#communication
34 articles on communication.
- Modern Pressures
Phubbing Partner Co-Regulation Scripts: What to Say Instead of 'Put Your Phone Down'
Phubbing partner co-regulation scripts that name your need and invite them back, so a bid for attention never becomes a fight about the phone.
10 min read - Communication
Imago Dialogue Scripts for Couples: Mirror, Validate, Empathize (With a Full Worked Exchange)
Imago dialogue scripts for couples: exact mirror, validate, and empathize stems, a full worked exchange, and how to survive the stiff early phase.
10 min read - Communication
The Harville Hendrix Imago Worksheets: How to Actually Use Mirror, Validate, and Empathize
The Harville Hendrix Imago worksheets, worked: how to mirror, validate, and empathize at home, with a filled example of each and where the page stops.
10 min read - Communication
The Weekly Check-In Relationship Agenda: A 30-Minute Order That Keeps Small Stuff From Blowing Up
A weekly check in relationship agenda you can run in 30 minutes: appreciations, wins, one concern, logistics, in a fixed order that survives a busy week.
10 min read - Therapy & Alternatives
At-Home Couples Check-In Questions: 50 Prompts Organized by Relationship Dimension
At home couples check in questions: 50 prompts sorted across six relationship dimensions so your check-in touches every area, not just the to-do list.
11 min read - Communication
How to Express Hurt Without Blaming: The Real 'I Feel' Framework
How to express hurt without blaming: the real four-part I-statement from NVC, the counterfeit version to skip, and the timing that makes it land.
11 min read - Therapy & Alternatives
How to Run a Couples Check-In Meeting: A Weekly Format That Actually Holds
How to run a couples check-in meeting that holds: a step-by-step agenda, time boxes, and ground rules so your weekly ritual survives past week three.
11 min read - Communication
The Nonviolent Communication Feelings List and Needs List (Free Printable PDF)
The nonviolent communication feelings list and needs list, free and printable, plus the one move that turns a vague 'I'm fine' into a clear request.
9 min read - Communication
Emotional Attunement Exercises for Couples: How to Tune Back In After You've Drifted
Emotional attunement exercises for couples who've drifted into autopilot: the ATTUNE steps and four simple practices to rebuild emotional contact.
10 min read - Attachment
How Avoidant Attachers Handle Conflict: The Shutdown, the Deflection, and the Exit
How avoidant attachers handle conflict: decode the shutdown, deflection, and exit as deactivating moves, and learn de-escalation that helps them stay.
10 min read - Attachment
How to Set Boundaries With an Avoidant Partner
How to communicate boundaries to an avoidant partner without triggering withdrawal: why pressure backfires, plus scripts that hold your ground.
11 min read - Communication
40 Emotional Check-In Questions for Couples
40 emotional check in questions for couples, sorted by depth and mood, so you ask the right one for the night you're in instead of forcing a heavy one.
12 min read - Communication
How to Express Appreciation in a Relationship
How to express appreciation in a relationship when you're out of practice: why it fades, the Gottman 5:1 ratio, and scripts that sound real, not forced.
10 min read - Communication
Emotional Safety Exercises for Couples: 5 Ways to Make Honesty Feel Safe
Emotional safety exercises for couples that make honesty feel safe: five repeatable practices, plus the moves that quietly destroy trust in one sentence.
11 min read - Attachment
Dismissive-Avoidant Communication Style: Examples
Dismissive-avoidant communication decoded: what going quiet, retreating to logic, and needing space really signal, and how to reach them.
11 min read - Therapy & Alternatives
Imago Relationship Therapy at Home: A Guide to the Mirroring Dialogue
Imago relationship therapy at home: a plain guide to mirroring, validating, and empathizing, what to do when it feels fake, and its limits.
11 min read - Therapy & Alternatives
Interactive Couples Communication Prompts: Free Tools That Go Deep
Free interactive couples communication prompts: what makes a prompt work, how to use them without performing, and turning answers into closeness.
9 min read - Communication
10 Daily Connection Rituals for Busy Couples (Under Two Minutes Each)
Daily connection rituals for busy couples: 10 research-backed micro-habits under two minutes each, anchored to the everyday transitions you already have.
10 min read - Communication
15 Softened Startup Examples From Gottman's Research
Softened startup examples, Gottman-style: 15 fill-in-the-blank scripts that raise a hard topic without defensiveness, with the harsh version beside each.
12 min read - Communication
25 Validation Statements That Defuse Conflict Without Conceding
25 validation statements that de-escalate a fight without giving in, sorted by intensity, plus the one word that ruins every one of them.
11 min read - Communication
Defensive Body Language in Relationships: What It Means
Defensive body language in relationships: why single cues mean nothing, which nonverbal clusters track with disconnection, and how to check.
11 min read - Communication
Micro Repair Attempts: 20 Small Moves That Save Big Fights
Micro repair attempts are the small mid-fight moves that de-escalate before flooding sets in. 20 examples couples can use, plus why accepting one matters.
11 min read - Therapy & Alternatives
EFT-Based At-Home Check-In Guide: Johnson's Hold Me Tight Conversations Adapted for Self-Study
An honest EFT-based at-home check-in guide: Sue Johnson's Hold Me Tight conversations adapted for self-study, what they can do, and where the ceiling is.
11 min read - Communication
The Gottman Conflict Blueprint: 6 Steps, Explained
The Gottman conflict blueprint: 6 research-backed steps for a hard conversation, and how to tell solvable fights from perpetual ones.
10 min read - Modern Pressures
Phubbing Partner Validation Scripts: What to Say When You Feel Invisible
Phubbing partner validation scripts: exact phrases that name the loneliness without attacking, built on the Gottman complaint-not-criticism distinction.
10 min read - Communication
Active Listening Scripts for Couples: 8 Common Scenarios
Active listening scripts for couples: exact phrases for 8 real scenarios, the reflect-and-check pattern, and the failure mode of each one.
12 min read - Communication
Relationship Honesty Hour: 30 Prompts for the Conversation You've Been Avoiding
A relationship honesty hour, explained: the rules that keep it safe, when not to do it, and 30 tiered prompts from light warm-up to genuinely vulnerable.
10 min read - Communication
The Gottman 5:1 Ratio: What It Is and How to Measure It
The Gottman 5:1 ratio explained: what 40 years of research shows about the positive-to-negative balance that predicts lasting love.
9 min read - Communication
How to Complain Without Criticizing: Gottman's First Horseman and What Replaces It
Criticism predicts divorce; complaint doesn't. The Gottman distinction, with 12 examples of turning a critical line into a useful complaint.
8 min read - Communication
Couples Communication Exercises to Do at Home
Couples communication exercises you can do at home: scripts for hard conversations, repair after a fight, and the patterns that predict lasting closeness.
26 min read - Communication
How to Repair After a Fight: A Step-by-Step Conflict Recovery Guide for Couples
The complete guide to repair after a fight: the Gottman aftermath framework, de-escalation scripts, what to do in the next 24 hours, and how to break the loop.
27 min read What If One Partner Wants Therapy More Than the Other?
One partner resisting therapy is the top reason couples don't get help. Here's why it happens and what you can actually do about it.
7 min readWhen Are You Ready for Couples Therapy? (Signs It's Time)
You don't need a crisis to start couples therapy. Here are the real signs it's time, from recurring fights to emotional distance.
7 min read10 Conversations Every Couple Should Have (And How Often)
A practical guide to the 10 essential conversations every couple needs, organized by weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly check ins.
7 min read