Good
communication is an essential ingredient to any successful relationship,
regardless of whether or not a couple has different religious backgrounds.
Communication skills are important in at least two fundamental
ways. First, effective communication enhances a couple's ability
to understand one another. Effective communication, for example,
allows individuals to more clearly express or articulate their
needs and desires, which in turn, makes it easier for a partner
to be responsive to those needs. Greater understanding of our partner
also fosters greater intimacy or sense of connection. Being able
to share our faith with our partner, for example, can help a couple
strengthen their spiritual intimacy. Second, effective communication skills help couples
work through the inevitable problems and conflicts that arise in
all intimate relationships. Strong communication skills, along
with the problem-solving skills discussed in the next unit, will
facilitate couples working through many issues, including issues
that interchurch couples frequently face. Good communication skills,
for example, can help couples from escalating a disagreement into
a major conflict. They can also help prevent conflict by reducing
the number of misunderstandings that can arise from poor communication
skills. Since communication skills will be the foundation
upon which other issues and topics will be explored, developing
effective skills in communication is the focus of the first unit.
It is hoped that developing and using these skills will help you
and your partner work more effectively through the other topics
discussed in this program. This unit will address skills that both
the speaker and the listener need to develop for effective communication
skills.
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