If you are to improve your marriage, in any way, then communication and conflict resolution skills will be required. Communication plays a key role in building up or tearing down any relationship. It can be tempting to think that because we’ve been talking most of our lives, we are good at communicating and that we simply get better with time. The simple passing of time, as well as the number of years we’ve been talking, has little to do with how well one communicates, especially when it comes to disagreements with others. The truth is, we simply are not wired to react well to disagreements. If that wasn’t bad enough, add in a little misunderstanding, a few high running emotions, and a sprinkle of body language into the mix and you’ve got a real concoction of chaos and confusion.

Communicating can be extremely difficult. Here’s just one simple example: In one case not talking can be devastating to a relationship. In a different circumstance saying nothing at all can be a pure act of love that builds trust and admiration. Any time the very same act (in this example: not talking) can have such different outcomes you’re setting the stage for a wide array of misunderstanding, confusion, and communication breakdown. I think more of us are asking the question should I spend time improving my communication and conflict resolution skills when a better question would be, what am I going to do to improve my communication and conflict resolution skills. The value and the need are both there.

​