Communication and Compromise

We all know, or should know, that communication is the key to any relationship. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Some people are not great communicators, to no fault of their own, that’s just how they’re wired. Some people are great communicators, almost to a fault. The rest of us, well the rest of us are stuck somewhere in between. We want to communicate, we want to talk things through, and we do to an extent but it may not always come out the way that it should. So you have to figure out different ways to communicate your message. Sometimes it’s the recipient of the communication, sometimes it’s the message itself, sometimes it’s the communicator.

How do you communicate with someone who communicates differently than you do? Do you give up on the communication all together? Do you try to force them into communicating the way that you do? Do you try to force yourself to communicate the way they do? Or do you try to find some common ground of communication, something you both can relate to and understand?

Most people would say that there’s no compromise if there’s no communication. But is that necessarily true? I think that both people can be compromising in their own way and not necessarily getting the message across to the other person. I think two people can be having the same conversation without actually having the conversation if they understand each other. Ultimately I think that actions speak louder than words. I think that you can communicate with someone by showing them that you understand what they’re saying.

One thing that people misperceive is that communication is not always verbal or written. Actually a lot of communication is physical or visual. Words themselves are not always necessary. Find a different way of communicating in your relationships than what you are already using. Whether its with your significant other, your siblings, your parents, your friends, or the general public. Try out different methods of communication with different people. I think we will all find that one method of communication is not always successful with each individual person.