“You did well, but…” (The But Monster™)

The But Monster™ is a conjunction; that is, a word joining two sentences together. In personal communication it can also act as a destructive rapport breaker. In therapeutic contexts the word ‘But’ is acknowledged as potentially damaging to a counsellor-client or...

Criticism and Change

When we focus on what’s wrong in our lives we shut out positivity and opportunity. Transfer this reality to the world of coaching others and we create stunted thinking and limited possibilities. Recent research analysing brain imaging patterns highlights how important...

Patterns Which Connect

Some of you will know my admiration for Gregory Bateson (1904-1980). I discovered Bateson’s work in the early 90s when I first read Structure of Magic Vol 1. ‘Magic’ was Bandler & Grinder’s first text about what was then called ‘META’, later evolving into what...