"Effective communication isn't easy. Teaching and learning new communication skills take patience, as well as practice. Taking the time to talk is important. Your relationship provides a safe place to share feelings, thoughts, fears, dreams, and hopes. Make a special effort to find time to talk to your partner more frequently. In tough times, people feel overwhelmed with worries and responsibilities. Time together as a couple is often the last thing on our minds as we deal with the hassles of daily life. Although you may be busy, stressed, and worried, take the time to focus on your partner's needs and spend quality time together without interruption. Even a few minutes a day talking about what has occurred can be a relief from stress. Be thoughtful by considering whether difficult or problem-solving discussions could be reserved for other times when you and your partner are not tired or distracted. You may need to be the one who starts conversations. It is worth it to be the one who initiates conversations. You can find many ways to open the door for communication if you are sensitive to changes in your partner's feelings and needs. Taking the time to listen keeps the lines of communication open and improves your relationship.\n\nFinding time to talk can include spending time talking with limited interruptions, making a date to talk to your partner, planning at least one routine family time each week, talking instead of watching TV, talking while taking a walk together, talking while working together on household chores, and talking in the car while traveling to activities.\n\nIn good times and bad, couples need each other. Good communication does not mean that your family won't have any problems, or that your partner will always like what you have to say. Good communication means the chances of solving problems are much higher if you and your partner can express yourselves openly and freely with each other. For couples today, there is an abundance of information on how to sustain healthy, happy marital relationships. Most of this information assumes that if couples follow a few short rules, then they can have happy relationships. What most fail to realize is that these new, positive practices won't work without recognizing and addressing what has been done and what is not working. Most information available to couples falls short on giving examples of “what not to do” in a relationship."