Communication is almost never straight forward neither easy, especially when talking about feelings. Often cultural misunderstandings and language gaps create conflicts in multicultural couples.
Language and culture are strictly interrelated. Our cultural background and even our physical environment influence the way we think and thus the way we speak. At the same time the way we speak influences the way we think. These physical and psychological aspects of communication play a huge role in misunderstandings and arguments among multicultural partners. Communication’s gaps and long term misunderstandings are one of the most common causes of relational crisis and decreased sexual desire.
Paying attention to the way we address our partner / s and how we interpret their messages could make a huge difference in our relationship/s and thus our sexual life.
Here a some easy tips to start improve your communication.
- To start we could stop interpreting the other/s through our preconceptions and cultural conventions.
- Let’s keep in mind that facial expressions, gestures, voice nuances and their respective functions in communication vary hugely among different languages and cultures.
- Let’s keep in mind that communicating with our loved ones, our intention is almost never to cause harm. Embrace your partner/s’ expressions (this should be mutual) aiming to create your personal and intimate multicultural language.
- Be positively receptive and feel free to tell the other/s how you would like to be treated and perceived in the situation.