Do you wish to have a successful marriage? If yes! Improve your communication skills with your partner. Effective communication in a relationship is one of the most secrets for a successful marriage.
Family life is often not what you thought. You often talk about work, about children, about the crowd in traffic, but you don’t know how to effectively communicate with your spouse about the things that make you a couple. These are five communication skills that can help you.
Communication in your marriage has lost its lustre, and your intimacy is paying the price. Every couple can remember the early days of courtship and honeymoon when there was only one person in the world you thought of. However, over time, this fervour may disappear.
Five communication skills for a happy couple
1. Listen with intent
Listening is not a waiting game; it’s a learning mission. Look for information that will help you better understand your spouse.
You won’t hear the information if you just wait for your spouse to stop talking so you can say what you want. Listen quietly, sympathetically, without judgment. Even soothing comments can stop your spouse and their confidence in the safety of the conversation. If you don’t know how to get your spouse to communicate with you, work on being a good listener. Just listen because your spouse is giving you their vulnerability.
2. Ask open-ended questions
“Are you okay?” they will probably answer you “yes”. By asking open-ended questions, you’re more likely to find out how much your spouse really wants.
3. They choose the right time
Don’t open up complicated topics when you’re both tired. Communication is successful when partners strive for success. Be attentive to each other and choose your time accordingly.
4. Don’t pretend to be a mind reader
“You should know for yourself” or “she can figure it out”, sets up your relationship to failure, especially if expectations are tied to assumptions. It’s not fair to not take responsibility for what you want and expect the other person to do it. Your spouse won’t read your mind, and you’ll both end up outraged.
5. Be the spouse you want to have
Model your behaviour the way you want the other party to behave. Take the risk of being the first to do the right thing. Set up your relationship by changing your actions and trusting your spouse that they will do the same. You are the only one who can be controlled.
Understanding the importance of communication leads to healthy and good communication skills in all your relationships. This awareness opens the door to intent, which then sets the stage for positive behavioural changes. Make healthy communication a priority.