Effective communication - relationships

Self-Disclosure, Gender, and Communication

Communication involves the passing of messages through a given media from a given source to a given recipient. Communication is very important in all the aspects of the human life including and most importantly, human relationships. Man is naturally a social being and as such requires communication to keep this status.

The article entitled “can we talk” (Schoenberg, 2011), lays a lot of emphasis on quality communication and self disclosure. Communication in marriages is an inevitable ingredient for the survival of any marriage. Majority of marriages according to research have been terminated due to lack of this important ingredient. Personally, I totally concur with this article that self disclosure is key to a happy marital relationship.

 Our hidden feelings are our greatest enemy especially if we do not come out open and share them with our partners. It is good in any relationship that a couple shares their individual fears, joys, ambitions and expectations for proper and effective identification. Sharing one’s fears especially is a very good way of relieving one self and enabling one to live a peaceful and self fulfilling life. The sharing and excitement at the beginning of the relationship should be maintained if not improved and made even better (Farber, 2006).

As the author postulates, the amount of time you spend communicating with your partner is irrelevant. What is really important is the quality of communication and how you as an individual participate in the communication process. Both genders value being appreciated either by way of giving gifts or by verbal appreciation. Though men are better at using verbal appreciation, women too show affection verbally but are better off in non verbal communication (Schoenberg, 2011).

Individuals are unique. There are some basic yardsticks with which all can be measured against irrespective of who one is. I am no exception especially when it comes to the concept of quality communication and happy relationships. This shows that though every individual is unique in way or another, there are some generalizations which one cannot avoid unless one is not human.

References

Farber, A. B. (2006). Self Disclosure in Psychotherapy. New York: The Guilford Press.

Schoenberg, N. (2011). Can we talk?  Chicago Tribune.