Lack of communication

Communication and relationship go everywhere and strongly influence human activity; from war and peace among nations to whether matrimony works, from political action to personal friendship.

Lack of communication is perhaps the most common and one of the most deadly forms of relationship trouble. Good communication serves to bring people closer together. When partners consistently fail to communicate well, they slowly become strangers. Much of what happens in our own lives, our communities, and world events alike depends on personal strengths and weaknesses in communicating, connecting, and interacting with others. Lost opportunities, poor leadership and negotiation, unhappy relationships, and even suicide can result due to lack of communication.

Often in a relationship, we think we understand the other person, we respond accordingly, then the other person thinks they know what we mean, they respond, and we are off to the races, so to speak. But in reality communicating means really listening to each other and it involves both parties.

Here's a simple 4 step process for improving communication between partners:
Step 1 - Partner 1 talks about something.
Step 2 - Partner 2 repeats what they heard and then asks if they got it.
Step 3 - Partner 1 then has three options:
- Yes, you got it.
- You got one part, and missed this part.
- You did not get it at all.
You then repeat steps 1 through 3 until partner 2 gets it.
Step 4 - When both people agree that the message was received, partner 2 talks about their thoughts and feelings about what was said. Now partner 1 repeats steps 2 and 3 until they get it. And so on.

This feels awkward at first. Give it some time because it works. We should communicate more with people, remember we do not lose anything by communicating with others but we definitely gain something by communicating.

by Kaminie