Good communication is an important part of a relationship and an essential part of a healthy partnership. You meet someone and you both start dating. At first it was physical attraction, then went to infatuation and later on goes to feelings and then a sense of partnership and all of these is built through good communication.
Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs and behaviorsIt must not necessarily be verbal or by speaking. In a relationship, communication allows you to explain to someone else usually your partner what you are experiencing and what your needs are. The act of communicating does not only help to meet your needs but also it helps you to know your partner well and stay connected in your relationship.
You can’t know your partner well unless you both communicate. No matter how well you know each other and love each other, you cannot read your partner’s mind. Y’all need to communicate clearly enough in order to avoid misunderstandings that may cause hurt, anger, resentment or confusion.
Be clear when communicating with your partner so that your message can be received and well comprehended.
Communication does not end at speaking. As earlier mentioned, communication must not necessarily be verbal. Body movements, facial expressions, tone of voice, speak volumes. You can actually say something to your partner but your body language says otherwise. When communicating, what you say should be true and should be in accordance with your body language.
To effectively communicate with your partner, you need to;
- Set aside time to talk without interruption from other people or distractions like phones, computers or television.
- Think about what you want to say and be sure about it.
- Be clear about what you want to communicate
- Make your message clear, so that your partner hears it accurately and understands what you mean
- Talk about what is happening and how it affects you
- Talk about what you want, need and feel – use ‘I’ statements such as ‘I need’, ‘I want’ and ‘I feel’
- accept responsibility for your own feelings and actions
- Listen to your partner. Put aside your own thoughts for the time being and try to understand their intentions, feelings, needs and wants (this is called empathy). Give room for your partner to comprehend and speak
- Share positive feelings with your partner, such as what you appreciate and admire about them, and how important they are to you
- Be aware of your tone of voice. Approach the situation calmly and avoid being aggressive
- Negotiate and remember that you don’t have to be right all the time. If the issue you are having is not that important, sometimes let the issue go, or agree to disagree.
- Focus on the subject at hand and avoid bringing up past mistakes or changing the topic.
- Listen to what your partner has to say. Don’t act like your listening but actually listen and pay attention to little details.
Not being able to communicate with your partner can lead to stress, frustration and even trust issues. If you can’t talk openly to your partner about little things like your feelings then you definitely can’t talk about big things. When communicating with your partner, learn to be honest and straightforward.
We should all know that communication is the basis for trust and is and will remain the key to any good relationship. We should learn to keep aside pride and start talking. Do not always be like “why should I be the first to talk to him/her??” if that’s the key to fixing your problems, keep pride aside and talk it out for it solves not everything but most relationship problems.
NOTICE! The above images were taken from Google. None is owned by us.
TANAH WHITNEY
#KESAmag
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