Communication is an important life skill, especially when it comes to family. While it can be easy to focus your efforts on communicating effectively with partners and friends, don’t neglect investing in communication with your family. Without proper family communication, there are bound to be misunderstandings, frustration, and even conflict. Here are seven tips to improve your family communication.
1. Remove Distractions
In today’s digital world, you have more distractions than ever before. Your devices, media, work, and other relationships might be pulling you in lots of different directions. When it comes to communicating with your family, it is critical that all of these distractions are removed.
When you are having a family conversation, dedicate 100% of your focus to your family. Clear your schedule, put your devices away, and turn off the TV. Removing all distractions will signal that you are invested, and it will encourage a more open conversation.
2. Be an Active Listener
We all know that there is a difference between hearing and listening. When it comes to improving communication with your family, being an active listener is critical. Active listening means that you are making a real effort to understand what your family is saying and that you are participating in the conversation.
Active listening does not mean perfect listening. It is okay to ask your family members to clarify or to repeat themselves.
3. Schedule Family Time
You can’t improve your family communication unless you create space for communication. While scheduling family time can sound overly formal, it is sometimes necessary to ensure that your family gets the time together that it needs.
Make the most of the scheduled time. If there’s something you want to discuss, make sure that it gets communicated during this valuable time.
4. Practice Patience
Being patient with your fellow family members is a critical step in good family communication. Some family members may struggle more than others with communicating their thoughts and feelings. Others may be quick to escalate a sensitive topic.
In any situation, be patient and don’t let a sense of urgency derail the line of communication.
5. Show Appreciation and Empathy
When people don’t feel heard and appreciated, they tend to shut down and lines of communication close. When your family has made an effort to communicate, show appreciation for their efforts.
Empathy is also critical in healthy family communication. Showing empathy is especially important when a family member is struggling through mental illness, substance issues, or health challenges.
For example, elderly family members with conditions like dementia will require more effort for effective communication and showing empathy while communicating can make all the difference.
6. Be Open
Communication is a two-way street. You cannot expect your family members to invest in improving communication if you are not open to the process. Even if it feels uncomfortable, put yourself out there and express your feelings. The only way your family will hear your message is if you tell them.
7. Ask Questions
Communicating thoughts and feelings to your family isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes barriers to communication or complicated situations can muddle the message. That’s why you should always ask questions.
Asking questions can help clarify what your family members are trying to say. Sometimes questions even uncover topics that wouldn’t have come up otherwise.
Effective communication in families can bring people closer and resolve issues. If you follow these tips, you’ll be on your way to achieving an open, transparent, and productive family communication channel.