Relationships require a bit of work. One of the most important things to get right with your significant other is communication. Although you might be great communicating about the daily things, but how can you two manage talking about the difficult issues?

Here are five tips to ensure communication won’t cause trouble in your relationship.

1. Get to the Point

You might have been married or dating for years now, but you can’t expect your SO can read your mind. Even if a problem might seem obvious to you, you shouldn’t automatically think your loved one feels the same.

When there is a problem, get to the point and be clear about the issue. Don’t make them second-guess what you mean. It’ll surely get you in trouble.

2. Know the Right Time

Even though you don’t want to leave problems unsolved for too long, you shouldn’t always just blurt them out either. The moment when your SO is about to leave for the big work meeting is not the time to tell them you are unhappy.

3. Find the Positives

Extra positivity does make you feel better. So even when you aren’t feeling over the moon, try find something positive about the situation.

If you are unhappy about your SO’s actions, don’t just list all the negatives but focus on the good things as well.

Staying positive also means that you need to get better about accepting praise. If your SO is saying you are good at something, don’t put yourself down even if they are also giving you some critique. The Tiny Buddha is great site for improving your positivity.

4. Consider Getting Away

Sometimes it is much easier to sort out issues when you don’t have a tower of dishes waiting to be cleared in the other room. Problems can turn into much bigger issues when you are already stressed and tired about other things.

Consider getting away for a short trip to talk about your issues. Don’t make it anything too fancy and do not escape talking about the actual problems! If you don’t want to spend a fortune on your trip, try finding cheap discount deals on VoucherBin.

5. Lay out the Expectations

Finally, you should always be clear about the purpose of the talk and about your expectations. As mentioned above, you can’t expect the other one to want the same things or to know what you mean unless you tell them.

If you have a problem with spending money as a couple, for example, set out what you both want to achieve from talking about money. Perhaps it is a better understanding of what each of you can spend without the other one having a say.

When you know the purpose of the talk – it can be something as small as clearing the air – you’ll end up with more effective communication as well. Make sure you also end the conversation when both of you are happy with the outcome.

What are some of the tricks you use with your SO to communicate more effectively? Let us know!