3 Essential Communication Practices for Your Marriage

When we're gearing up to talk about something important with a spouse or family member, you know as well as I do that we bring pieces of our inherent family culture with us...

It's just part of our brain's wiring and our personalities, both for better and for worse.

I realized this even more the other day while re-reading a childhood diary of mine. I saw so many small elements of my personality already clicking into place at the young ages of Christa, namely ages 5-10, the years of this particular journal. I was actually speaking to the readers of my diary more than to my own heart, since I believed others would steal into my private thoughts and I wanted to hide my truest feelings from my older siblings. They wrote back to me in certain spots too, teasing here and there, reminding me I was not too far off base in my suppositions. The fact that those patterns, patterns I have brought into marriage and almost every meaningful relationship besides, were in place that long ago was a marvel to me.

You deal with this also. The behaviors you developed to build yourself up and to survive in childhood still catch up with you, and many of them are simply unconscious moves by this point, moreso if you’re not doing your work.

That's why being intentional is absolutely essential when you're noticing you're not communicating well or really being a place of true solace and support for one another.

The podcast episode I’m sharing today brings you tips so you can slow down in your communication style and learn some new rhythms.

It's a time for you to start your week off well, grabbing healthy tips as you prepare to talk about time, needs, family, money, or anything else you could potentially argue about. In fact, this is also exactly why I've invited Steph Barron Hall, Enneagram 3, author, and communications expert on the E + M Pod to join us!

We talk about the fascinating topics of high versus low context family culture and also about bringing in new narratives that can replace dysfunction. Lastly, we include an essential refresher on an important listening tactic you’ll definitely want to use for the holidays and beyond.

Some blogs or episodes are for certain types but this pod is for everyone who knows they need communication help (which is pretty much almost everyone!). However, if you’d rather learn from me via free worksheets on communication, check out our freebies page right here!