Tips for Effective Communication in your Relationships

Whether it be with a lover, friend, business partner, family member or acquaintance communication is an essential part of our day to day lives. Keep reading to discover some tips for effective communication in your relationships…

Communication is so much more than just a verbal conversation with another person, it is a way of being. Remembering the feeling of being with yourself while being with another is something that can already be found within you.

I have mapped out a way for you to rediscover your inner communication style and feel more satisfied within your relationships…Through listening with presence, reflecting with awareness, and responding with compassion we begin the process.

Listening with presence…

The place to start communicating effectively with ourselves and with the world around us is to first listen. Starting the practice of listening with presence can be more complex than the simplicity of how it sounds.

We must first ask ourselves, do we desire to fully listen and be present in this moment?

Listening is one of the most powerful tools to remembering the wisdom of the soul.

Once we are ready to answer yes to this question, we can start exploring what this feels like in the body and mind. You might find it challenging to stay focused or present, but know that this is all a part of the process.

Trust that the discomfort you are experiencing will transform over time and create something new.

• Actively practice bringing attention to slowing down the breathe. This will relax the mind leaving space for presence.
• Practice repeating the affirmation “I trust myself.” This will soften the feelings of needing to prove, get a point across, or justify oneself during a conversation. Simply because you have first listened to yourself.

Reflecting with Awareness…

Reflection is a way to bring attention to the parts of our experience that we cannot yet see that are causing us pain. There is no specific time limit for when the process of reflection is complete.

Initially, when we start to reflect we might feel more emotion. This is because we are bringing awareness to the habitual cycles that are recurring within our relationships.

The goal is to not get attached to a fixed mindset around a particular topic or situation. Instead, try to expand your consciousness in the direction of accepting all possibilities.

• Find a quiet space to process the things you have listened too. Try practicing feeling each emotion that comes into the body with love & acceptance.
• Take the time to dive into books, mentors, classes, and other resources that discuss the obstacles that you are currently reflecting on; so that you can view another angle of the situation.
• Writing letters to release your pain & emotions is a great way to practice letting go of the past so that you can move forward with a fresh perspective.

Responding with Compassion…

Before responding to situations it is important to often take a pause before reacting. This is how we break the cycle of unsatisfying communication patterns within relationships.

Of course we still want to respond authentically to how we are feeling, but is our response going to create the outcome that we truly desire?

In other words, we can still portray the true emotion that we are feeling to another without hurting ourselves in the process.

I highly recommend checking out my post What Does Being Vulnerable Mean to You?

We cannot control how someone else is going to react to us, because they are perceiving the world from their personal lens; but we can learn to change how we feel in response to our own actions.

• Rather than a rushed response, practice taking a pause. Before responding to someone you can practice letting them know that you are there to listen but that you need time to reflect before completing the conversation. This gives you time to set a positive intention for the next discussion and to be prepared with a response that is going to give you more resolution.

• Make a list of boundaries for yourself so that if you encounter a situation with someone that is not going to respect your desire for space, you will have your own back. An example could be: “I will not immediately react from a place of anger if someone says something hurtful to me. I will take a deep breathe, feel the emotion, and then decide what to do.”

• If you are having a disagreement with someone, practice remembering the moments you experienced a joyful encounter with that person. Feel into the memory with gratitude despite how you were feeling before so that a shift can occur.

To conclude, communication is much more than just verbal conversations, it is an energetic experience. This involves developing trust within the self, setting intentions, patience, and consistently practicing rewiring old patterns.

You don’t need to prove your worth to anyone if you learn how to establish trust within yourself.

Go here for a bonding practice to do with a partner for establishing a deeper connection!