A Recap from our last class
It’s March! It makes me think of the color green, fresh rain and seedlings, and new growth and beauty. We’re having a long winter, but we know that everything will start to bloom again and have a new fresh beginning in the Spring.
In some ways our relationships follow that same pattern.
Last night during my Couples Communication Skills class, I talked about the 3 stages of a relationship: Honeymoon, Conflict, and Growth, and how every couple moves through these stages at different times.
I spoke about the importance in practicing speaker and listener skills, to make sure you’re not stuck in the conflict stage for too long and that you’re cycling to the honeymoon or growth stage.
How do we move out of the conflict stage? One way is with daily check-ins where you are giving your partner your undivided attention while keeping in mind and adjusting your listening barriers. We took a quiz and identified their listening barriers such as interrupting, dividing attention, and problem solving.
Next the couples enjoyed asking open-ended questions while practicing these new skills. It was wonderful watching these couples learn and practice new skills that will enhance their relationship and increase their connection and decrease conflict.
We also completed the 5 Love Languages quiz, and the couples shared their Love Language with each other, along with the specific strategies they would respond to. It was beautiful to see these new growth opportunities for these couples as they shared their fresh new insights with one another. Many couples had never taken this quiz and had a new sense of excitement as they planned how to practice their partners’ Love Language <3
Overall, it was an incredible class where all the couples left much more connected and hopeful. Here are some testimonials from the couples:
“I enjoyed the class. I learned some new things about my partner (and we’ve been married 29 years).”
“I’m going to try some of these new ideas.”
“Great, practical tools for working on communication and bringing mindfulness to conflict, understand how we function individually, and work as a team. It helped me with some clarity!”
“Super informative and reassuring. It was a safe place to learn communication tools and we will implement them at home.”
If you want to sign up for the next Couples Communication Skills class, please send us a message through the Contact Us form on our website and we will reach out to you once we have a date!