http://www.bettertherapy.com/blog/improve-communication-relationship/ Often when couples fight, they don't accomplish more than venting their feelings. Learn 5 easy techniques to improve your relationship communication skills.

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How to Stop Arguing and Start Communicating:
Most couples arguments are like rituals. Every now and then when each partner has bottled things up
long enough, a fight will erupt and fury will be unleashed. These kinds of fights can often be cathartic,
but they rarely if ever solve anything.
Why? Because when one partner is dishing out, the other is busy preparing a come-back. The result is
that aggression by the one, leads to aggression by the other. Insult gets rebutted with insult, and no
real constructive change comes out of it.
Wouldn’t it be great, however, if the things you complain about could actually get resolved? And
COUPLES COMMUNICATION, COUPLES THERAPY, GOTTMAN METHOD, RELATIONSHIPS
5 WAYS TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE
COMMUNICATION IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP
MARCH 9, 2014 | RUNE MOELBAK | 1 COMMENT
Insight

2. wouldn’t it be nice if your partner would feel understood to the point where he or she no longer
keeps criticizing you about the same old issues?
Here are my 5 easy to implement communication skills that will help you get your point across and improve
your relationship…
1. Stick with the Facts
One of the surest ways to get your partner’s anger boiling is to label their actions using your own
choice phrases. Nouns and adjectives used to describe the other person will often make them feel
judged and ready to rebuff. Calling someone “inconsiderate” is different from pointing out what the
other person did that felt inconsiderate to YOU. You will usually obtain a much better response from
your loved one, if you simply describe the situation at hand. Recount the other person’s actions with-
out attributing evil motivations or categorizing these actions as good or bad. “When you took 30
minutes to get ready this morning, it made us late for work” is quite different from saying “You are al-
ways late in the morning and it’s very inconsiderate”.
2. Use “I feel…”
It is common nowadays to make fun of the therapist who helps couples communicate better by hav-
ing each partner rephrase their criticism with the opening statement: “I feel…” Nevertheless, when
done right, it is exceedingly difficult to argue against another person’s feelings. Rephrasing your criti-
cism in terms of how something made you feel, removes the focus from the wrong-doings of your
partner, and puts focus instead on your own perceptions and experiences. For example, saying “When
you entered the house without saying hello to me, I felt disappointed and started to think that you
don’t really care about me”, invites a quite different response than: “Why did you not say hello when
you came home today; you obviously don’t care!” The focus here is really not so much on using the
phrase “I feel”, as it is about qualifying your annoyance as a result of how you viewed the situation
rather than the objective wrongness of the other person.
3. Ask for what you want – not for what you don’t want
One thing that is exceedingly difficult for people in relationships is to express what they want rather
than what they don’t want. It is quite easy to notice what we don’t want. Our feelings often alert us
when someone has overstepped a boundary or acted in a way that we consider unacceptable. How-
ever, underneath every complaint lies an unexpressed wish. Instead of saying, “I don’t want you to
stay out late with your friends all the time: When are you ever going to spend time with me?”, it might
be better to say: “I really wish we could spend more time together. What do you say we arrange a

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date night?” In the first example, it is easy for your partner to think they are being criticized and being
told what to do. In the second example, it is a lot more difficult to feel defensive. Here what you are
really expressing is that you value something about your partner, and who can really get annoyed
about that?
4. Be Fair in Your Assessment
When you get angry or upset, it is easy to build a case in your mind for why you are justified in being
angry or upset. Oftentimes this can lead you to make totalitarian statements that are almost always
wrong. Saying things like “you ALWAYS go and watch TV without helping me with dinner”, is probably
not entirely accurate. Because terms like ALWAYS and NEVER are almost always NOT true, your
partner is likely to feel misjudged when you use them. Now instead of addressing the real issue, the
conversation will more than likely become about the fairness of your judgment. “Don’t you remember
that I cooked dinner for you the other day?!” So BE fair. It is the best way to make sure your partner
will be able to hear your issue.
5. Become a Good Listener
When your partner brings up a concern they have about you, it is easy to become defensive. Instead
of hearing what your partner’s concern is, it is tempting to instead think of a reason why your partner
is wrong, or to return the insult by blaming your partner for something as well. Instead of doing this,
try to really understand what your partner is feeling unhappy about. Set aside your own complaints
for a moment and become curious about how your partner really views the world. Why is going out
more often important to him? Why does spending money on frivolous things annoy her? Do you really
know what meaning he or she attributes to these events? Try to ask questions until you can repeat
back to your partner exactly why it is they feel dissatisfied. If you model this behavior, likelihood is
that your partner will feel really understood, and will return the favor next time…
About me: I am a couples therapist in Houston, Texas. For more information about couples therapy, please
visit my website.
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COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES COUPLES CONFLICTS RELATIONSHIP ADVICE

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