The frame makes it!
How I hide things or make them visible!
As a naked person in a sauna or on a nudist beach, I am almost invisible; at least I don’t attract attention. However, a naked person cannot be overlooked in the pedestrian zone.
The environment in which I perceive something influences what I see. Frames change the character of the image they contain.
If I want to hear something clearly, I ensure the environmental noise is reduced. This is because the sound carpet that forms the background of what I hear strongly influences what I hear.
The drumbeat in Haydn’s Symphonia of the same name makes me smile; the drumbeat next to my bed while taking a siesta would have different effects.
Coaches, counsellors and therapists make use of this in reframing. They suggest to their clients to imagine that what they just told them happened in a different situation in a different context.
For example, if a client tells about how embarrassed he was when he climbed up his white shirt with gravy at his sister’s wedding party, you could ask: „Imagine the same thing happening to you at a barbecue on the terrace. Would you feel the same way?“ – „In what situation can you imagine that feeling would be even more potent than you experienced at the wedding? „
Through reframing, the meaning of what is experienced, its weight, is put into new contexts and thus put into perspective. As a result, new perspectives become visible and thinkable.
I believe that coaching is helpful and successful when we as coaches encourage our clients, with interest and appreciation, as well as mutual freedom, to see their questions and concerns in a new light and to question the possible weight of what they have experienced or suspected.
As one of the few active coaches with more than 50 years of experience, I offer myself with all my skills as a companion and reframer.