The power of perspective

What do badlands, a bunch of scouts and thyme ice-cream have to do with communication?

I’ve just come back from a weekend in La Cerdanya – a corner of Catalonia I’d never explored.

After weeks at my desk in the sweltering heat, it was a complete change of scene.

Cool mountain air and lush green fields dotted with cows and wild flowers.

And, unexpectedly, an area of jagged rock formations, or badlands.

As I stood among the sculpted earth pillars, I felt like an intrepid explorer in foreign terrain.

When I crossed paths with a local group of scouts and greeted them with a friendly “Bon dia!”, they were proud to reply in their school English – “Good morning!”

(How did they know?!?)

A tiny, funny moment of crossing cultures and codes.

It reminded me of the power of perspective.

When we step outside the everyday – whether into nature, another language, or someone else’s story – something shifts.

We see differently.

We listen more openly.

We savour new flavours (like the “farigola” ice cream in a nearby village)…

And we return more grounded.


That’s how it often is with communication too.

In a coaching session, a single question or story can take us to new terrain.

Not just what we say changes — but how we see ourselves.

That shift in perspective?

That’s where confidence begins.

🌿

And yes — the thyme ice-cream was delicious.


💬 Where have you found fresh perspective lately? In a place, a person, a moment...?