1. Because it turns out to be the most effective way of bringing a person’s unconscious metaphors ‘to life’, to consciousness.

There are a number of reasons you might want to elicit a person’s metaphors.

One is simply to find out what’s going on for the person (for example, marketing guru Gerald Zaltman, author of ‘How Customers Think’ and ‘Marketing Metaphoria’ uses a Cleanish process to find out about customers’ metaphors for products).

Another is to model an expert, as discussed in this thread.

A third is in a change process, for example coaching or therapy. The coach uses Clean Language questions to keep on exploring the metaphor, until things change. Typically the metaphor transforms, this transformation is isomorphic with a real-world change, and the client gets what they wanted: a change which fits them perfectly because it originates from their own system. (There is more skill to it than this, which is why we run training courses, but that’s the structure.)

2. Because it’s a very good way of getting clarification about what a person is talking about.

I’m guessing that you accept the idea that we all have our own unique map of the world. If I ask you to think of a flower, the kind you think about will not be the same as the kind I think about.

Imagine that I’m thinking of a rose, while you’re thinking of a sunflower.

Which is the more effective question for you to ask me:
a. “Is it a sunflower?”
b. “What kind of flower is your flower?”

There are probably some other reasons but those seem like the main ones to me.

This entry was posted on Monday 22 September 2008 and is filed under Articles, FAQs.

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