____? Metaphor
 …. and _____ is like what?
 Prior to asking the questions on the right, you can summarize and focus attention with the following. And _____ (summarise)…. And when _____ (focus), …
 ! Initially questions can feel like a barrier to normal conversation, but with time they act more as ‘filters’, reducing noise by preventing us from forcing our own interpretation on what the other person is saying. 

C L E A N F E E D B A C K What worked for you
 1.) ! 2.)
 What did not work for you
 1.) ! 2.) 
 O B S E R VAT I O N / W H AT Y O U I N F E R F R O M T H AT / W H AT WA S T H E I M PA C T O N Y O U