6 tips for stronger relationships

Being supported by friends, family and colleagues can make a world of difference during tough times, which is why strong interpersonal relationships are so important.

Strong, healthy relationships are a major contributor to a content and fulfilling life.

While all of us will face challenges at some point during our lives, knowing you have strong relationships to fall back on can provide stability, strength and a sense of safety.

However, like anything worth having in life, relationships require work.

Here are 6 simple tips to help you build stronger interpersonal relationships:

#1 - Listening

One thing that many people often forget is that listening is half of all communication. Once you become very good at listening, it actually forms more than half of your communication. The reason for this is that being a good listener has the potential to do wonders for your strong relationships.

Showing that you are actively listening helps boost the other person’s self-esteem since it shows that you genuinely care about what is being said and this in turn helps them feel important. It shows that you want to understand and know the other person’s feelings about something.

Listening can also show you when someone might not be doing so well, and when it might be time to ask R U OK? Find out how to ask here.

#2 - Empathy

You’ve probably heard that people might forget what you said and what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel. That’s incredibly powerful.

If you show empathy towards others, you are revealing that you actually care enough to understand their feelings. Empathy is what helps us feel more understood, supported, and connected, and it goes a long way towards maintaining strong bonds and relationships.

#3 - Respect

To establish and maintain strong relationships, you need to be respectful of other people’s feelings, opinions, and time.

Respect is often mirrored by its receiver which can go a long way in strengthening relationships with friends, family, colleagues and even strangers.

This is one of the secrets to developing a sense of trust and bonding.

#4 - Availability

Your time is the ultimate gift, and how you decide to spend it reveals a lot about you. Being available to those in your life and spending time with them shows that they are valued. This is HUGE in developing strong relationships between friends, family and partners.

#5 - Boundaries

Healthy relationships are those with well-defined boundaries.

They can include your values, beliefs, and limits. It is important to be clear to other people in your life, particularly the strong interpersonal relationships about what your boundaries are.

Boundaries are great for creating respect and building confidence in the relationship. Simply put, boundaries show other people what you stand for and what you will (or won’t) allow in your life.

#6 - Appreciation

We all want to be appreciated for what we bring to a relationship.

Showing other people that you appreciate them only serves to make your relationship with them stronger.

If somebody thanks you for something you said or did, you feel good too. You feel good because it is nice to know that your efforts have made somebody feel better or supported. As well as the fact that they actually noticed it.

Appreciation is one of the core values behind a strong relationship.

Written by: Peter Welch