Marriage is a lifelong relationship and to keep it strong and healthy, couples must stay connected to each other. One way to stay connected to each other is to keep the lines of communication open. So how do you strengthen your marriage through good communication?

Spend more time with your spouse than with anyone else. To strengthen your marriage through good communication, you need to spend more time with your spouse communicating and talking about things that happen to you. It is important not to let a day go by without talking to your spouse. Happiness is said to multiply and pain to halve when shared with your spouse. Constant communication between couples strengthens the marriage.

Understand the feelings and thoughts of others. Through communication, a better understanding of the feelings and thoughts of others can be achieved. It is also important to know that men and women can have different points of view and couples need to understand that. Women in general tend to be more emotional and talk more about their feelings. Men, on the other hand, are often not open to talking about their feelings, but are more likely to talk about their interests, activities, and solutions to problems. Knowing and understanding the other’s point of view is important to strengthening your marriage through good communication.

Hear. When problems arise in a marriage, husbands generally want to find a solution quickly when in fact the first thing a wife needs is a listening ear. It could also happen the other way around when a wife immediately wants to find a solution to a problem when all a husband needs is her attention and someone to listen. Communication is not just about talking, it is also about listening. To strengthen your marriage through good communication, you need to know when to stop talking and just listen.

Know when to shut up and when to talk. Timing is important if you want effective communication with your spouse. When there are issues you want to discuss, find the right time to raise them. When your spouse is overwhelmed by a lot of work, this is obviously not the right time to bring up the issues you want to discuss with your spouse. Allow a little time before raising these issues to make sure your discussion runs smoothly. Be considerate of your spouse and know when to shut up and when to speak up.

Speak with kindness and respect. Time is not the only element if you want to strengthen your marriage through good communication. Choosing the right words at the right time is essential. Well-chosen words spoken at the right time are two important ingredients of an effective conversation. Couples should be aware of the type of words they use when speaking. Even in the face of arguments, insults and curses should be avoided because words can hurt and leave scars on your partner. To strengthen your marriage through good communication, speak with kindness and respect.

Open up to your spouse. To strengthen your marriage through good communication, you must open up to your spouse. Express your feelings clearly and open up to your spouse. The common mistake of couples, especially husbands, is to think that opening up to their wives is a sign of weakness. Husbands tend to hold things back, thinking that if they avoid talking about a certain topic, the problem will simply go away. But this is generally not true because if problems keep piling up, you will eventually tire yourself out and this can be more damaging to your marriage. Couples must know how to express themselves and open up with their spouses to keep the marriage strong.

Acknowledge your mistakes and apologize. Humility is important if you want to strengthen your marriage through good communication. If you want to solve your marriage problems through discussion and effective conversation, you must acknowledge your mistakes and learn to apologize. Pride exacerbates conflict in your marriage and takes away your desire to apologize, so the proud spouse makes excuses instead of apologizing. For an effective conversation with your spouse, learn to say “I’m sorry” and be humble if you have hurt your spouse.

Good communication is a powerful tool for bridging the gap between couples, so it is important for couples to take advantage of it if they want to create a strong and lasting marriage. For more relationship guide, visit How to Save a Troubled Relationship