If you want to improve your listening skills as a married couple, you should not be judgmental when you listen, keep eye contact, avoid interrupting, observe nonverbal cues, be aware of gender differences, and avoid being a passive listener.

Communication is essential in relationships, especially in marriages. In fact many serious marriage problems can be avoided when couples make effective communication a priority. Communication takes two parties, one to encode the message and send it, and another to receive and interpret the message sent. It involves talking as well as listening. Listening to one’s partner can go a long way and can make your partner feel valued. Just listening is one way to help your spouse be happier, and it works for both husbands and wives. Read on to learn how to listen better.

Listen with an open mind

Always strive to be open-minded with your spouse. There are some individuals that think ahead about how to respond without taking time to hear the other person. Being open-minded means you are keeping the conversation natural and free-flowing without the interruption of your personal agenda. Judging too quickly and without appropriate thought just causes you to miss critical things your spouse is trying to tell you and will only cause more arguing. Stop yourself before making hasty and false assumptions.

You should keep eye contact.

Body language can reveal how serious you are to what the speaker is saying. It is very important for your marriage that you pay close attention when your partner speaks and try to maintain eye contact. Stop thinking about other things or zoning while listening to your partner when he is talking.

Don’t interrupt

Let your partner speak with no interruptions. Keep quiet even if you feel defensive so your spouse can see that you are willing to listen even when they say something you may not like. To make sure the situation is entirely resolved it is best to ask questions for clarification after your spouse is finished speaking. Don’t interrupt, as that will prevent you from gleaning all of the information you’ll need to respond well.

Pay attention to what isn’t being said

While your partner is speaking, observe changes in their voice and body language like facial expressions and other mannerisms, which will give you clues to what they are not saying. Picking up on nonverbal cues will help you to respond better to your partner.

Use caution with differences in gender

Overall, studies show that communication styles and purposes differ between men and women. For men, the motivation for talking is usually to impart information or think things through. By contrast, women talk to feel connected and learn things. Being knowledgeable about these unique traits, of men and women, will help you to communicate in a more effective manner.

You should not listen passively

When your spouse speaks you should focus in what they are saying and remember their words. Be more specific and make sure that your responses are not negative.

A very important aspect of communication for any couple is the art of listening.

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Category: Marriage
Keywords: make her happy, make wife happy, marriage advice for men, marriage tips for men