Communication is the way we convey our hopes, expectations, feelings, dreams and fears. Good communication is the best way to a successful relationship. Communication is expressed through our words, our facial expressions, our body language, our tone of voice and our mannerisms.
Mind Reading; do you expect your date to know what you’re thinking?
Successful dating relies heavily on good communication skills. Communicating effectively during the dating process will help lead you to your goal of having a successful relationship. When you practice your communication skills while dating, you’ll have a better chance of maintaining your relationship once you find your “soul mate.” A wise person once said “ To love a person is to learn the song that is in their heart and to sing it to them when they have forgotten.”
If you find that your dates and relationships are often failing because your expectations are not being met, it’s time to ask yourself how well you’ve been doing at conveying your expectations. If you are not upfront about what you want from the relationship, you only set yourself up for disappointment when your partner fails to provide it. It doesn’t mean that your partner doesn’t want to meet your expectations; it just means that he might not have been aware of them in the first place. By learning how to communicate effectively, you’ll have a much better chance of “hooking” and keeping the person who is right for you.
Lance and Misty are a perfect example of a couple who belong together but are about to throw away a good relationship due to poor communication. Both of them want marriage as a long-term goal, but they failed to discuss it openly. Misty threw around vague hints and expected Lance to read her thoughts, while Lance just tabled the discussion and figured the issue would resolve itself somehow in the future. Lance and Misty had an otherwise good relationship and plenty in common, but their lack of communication on this important issue caused a rift between them.
Unfortunately, people can rarely read each other’s minds, yet how often do we expect our partner to do just that? Yes, your partner should be familiar with your likes and dislikes after you have dated for a few years, but that doesn’t make him a mind reader. You still need to express your needs clearly and often. Poor communication is often characterized by the use of threats, the “silent treatment,” yelling and recriminations. If you and your partner find yourselves using these “techniques” a lot, it’s the first sign that your communication skills have broken down (or were never present in the first place!). Communication is crucial at all stages of a relationship, whether you are going on a first date or have been together for many years. Anytime communications break down, the relationship is in danger of failing.
And remember good communication is the best way to a successful relationship.
For a fun read and some great stories about communication break downs, check out my memoir!
