Summary: <p>Relationship Skills<br> Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes<br> Executive Director, AllCEUs<br> Objectives<br> ~ Steps for Building Empathy<br> ~ Tips for overcoming the most common communication barriers<br> ~ Tips for fair fighting<br> ~ Tips for Sweetening Your Relationship<br> ~ Tips for a Closer Relationship<br> ~ Tips for Compromise<br> ~ Tips for Getting Your Needs Met<br> ~ Tips for Giving Emotional Support<br> ~ Tips for Being More Thoughtful</p> <p>Individual Differences<br> ~ Extroverts vs. Introverts<br> ~ Sensing (Details)vs. iNtuitive (Big Picture)<br> ~ Thinking (True/False) vs. Feeling (Good/Bad)<br> ~ Judging (structure) vs. Perceiving (spontenaeity)<br> Expression of Love<br> ~ The Five Love Languages (Gary Chapman)<br> ~ Receiving gifts<br> ~ Quality time<br> ~ Words of affirmation<br> ~ Acts of service (devotion)<br> ~ Physical touch</p> <p>Common Communication Barriers<br> ~ Over-explaining<br> ~ Being vague<br> ~ I’ll pick you up this afternoon<br> ~ You are so insensitive<br> ~ We never spend quality time together<br> ~ Mind reading/Assuming (You always want…)<br> ~ Distractions<br> ~ “You” driven language<br> ~ Universal statements (Always, never…)<br> ~ Blaming<br> ~ Only noting the negative</p> <p>Effective Communication<br> ~ One person talks and the other listens…and only listens<br> ~ Stay seated<br> ~ Talker<br> ~ Owns feelings, desires, opinions<br> ~ Uses objective, observable terms<br> ~ Sticks to one thing at a time<br> ~ Listener<br> ~ Paraphrases what is heard<br> ~ Verifies accuracy, THEN responds<br> ~ Repeat the process until the issue is resolved<br> Tips for Sweetening Your Relationship<br> ~ Love is a combination of emotions and actions including talking, compassion and trust.<br> ~ Rewrite your vows/promises<br> ~ Have a re-commitment ceremony<br> ~ Imagine what life would be like if your partner were gone<br> ~ Communicate to your partner in his or her love language<br> ~ Receiving gifts<br> ~ Quality time<br> ~ Words of affirmation<br> ~ Acts of service<br> ~ Physical touch<br> Sweetening<br> ~ Make an effort<br> ~ Write down a list of things your partner could do that would make you feel loved/happy and exchange them.<br> ~ Remember (or get Google to remind you) of birthdays, anniversaries, or just happy occasions and celebrate<br> ~ Celebrate for no reason<br> ~ If you have a disagreement, take a step back and try to see it from your partner’s point of view</p> <p>Sweetening<br> ~ Don’t let fear of being vulnerable or abandonment undermine you<br> ~ Share hopes, dreams and fears.<br> ~ If becoming vulnerable makes you also become critical and defensive, identify and work through the reasons<br> ~ Think back to hopes and dreams you shared when you were dating…make it happen<br> ~ Remind you partner of the qualities you love about them.<br> Building Empathy<br> ~ Empathy vs. sympathy<br> ~ Put yourself in their shoes (with their experiences)<br> ~ Identify 3 alternate reasons you partner may be feeling/acting the way he or she is<br> ~ If your child was going through this situation, how would you feel?<br> ~ Remember that what you would want and need is not necessarily what your partner wants and needs.<br> ~ Allow yourself to listen as if your only job is to understand<br> ~ Without preconceptions<br> ~ Knowing that you know nothing<br> ~ Free from trying to create consistency between your feeling/perceptions and your partner’s feelings and perceptions… for now just focus on understanding the unique experience of your partner.</p> <p>Empathy<br> ~ Think of a difficult time that you experienced and answer all the qu</p>
