Open and Honest: How to Talk to Your Significant Other
by Tips and suggestions for successful communication within a relationship.
Nearly everyone who is in a relationship dread hearing four little words at some point in time because they can herald a massive headache. What are those four little words? We have to talk. They have become the bane of many relationships, fodder for an unbelieveable amount of spiteful humor, and a statement that society insists is at the beginning of every argument in all relationships. This does not need to be the case.
Conversations focusing upon important matters in a relationship should not be cause for fear and anxiety. Often, when this is the case it is because there is a problem with communicating. The assumption that serious discussion should turn into an argument has made for a horrific sterotype that severely hinders the idea that people in a relationship can talk about something other then the happy things.
What is Communication?
Before we look at what the problems that rise up and make it difficult to talk to our significant other, let us take a brief peek at just what communication is. It may seem overly cautious to look at the definition of this term and how the process of communication works. Taking the time to look at these matters, however, serves to put the act of communicating into context and makes it easier for us to understand where and why it goes awry. The word ‘communication’ is surprisingly complicated as it has many different definitions and uses. The definition that we are working with is:
There are multiple forms of communication implied with the definition above. For simplicity sake, let us focus our attention upon verbal communication in the spoken and written forms. Spoken (also known as oral) communication is comprised of three different elements. The first and most obvious element is the language used. Words have precise meanings and when used correctly can convey incredible amounts of information very clearly and quickly. The second element of oral communication to be considered is the tone and inflection used when speaking. The words “Just great!” can take on entirely different implications if they’re said with enthusiasm or sarcasm, for example. This does not take into consideration the context of the phrase in relation to the rest of the conversation.
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