Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter

Ask any couple that's been together for years and one of the things they always list is communication.

Some guys (why is it always us?) don't get the concept whether they are married or just have a girlfriend. We know it's important to keep the lines of communication open and everything but that can be a challenge.

"Bwoy, sometimes you call yu girl jus' fi say hi and honestly after about 10 minutes yu no have nutten else fi seh," said Michael. He admits that in the beginning, he would call her all the time but now it can get tedious.

"Even on Valentine's Day di girl tex' or call me 'bout 40 time," he recalled.

Then there are those guys who just aren't the calling type. And there are some times of day which just aren't good for chit-chat.

"Sometimes I see the calls coming in and if it's like 11 o'clock in the evening on a work night, that call will be returned the next day," says Marvin.

But like the female of the gender, there are times when gents just need to be with ourselves.

Communication drought

There are ways to overcome the communication drought, however. First, make a bit of time to talk with your partner. Turn off the cell phone, and generally make sure you've got some quiet space to discuss serious concerns or just what you're going to do tomorrow. Multitasking while you're trying to talk with your partner just doesn't work as well as you think it's going to.

Second, pay attention. Listen (don't just hear) what your partner is saying if you're talking about vital relationship matters. Look carefully at your partner's point of view and evaluate all of the evidence in front of you before you make decisions or do something rash like ending the communication session with a childish yelling match.

Finally, if you're discussing more serious issues, don't play the blame game because that will totally mess things up worse. By the way, if the two of you just can't seem to communicate then maybe relationship counselling is necessary or just call it quits.

Names have been changed.

Additional source: www.persistenceunlimited.com