Category Archives: Communication styles

Relationships: Marriage redefined?

By Terri Reddout

Finish reading this blog and increase your chances of staying married happily ever after

Is it because this blog has the secret for a happy marriage?  No.  If I knew the secret, you’d be paying to read this blog and I’d be making a ton of money.

The reason I can say your chances of staying married increase is based on statistics.

If you’re reading this, you’re working at getting a college degree.  Couples with higher education tend to stay married.  By the time you finish reading this blog you’ll be a few minutes older.  Statistics say the older you are when you first get married, the better your chances of staying married.  The other factor?  Economic stability.

This picture is from my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding on the side of Mt Hood.  (That’s Mt. Jefferson in the distance).  They are bucking the odds.  They both earned advanced degrees.  Both are in their early 30s.  They pull in a good income.  He’s a lawyer.  She’s in the medical field.  They have a lot in common.

Oh, and they love each other; a lot.

Wait until you’re 25 to tie the knot (but it’s no guarantee)

Continue reading Relationships: Marriage redefined?

Traveling grapes and bear cookies

Written by Terri Reddout

When I say the word “dog” what image pops in your head?

Roger 1This is the image that pops into my head. This is a my Cocker Spaniel, Roger.

He was afraid of vacuums, loved to toss watering cans, chased racket balls and always made friends with the little old ladies who lived on the other side of the fence.

When he was a pup we had to pay extra to have him groomed because he whined so loud it sounded as if the groomers were torturing him.  It broke my heart when I had to leave him with my brother when we moved out of state.

dons dog

Or perhaps it’s the image of my friend’s Great Dane.  The dog was size of a small horse and ate a ton of food. My friend suffered from Post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.  As a support dog, this Great Dane offered my friend a sense of security.  My friend told me it felt as though someone had his back.  The dog recently died.  It’s going to take a really big dog to fill his paws.

ravenOr is your image of Raven, my dad’s dog.  She rode around the orchard on the back of my dad’s quad.  If I happen to sit on Raven’s side of the seat on the back of the quad, she would reclaim her spot by pushing me over and, sometimes, off the quad.  Yet, if I ever went into an orchard by myself, I would look over a couple of rows and see Raven tracking me.  Like Lassie, I trusted Raven to run back and let my dad know if I were in some kind of danger. Continue reading Traveling grapes and bear cookies

“If you only knew…” Differences in Gender Communication

Written by Terri Reddout

Do men and women communicate differently?

YES, THEY DO!

Experts researched how men and women communicate and found there are many differences between the genders.  Now, these differences don’t apply to everyone but they do represents some generalities in the way each gender approaches communication.

Our friends from the TV show Friends give us an excellent example.  (Watch the video. It’s only 1:02. It will make the rest of this blog easier to understand.)

As Phoebe, Rachel and Monica demonstrated, females tend to focus on details, the emotions, the thought process.  As Chandler, Joey and Ross showed us, males tend to focus on facts.  It’s just one of the many differences in gender communication styles.

Understanding these differences will make communicating with the opposite gender a lot easier and more effective (and make you popular with the other gender.)  Continue reading “If you only knew…” Differences in Gender Communication