Interpersonal Communication

Dear Rob and Jerri,

This semester, I took a course on interpersonal communication and thought of your marriage. The course entailed verbal and non-verbal elements of communication which is the key to any relationship to survive. Communicating effectively will allow each of you to remain focused on the other’s feelings, wants and desires. Words are very powerful and must be considered with every breath you take. I would like to share with you some of these ideas and I hope that you are able to incorporate them in your relationship.

First you need to recognize how words have the power to create and affect attitudes, behaviors and perceptions. Examine your attitude toward yourself, toward your partner, toward your relationship and toward life in general. If you rated the altitude of your attitude as soaring high, under the radar or grounded, where would you be? Feed your mind positive examples and thoughts about your relationship and keep the lines of communication open between the two of you. Be careful of the words that you say to one another whether it is general conversation, passion or out of anger. Words can make you feel good and they all so can make you feel bad. The words you chose can cause self-esteem issues distrust or hurt to the core. Harsh words can create bad attitudes in a relationship, create unpleasant behavior and the wrong words create perception that you are mean and uncaring.

Susan Derry, Professional Counselor & Life Coach, Co-author of Marriage Prep: Beginnings a downloadable marriage preparation course. Offers a free Nurturing Marriage