yes, therapy helps!
How to improve family communication? 4 keys

How to improve family communication? 4 keys

March 5, 2024

The members of a family are characterized by having spent a lot of time together, but that It is not always a guarantee that there is good family communication .

So ... how can we improve this type of communication?

  • Related article: "Paradoxical communication and affective relationships: he said" yes ", he meant" no "and everything ended"

What we understand as "family"

It is essential to define the term family around which this article revolves. The family is not just a group of people who live together and share blood links and surnames. It is also something more than an organization of individuals that cooperate with each other.

The family must be understood as a community , as a group where the relationships between members have a deep emotional character and are the ones that make the difference with respect to other types of groups.


Under this perspective, emotional reactions in the family context are a constant source of feedback of the expected behaviors. In this sense, the family is an element of integration that can create spaces that allow members to development of a relationship of belonging and identification . This belonging is neither casual nor temporary, it is essential, since it defines the subject before itself and before society.

Finally, it should be noted that the family is an organization in which its members must share common goals and objectives that generate unity and allow the sharing of functions and responsibilities. It is, therefore, a team.

  • Maybe you're interested: "Toxic families: 4 ways in which they cause mental disorders"

Communicative models

The communicative models of family members vary. They must be taken into account, since there are important differences of generational origin and this can generate misunderstandings, discrepancies and distancing for lack of connection and understanding, thus opening a gap between parents and children.


This may be due, among many other reasons, to the fact that the majority of parents who belong to the well-known "baby boom" (1946 - 1964) have grown mainly with television as media and with the so-called "mass media" (cinema, radio and press). The characteristic of all of them is that the style of communication is informative, vertical and one way, that is, one direction.

Given that different technologies transmit certain values, this generation has acquired the verticality and the hierarchical organization of television discourse, Acquiring the role of receiver , becoming accustomed to being passive agents in the act of communication.

The Net generation

For their part, the respective children belong to the generation of new technologies ; some studies call it "Net generation". People of this generation are able to read visual images (visually more literate) are able to change their attention from one task to another, the response time is fast, and are usually curious and independent people.


Although this generation has also grown up interacting with the television, its focus is the computer and the mobile phone. In the Internet environment they move like fish in water, especially in social networks. In these environments, communicative discourse is horizontal, multiple-track, active and immediate .

The impact of new technologies

We live daily with a host of devices that allow us to communicate with those who live far away but who, in turn, can get us away from the people we have closer . And is that we all have experienced scenes in which several members of the family, remain engrossed looking at a screen without articulating a word, thus worsening the interpersonal relations of coexistence.

Dialogue is important in interpersonal relationships and even more in the family. Communication helps us to establish contact with people, to give or receive information, to express or understand what we think and to transmit emotions. In short, communication unites us and links through affection and empathy .

Of course, there is no basic rule for family communication. Each family is a world and has a unique language. However, to improve communication or generate fluid communication among its members and given the generational difference, it is advisable that there is willingness, interest and availability mainly by the parents, in order to create a communication lived intensely by all.

Improve family communication

What can we do to improve communication in the family? To shorten distances between different generations and improve communication and ultimately coexistence, we can apply the following strategies.

1. Moments without technology

It is important to mark several times throughout the day in which devices should not be used . Those moments that take place around the table (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner) are ideal to encourage fluent communication.

  • Related article: "FOMO syndrome: feeling that the life of others is more interesting"

2. Shared leisure

It is important to look for times when you can share entertainment . It can be something as simple as watching a movie suitable for all members of the family. This generates union, not only physical but also experiential, thus avoiding the isolation of family members in different rooms. We encourage a possible dialogue or debate regarding the shared film.

3. Encourage dialogue / debate

It is essential to take advantage of shared moments to exchange impressions, ideas and opinions on a topic that arouses interest. Promote the participatory dialogue of each member It is vital, always respecting the different contributions and allowing spaces of trust, security and belonging.

4. Interaction

It is important to show interest for each member of the family asking how the day has gone or what is it that worries you and / or occurs. In this way we encourage direct, personal, human communication and a greater knowledge of the personal situation of each family member.

The family is essential and fundamental and, therefore, to know each other the concerns of each one indispensable to build a family united by affection and to know each other very much.


Communication Is The KEY To A Happy & Healthy Relationship (March 2024).


Similar Articles