Close Relationships Mask Poor Communications

In the article, Close Relationships Mask Poor Communications, it states that people's

"communication skills with loved ones are not as strong as they think." (Sole, 2011) That could

not be truer; I know that my husband and I have to work on in that area. I don't how many times

my husband and I have argued over not what we have said but how it was said.

Perry Stone, a well-known evangelist has said in a sermon that Satan is the prince of the

power of the air. He gave an example of two people talking and having a conversation. The one

person said they didn't like the way the other person talked to them. "I didn't say it that way;

yes you did; I didn't mean it that way." (Stone, 2010) He went on to explain that when words

come out and are in the air, the devil will spin the words to make the other person think the

words are hurtful.

Many times my husband and I will get into an argument, not by what is said but by how it

is said. I am working on, or trying to work on not letting what he says take to heart and realize

that he's not being hurtful or saying anything in a hurtful matter; it's how I am taking it. I

suppose you can say it goes back to when I was growing up. Being the middle child of three

girls, I always felt that I was ignored; I guess that is the symptom of middle child syndrome.

Something else I would like to work on is listening better. In the book, it states that

"most people have had little education on how to be an effective listener." (Sole, 2011) I never

knew that you could be educated in listening. I know that if you do not listen actively then

effective communication goes out the window. It is really hard to do a job well if you don't

listen to the instructions that are given you. As it was discussed during the discussions in week

one, I had stated that I wouldn't listen as intently as I should when someone is talking to me.

The article also states that they polled "24 married couples to take part in an experiment

in which two sets of couples sat in chairs with their backs to each other and tried to