4 Ways To Instantly Improve Your Communication Skills

In any relationship, communication is one of the most important skills you can cultivate. Without communication, your relationship is left to the murky world of reading between the lines, nonverbal nuances, and more often than not, passive aggression. Ottawa marriage counselling is one way to improve the way that you and your partner speak to each other, have arguments, and share thoughts and opinions. Relationships thrive on shared experiences, and the way that you interact with each other. Learning effective communication skills will enhance your relationship instantly! Here are five ways to instantly improve your communication skills.

1. Stop, and Listen

Taking the time to actually stop what you are doing and listen to your partner is more than half the battle when it comes to communication. We live in a go-go-go world. Your day planner has more written in it than you can possibly accomplish in one day, every single day. You don’t have the luxury of taking the time to stop and listen, you need to actually make the time. That said, if you don’t a lot will pass you by. Ottawa Marriage counselling is one way of scheduling in time to stop, and listen.

2. Hear What Your Partner is Saying

It’s important to note that listening and hearing are not the same thing. You can listen to your partner all day and never actually hear what they need you to hear. One way to instantly make your partner feel heard is by rephrasing what they just said, as a way of both understanding and processing their thoughts. This is called “reflection” in a therapy setting. Use this technique sparingly though, as it does have a tendency of making the other person feel mocked rather than heard….

3. Practice Honesty

Honesty can be a hard technique to master, as we aren’t often as honest with ourselves as we would like to think. Honesty requires a huge amount of introspection and reflection on our own behaviours and emotions. Marriage therapy can help start you on a path both towards being honest with yourself and with your partner. Being honest in your relationship is important. Honesty is as much about telling your partner how you truly feel about their dishwasher loading technique as it is about disclosing affairs, and other relationship obstacles.

4. Watch for Nonverbal Signals

A shockingly large portion of communication is nonverbal. It just goes to prove that communication isn’t just about what you say, but how you say it. Picking up on your partner’s body language, the tone of their voice, their use of eye contact, even inflection can tell you a lot more than their words might. Having the ability to pick up on nonverbal forms of communication can improve your relationship. Some use nonverbal forms of communication – such as folded arms, and lack of eye contact – can be used as defense mechanisms. Marriage counselling can help you both pick up on these queues and respond to them with care and respect.

To schedule an appointment with a member of the Marriage Therapists Ottawa team, contact us today!