In this article, I argue that addressing binaries is an important aspect of decolonising development communication and development education (DE). I draw on some key points emerging in research I am currently conducting on ethical communications among international development NGOs in Ireland. Though critique of binaries in development education is often focused on the binaries of ‘North-South’ or ‘local-global’, in this article I address other binaries common to development education and communications such as ‘means and end’, ‘real and not real’, ‘positive vs negative’ and ‘us and them’. Exploring their implications, I argue that binary thinking doesn’t only limit our field of vision but it distorts it, often leading to damaging consequences. This article is not designed to present a full discussion of binaries but to highlight some of the processes at play in relation to them. The hope is that it may encourage us to critically reflect on the effects of what we say and the stories we use in global education as well as in development communications.