by Laurie Puhn, J.D.,
Today's busy multi-tasking couples have little time to invest in their relationship. In my couples mediation practice it's no surprise that many people reveal they have lost that loving feeling for their spouse. I tell my clients: it's only natural for love to disintegrate over time, unless you work at keeping it alive. Sound hard? It's not.
You can keep the connection strong with 5-minute conversations and simple comments that show you care. You don't need lots of quality time together. In fact, you and your partner don't need to talk more, you simply need to learn to talk better. Below are 5 key phrases that will instantly ignite a loving bond. In my new book, "Fight Less, Love More: 5-Minute Conversations to Change Your Relationship without Blowing Up or Giving In," you will discover many more simple strategies to give you the love, respect, appreciation and companionship you want, from the partner you have, for a lifetime.
1. Key phrase #1: "You are such a generous person"
Many people compliment the superficial things in others: "You look great in that dress" or "I love your new haircut." External compliments are nice, but research shows that people prefer compliments for internal character traits such: "You're such a kind, helpful or thoughtful person." In the on-line survey we did for my new book Fight Less, Love More, we found that 84% of people want their mate to compliment them for being kind rather than good-looking.
