Communication is KEY!

Communicating is one of the most important things you can do in any relationship. There are different techniques of good communication. There are soft start ups which are conversations that are started not harshly. There are repair attempts when people try to get the conversation back on track, there are I-messages when people us the word "I" instead of pointing blame, and there is reflective listening which is when you reflect and ask if you understand what the person is saying. The conflict resolution steps are: identify/define the issues, clarify the issue completely, identify alternatives, solidify agreements, and try the plan and review/renegotiate. The forms of communication include verbal, words, tone, and non-verbal. in communications, 51% is nonverbal, 35% is tone, an 14% is words. We need to watch our nonverbal communication because that says a lot about how we are feeling. That is why people say actions speak louder than words.  Communication is so big in relationships because it allows each person to understand how the other is feeling, learn more about them, work out problems, and bond. Often times, we focus so much on indirect communication that it has a big potential to be misunderstood. When we communicate, we should be sure to not let impure things pass through our mouths. We need to build up others. I need to be especially careful about sarcasm. Sarcasm is a corrupt form of communications. Your tone won't match your words and in other words, you are lying because there is the potential for damage or misunderstanding. There is no congruent way to respond to sarcasm. Moral of the story, communication is everything and it is very important to be careful how you communicate so that you are not misunderstood. Miscommunication causes many problems, therefore it is worth your time to do your best to communicate effectively.