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How Metaphor can Evoke Awareness in Coaching

26th Sep 2024 by Marian Way in Clean Language, ICF, Metaphor, Symbolic Modelling

One of the International Coach Federation (ICF) Core Competencies – competency 7 – is about evoking awareness. This is further defined as “Facilitating client insight and learning by using tools and techniques such as powerful questioning, silence, metaphor or analogy.” These are, of course, the basic tools of Clean Language and Symbolic Modelling, which is one reason that clean coaching is such a good fit with the competencies.

What is it about metaphor that means it’s an excellent tool for evoking awareness?

The main reason is that metaphor is not just a linguistic device. Metaphors underpin the way we think and reason, the ways we behave. If someone says “I felt like I was being locked out of the conversation” it’s likely they are experiencing the same feeling they get if they are locked out of a room or building. These metaphors generally operate out of awareness, but when we use clean questions to help someone to gain access to them, they also gain access to the underlying structure of their thinking, which can spark new insights. Additionally, since metaphors have form, they can change. Doors can be unlocked; clouds can move across the sky; kites can fly higher – and so on. Changes like these occur naturally and spontaneously within clean coaching sessions, changes which are reflected in new thoughts, feelings and behaviours after a session. (See Clean Approaches for Coaches, pp 68-69 for more reasons to focus on metaphor in your coaching sessions.)

A case study

During last week’s practice group, I ran a small group activity just for the newcomers, with one person as client and the others taking turns to ask questions, guided by me.

The client stated his desired outcome as “I would like to develop a consistent meditation practice for myself.” We started the session by developing the various words/phrases within this statement, each time starting with the question, “Whereabouts is X?” and asking further developing questions until there were three symbols each with a name, location and some attributes, along with some details of the room where meditation practice takes place.

Myself

It’s inside / central (gesture to chest)
It expands and contracts
It’s large and bright at its best
Like a midsummer’s sun on a bright day that’s inside me and central

Meditation Practice

In the little library room
With lights that are bright but indirect
Warm colours – earth tones
There’s an overstuffed comfy sofa that’s purple
And a coffee table

Consistent

This feels judgemental
It’s on the back of my shoulders
Like a barbell
Heavy but not too heavy
A strain but not impossible

Develop

It’s inside my head
Cerebral
Small, sharp and elusive
Like a Quidditch snitch
Slippery
Can’t grab

At this point, the client realised that the snitch is a familiar part of his habit development and that in other contexts he feels pride (also central) when he reaches out his hand and catches a ball with the snitch. But in this case the snitch is in the head and the ball is elusive.

When we asked him what he’d like to have happen next, he said he’d like to get all the (above) information in one place, so we repeated the symbols (midsummer’s sun, barbell and snitch) along with their locations and attributes quite slowly, so he could re-associate into the experiences these symbols represent.

This enabled him to realise that meditation could be fun, active and shared with other people. Previously he’d been thinking of it as a serious matter. Now he could think of it more like a time-limited game, such as playing touch football before a Thanksgiving dinner. This, in turn, evoked feelings of peacefulness, joy and laughter. He now feels motivated to repeat the activity, i.e. to make it consistent.

During the final part of the session, we checked in on the original symbols:

Midsummer’s sun – now all the seasons are available
Barbell – like lifting weights and other exercise, the habit creates strength over time.
Quidditch snitch – at the end of the day, it's really just a game, and not so serious or dire all the time.

A few days after the session, I asked the client about his experience of the session and its effects. He said, "I've been able to start thinking about meditation in a lighter, less urgent way. Though I haven't meditated every day, nor at the same time, as I thought was needed, I have been able to practice more by just grabbing time and trying new things – I've scheduled a conversation with a good friend who is an expert in something called "laughter meditation" to see what's available there. Things seem more open than before."

The value of clean coaching

During our ICF-accredited Clean Coach Certification Programme students learn how to elicit and develop metaphors as well as how to use Clean Language to establish coaching agreements, cultivate trust and safety, explore progress and learnings and help the client to create action plans. We also encourage our students to use Clean Language to help them work on anything that is in the way of them listening well and maintaining their presence during coaching sessions.

If you’re interested in joining our Clean Coach Certification Programme, book a chat with me so we can explore whether it will be a good fit for where you are in your journey.

About Marian Way

A highly skilled facilitator and trainer, Marian, who founded Clean Learning in 2001, has developed and delivered training across the world. She is the author of Clean Approaches for Coaches, co-author, with James Lawley, of Insights in Space and co-author, with Caitlin Walker, of So you want to be… #DramaFree.

Marian is an expert Clean facilitator, an adept modeller, a programme writer and an inspirational trainer. She has a natural ability to model existing structures, find the connections between them and design new ways for people to learn. Marian was a leading innovator within the Weight Watchers organisation, which included developing the “points” strategy, a local idea that went on to become a global innovation. She is a director of both Clean Learning and Training Attention CIC, world leaders in clean applications for corporate, educational and community development. She designs our programmes and workbooks, leads workshops and teaches on all our courses. She’s trained people in Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Japan and the USA. Marian is also a recognised Clean Assessor.