Don't Let a Lack of Communication Affect Your Marriage

Proper communication is one of the foundations of a successful marriage. Yet many people don’t realize the importance of communication until it is too late, and their marriage has been negatively impacted. Many couples cite a lack of communication as a reason for divorce.  If you want to know more about how a lack of communication can affect your marriage, consider the following guide to 3 of the most significant ways that poor communication could spell trouble for your relationship - and how to avoid these problems.

3 Ways a Lack of Communication Affects Your Marriage

Although there are many ways that poor communication can impact your marriage; the following are the 3 most common communication-related problems that married couples face.

Poor Communication Leads to Misunderstandings

If you don’t know how to regularly and effectively communicate, there will be many misunderstandings in your relationship. These misunderstandings can be as mundane as being late for a scheduled lunch date because you didn’t confirm the time with your partner - and as serious as not realizing you have fundamental disagreements regarding topics like whether or not to have children or where you see yourself settling down. These misunderstandings can, naturally so, lead to conflict.

Poor Communication Makes Resolving Conflict Nearly Impossible

Another marriage problem caused by lack of communication is the difficulty in resolving conflict when it does arrive. If you don’t know how to communicate with your spouse, then you won’t be able to resolve conflict in an effective and constructive manner. This is especially true if you have a radically different communication style than your spouse, which can lead you to an impasse regarding the resolution of any disagreements. If you and your spouse are unable to resolve conflict, it won’t be long until this negatively impacts your marriage in significant ways.

Poor Communication Leads to Stress

Finally, a lack of communication in your marriage leads to stress. Over time, this stress can build up to the point that it causes strain in your relationship and your marriage without you or your spouse even realizing it. Regular stress can be fatal to a marriage, which is why knowing how to communicate - and thus eliminating this source of stress - is so essential for a long-lasting relationship.

How to Improve Your Communication Skills

If you want to make sure that your marriage doesn’t fall victim to a lack of communication, then you need to work on your communication skills with your spouse. The following are some simple yet effective tips that will help you and your husband or wife improve your communication.

• Practice using "I feel" statements when you have conflict. Using "I feel" statements can help you express yourself in a way that doesn’t seem accusatory or needlessly aggressive.

• Talk with your spouse about your communication styles. How do they differ? How are they the same? And what compromise can you reach that works for both of you?

• Avoid passive (and passive aggressive) communication. Effective communication needs to be active, rather than passive - or worst of all, passive aggressive.

Remember, effective communication is necessary if you want to avoid the relationship pitfalls caused by a lack of communication. The above tips will help you avoid them in your marriage.