MARRIAGE (PART 7): STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS BEFORE MARRIAGE

Communication is hard work. That's why it's the key to any healthy relationship. If you want to communicate better in a relationship, then you have to not only know how to state your ideas but to be able to really listen to your partner. Most people have never learned how to communicate. Without this skill, a person is handicapped in an intimate relationship.  Without being able to clearly Xpress themselves and listen to another, partners cannot achieve intimacy. By developing your communication skills, you will be able to establish and preserve a loving, respectful relationship in a relationship that will develop long-term possibilities. One of the biggest problems in communicating is that most couples have a basic misconception of what the purpose of communication is. Most approach talking with a partner as a debate in which each presents a preconceived version of the reality of what is going on between the two partners. The fault with this approach is the mistaken assumption that either partner can go into the conversation with an accurate perception of reality. This is not possible because neither person has the necessary information to determine what reality is, that is: what is going on between them. One purpose of communication is to determine what reality is so that two people are able to grow from there. Communication involves the collaboration of two people as they share and Xamine all of their perceptions, feelings, ideas and thoughts to come to an accurate understanding of what is happening. Listen in as SISTAH CHAT continues its dialogue on the communication skills that are required to develop a healthy relationship that has the potential for growing into a healthy and lasting marriage.