COMMUNICATION

Healthy relationships require good communication.

Since 2001 I’ve worked with countless couples and families who can’t resolve their problems on their own. The most common complaint is, “We don’t communicate”. The female of the species is usually the better communicator; but, as the saying goes, “it takes two to tango”.

Social media, used mainly by kids and young adults, has not helped matters. Many of them no longer even talk on the phone – they text. Unfortunately, texting and e-mail do not help us learn to communicate up close and personal. As a result, such people have trouble in their relationships.

Expressing oneself on a personal level takes skill and the willingness to let others see and hear you as you really are. But – maybe because they’ve lacked the experience of having a deep conversation – so many people are reluctant to talk about how they feel. Consequently, people hide their emotions, which increases separation from others.

Let’s look at some reasons people have a hard time expressing themselves on a personal level:

• Embarrassment
• Negative expectation about the outcome
• Lack of trust in others
• Early childhood training to not call attention to oneself
• Fear of being judged or criticized
• Fear of people knowing you better … because if they did, they might not like you
• Inability to identify and/or verbalize feelings
• There’s no one to talk to
• Nobody would listen, anyway
• It’s rude
• It’s nobody’s business
• Reluctance to burden other people with your problems

I’ve been teaching communication workshops since 2004, and I know I can help you overcome these obstacles. The key is to be strongly motivated and to see the process as skill-building, not as a personality make-over.

If you’d like to get started, please contact me at 219-309-3928. It would be an honor and privilege to be of service.