The Importance of Regular and Honest Communication

Life gets busy fast. The number of commitments a family faces coupled with the natural flow of a calendar year can make your head spin. One minute you’re celebrating the New Year and the next you are prepping for holidays all over again. This busy-ness can cause challenges when maintaining and nurturing relationships. Fairly quickly, relationships can be strained and feel off somehow. The highest functioning relationships have a couple of things in common - regular and honest communication.

Let’s take a look at what that means:

Regular communication - This may seem obvious and as though it only has to do with the number of times you speak in a given time frame, but it’s less about quantity and more about quality.

Regular communication includes the frequency and the content. Being available and engaged when communicating is a cornerstone of regular communication.

Regular communication does happen with some predictability on both parts and an agreement between both parties as to what regular communication means.

Sometimes this means chatting on the phone, or sending texts. It’s less about how the communication happens and more about what is the most meaningful for this relationship. Being clear about how often and what preferred method for speaking can prevent animosities or breakdowns in a relationship.

Regular communication is sometimes about formality and function and sometimes about building relationships. If you are engaged in planning an event or coordinating a project, regular communication is vital for forward movement and cohesiveness.

In this instance, regular communication is necessary for being dependable and completing tasks on time. Regular communication translates to value. When you make it a high value to consistently communicate, you are also sending the message that the other person matters and is worth investing energy in.

This has conscious and subconscious benefits. People respond better when they know they are a priority.

Honest communication- Sometimes sticky situations come up. Those who can express themselves well with the goal to preserve the relationship have better outcomes. Being able to be honest under any circumstance is a hallmark of highly effective people.

Honesty is the best policy, but care must be taken to not railroad or alienate people in the process.

Being honest about your feelings, your ideas, and your experiences is a cornerstone to a mature relationship. Building the safe space to share thoughts and ideas will make collaborations easier and friendships stronger. Avoid being passive, heavy-handed with opinions, or dismissive when you engage.

Learn to sandwich difficult information in between kindness and nurturing statements. No one is better-served when honesty is withheld.

Being unable or unwilling to be honest will cause deterioration between teammates and friends. Being able to give and receive honest information and feedback is a communication style to strive for.

Life gets busy, but maintaining relationships within the chaos is easier when both parties maintain regular and honest communication.

Do your part to be engaged and consistent with your communication, and give and receive honesty with grace and ease.