7 Tips for Marriage Communication

Better marriage communication can make all the difference to your overall happiness in life – here are some great tips.

The Right Time

If there is something in your marriage that is bothering you and you want to talk about this, you have to find the right time to do this.  You have to wait for a time when both you and your partner are calm, not stressed, distracted or in a rush.  If both of you are very busy, you might have to schedule the time to talk.

Talk Face To Face

Serious matters in your relationship should be discussed face to face and not in writing. Emails, letters and text messages can lead to misinterpretation and you want to avoid this.  Talking in person ensures that there is no miscommunication. Of course, if you have trouble collecting your thoughts with face to face interaction, you should look at writing everything down beforehand and reading them out to your partner.

Do Not Always Attack

Your choice of words may mean well, but there is the chance that you will come over in a harsh manner and look to be attacking your partner.  Using words like ‘you’ will make it sound like you are attacking and this will make your partner defensive and less likely to listen.  You should look at using the words I and we more. An example of this will be saying that “I feel like we have not been close recently” instead of saying “you have been distant with me.”

Be Honest

You and your partner need to agree to be honest.  There are times when the truth hurts, but this is the key to a healthy and successful relationship.  You need to admit that you are not always perfect and be willing to accept that you make mistakes.  Not only will you feel better for this, your relationship will also be better because there are no lies.

Look At Your Body Language

Give your partner your full attention and make sure they know they have it by looking at your body language.  You need to sit up, face them, and make eye contact with them when they are speaking. You should not take any phone calls, text or play video games when you are talking.  When you do this, you will show that you respect your partner as you are responding and listening to them.

Use The 48 Hour Rule

If your partner has done something that angers you, you need to talk to them about this.  However, you do not have to do this immediately.  If you are still angry and hurt by this after 48 hours, you need to say something.  If you are not, you can consider forgetting about it. 

However, it is important to remember that your partner cannot read your mind.  If you are upset and do not talk about it, they will not know what is wrong or what can be done about this.  After talking to your partner and accepting their sincere apology, you need to let it go.  Do not bring up issues that are no longer relevant.

How To Communicate If You Are Angry

Getting angry is a relationship is okay and everyone has at some point.  How you resolve the conflict is more important and needs to be done in a healthy manner.  There are a few tips that you can use to help you with this.

The first thing is to stop, take a step back and just breathe.  You need to tell your partner that you are taking a short break before continuing the conversation.  Give yourself some time to calm down because this will help you avoid making the situation worse.

When you are no longer upset, you need to think about the situation and why you became angry.  Figuring out what the real problem is will help you explain your feelings.  The final step you need to take is to talk.  When you talk to your partner, you should also listen to what they have to say.

Photo: Pixabay

Contributed posts are written by third-parties who have paid Woman Around Town for publication.