5 Communication Mistakes That Hurt Your Relationship (And What To Do About It)

You can avoid conflict if you learn to communicate better with your partner

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Effective communication is key to a healthy and successful relationship.

When a relationship ends, the most common reasons are infidelity, financial impropriety, lack of attraction, or family conflicts. But these “big” problems are often the result of a more fundamental problem — the inability to communicate well.

According to a study by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, communication problems account for 67.5% of divorces. Another survey by YourTango.com found that 65% of divorce cases are a result of poor communication between couples.

For this reason, divorce attorney and author of “If You’re In My Office, It’s Already Too Late,” James Sexton noted that partners need to learn to discuss how to communicate. If you can’t communicate well, small misunderstandings will build up and over time splinter your relationship.

Here are 5 mistakes you can be making in your communication.

You assume your partner knows your thoughts and expectations