The Importance Of Listening In Relationships

Effective relationships should be a common goal for all to strive for. The learner believes that there are four major signs that make us human; the need to love, the need to be loved, the need to be accepted and the need to be respected as an individual. None of these things can be accomplished alone, therefore, a relationship needs to be formed. The more effective the relationship the more these needs are able to be met. In the study of marriage and family we look into the areas that can either make or break relationships. We look at the different ways to communicate effectively, the power and conflicts that occur within relationships, and the personal responsibility role we each take on in a relationship. When most people hear the

Karl Menninger a Psychiatrist once wrote that listening may be more important than talking (Bethel, 2012). Listening has been deemed important in all kinds of relationships from preserving the dignity of the elderly to the satisfaction in couples and marriages (Bethel, 2012). Good listening skills benefit communication. Whereas, poor listening skills impede communication. The textbook discusses several types of listeners. The first is the faker, the faker only pretends to be listening. The best way to discover if you are dealing with one of these types is to randomly quiz them on the things that you have communicated to them. Next, is the dependent listener, this type of listener only listens to please the speaker. The textbook states that they are so worried about what the speaker thinks about them that they are unable to listen with understanding (Bethel, 2012). The learner has a major problem with the next type, the interrupter. The interrupter never lets the other person in the conversation finish what they are trying to say. They always interrupt with either their opinion on the matter or they make the conversation relate to their feelings (Bethel, 2012). Some things to remember when practicing good listening skills, are no one can listen when two people are talking, and a good listener listens to understand and not to respond. Working on communication skills can help form effective

It is impossible to work towards resolving an issue with their mate if it is never brought to their mate’s attention. Not saying that this will automatically benefit or resolve the issue, but it will let you know whether it can be resolved. Conflict allows growth (Bethel University, 2012). The learner has found that with maturity she is able to handle a lot of things that the younger version of her would not have tolerated or dealt with at all. Conflict allows us to continually test and discover the kind of person we are and what we can deal with. Lastly, the textbook tells us that conflict allows a more equitable balance of power (Bethel University, 2012). If your able to communicate an issue with your partner and the two of you work with a compromised agreement, this gives the person who was having the issue a sense of power in the relationship by the partner’s willingness to resolve the