Marriage Course - August 31, 2012

Day 14 - Practicing Effective Listening

We give an opportunity to practice effective listening.

Question:Take turns spending one minute telling your husband or wife about a happy memory of something that happened to you before you met. The listener should then summarize what they have heard, taking particular care to describe their partners feelings. This will show that they have been listening and empathizing with what their partner felt.

From Series: "Marriage"

Study Guide

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Nurturing involves seeking to meet each other’s emotional needs for affection, encouragement, support, comfort, etc,

  • we all have a longing to be loved and to be known by another
  • empty space inside that needs to be filled up with love
  • when empty, we feel alone or lonely giving each other emotional support refills the empty space inside
  • we are made for close relationships

How to nurture

Be proactive rather than reactive:

  • being reactive means focusing on each others shortcomings
  • being proactive means focusing on each other’s needs
  • proactive behavior draws couples together because each one feels loved; when we feel loved, we feel like loving

Study each other:

  • recognize each other’s needs
  • often our partner’s needs and desires will be different to our own
  • discover what matters to your husband or wife. otherwise we tend to give what we like to receive.
  • needs change over time
  • make requests, not demands
  • we can’t assume our husband or wife automatically knows our desires. We must tell each other.

Complete the Worksheets Below: