2 . People are taught how to speak, but good sentence structure and a wide range of vocabulary words won’t always lead to being understood or understanding others.    1    

The good news is that it’s never too late to learn how to communicate more effectively. The first step is to realize you’ re having communication issues.    2    The following is a list of the top three signs that you need to learn healthier communication skills.

You have the same fights over and over.

Your fights are about the same topic again and again. If this is happening, it means you don’t yet have the skills to resolve conflicts.    3    The fight may end, but it’s only a matter of time before you argue about the same thing again. When you learn how to resolve conflicts, issues don’t pile up or become baggage that weighs down your relationship.

    4    

You don’t want to fight so you try not to bring up subjects that lead only to pain and disconnection. The problem is that avoiding them leads to pain and disconnection anyway. Unless you learn how to have hard conversations productively, you will get more and more disconnected until your relationship is in danger of ending.

You regularly feel misunderstood or unheard.

No matter how hard you try, you don’t feel understood. Perhaps your partner has expressed the same feeling.Over time the disconnected feeling does damage to your relationship. It’s important to learn how to communicate in a better way, so that both you and the other person feel heard and understood.    5    To be heard, your partner will need to learn how to listen. For you, to be able to hear your partner, you will need to do the same.

3 . A recent study by a group of researchers found that there is a link between happiness and a term that the researchers coined called “relational diversity.”

Using public data from sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the World Health Organization, the researchers were able to analyze data sets and survey responses from people who had shared their daily habits, schedules and interactions. They noticed a clear relationship between relational diversity and overall levels of satisfaction.

Hanne Collins, a Harvard Business School doctoral student who co-authored the study, says that relational diversity is composed of two elements: richness and evenness.

Richness measures relationship categories, or how many kinds of people you interact with in a day. That could be your romantic partner, a family member, a neighbor or a stranger. “The more relationship categories they talk to in a day and the more even their conversations are across those categories, the happier they are. And we find this in a large sample across many countries,” Collins said.

Evenness relates to the distribution of conversations among those different relationship categories. Some people may find themselves interacting with colleagues at work more than, say, their family members. “If you have a few conversations with colleagues, a few with friends, a few with a romantic partner or a couple chats with strangers, thats going to be more even across these categories,” Collins explained.

Ultimately, Collins says, the study gives insight to the idea that humans are social creatures at heart. Having a support system is important, but it goes beyond your inner circle. “Its about this mix. Its about connecting with people who are close to you, who are maybe less close to you, who connect you with other people, who provide different kinds of support,” she said. “Essentially, the idea is that the more diverse your social portfolio (社交档案), the happier you are and the higher your well-being.”

Next time you consider striking up a conversation with a stranger in line at the grocery store or while waiting at the coffee shop, keep in mind that it might be beneficial to your well-being.

Humour has been an essential part of human behaviour and can not only entertain but     1     throw new light on sensitive or emotive issues. Mark Twain is remembered for his ability     2     (combine) humour with more serious messages. Twain’s particular style of writing is     3     (fun) and often mischievous. For example, in his classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, he famously says, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is     4     (cross) out the wrong words.”

Lin,     5     became famous for his unique brand of humour, brought the concept of humour to modern Chinese literature. In 1924, he     6     (creative) borrowed “youmo” from Ancient Chinese as the translation for the English word “humour”. “Youmo”     7     (use) still in this way today.

Humour isn’t just about laughter,     8     is a way of life and a tool that can be used to illuminate the world. Lin even created an equation     9     (explain) this concept: Reality + Dreams + Humour = Wisdom. Living and working with others can sometimes be complicated, and humour makes this easier.     10     (share) jokes and laughing together can bring individuals and even communities together. Mark Twain says, “Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing”.

7 . When romantic partners argue over things like finances, jealousy, or other interpersonal issues, they tend to employ their current feelings as fuel for a heated argument. But thinking about the future helps overcome relationship conflicts, according to a University of Waterloo study just published online in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Alex Huynh, a doctoral candidate in psychology is the lead author of the study, which he published with Igor Grossmann from the University of Waterloo, and Daniel Yang from Yale University.

Previous research has shown that third-perspective reasoning can be a positive strategy for reconciliation (调解) of interpersonal struggles. Huynh and his collaborators investigated whether similar benefit can be induced by simply thinking about the future. Study participants were instructed to reflect on a recent conflict with a romantic partner or a close friend. One group of participants were then asked to describe how they would feel about the conflict one year in the future, while another group was asked to describe how they feel in the present.

The team examined participants’ written responses through a text-analysis program for their use of pronouns — such as I, me, she, he. These choices of pronouns were used to capture participants’ focus on the feelings and behaviour of those involved in the conflict. Written responses were also examined for forgiveness and reinterpreting the conflict more positively, both of which implied the participants’ use of reasoning strategies.

The researchers found that envisioning future relationship affected both participants’ focus on their feelings, and their reasoning strategies. As a result, participants reported more positivity about their relationship altogether, especially when study participants extended their thinking about the relationship a year into the future.

“Our study demonstrates that adopting a future-oriented perspective in the context of a relationship conflict — reflecting on how one might feel a year from now — may be a valuable coping tool for one’s psychological happiness and relationship well-being,” said Huynh.

9 . You will have an opportunity to meet your new neighbors after you move into the neighborhood. And getting to know your neighbors will help you feel like you're at home and settle into your new space.     1    

Careful observation.     2     Note those who seem to have kids» those who are elderly, those who seem to be always in the garden, or even those who only seem to come out at night. If you can find some common interest, this will make it much easier to approach the person.

    3     A great way to meet your new neighbors is to spend time outdoors, in your garden or by raking a walk around the block. You'll be surprised how easy it is to meet people when they approach you first. Make sure you spend time outside after work hours or on weekends.

What if you have nothing in common? No problem. There's absolutely nothing wrong with just walking up to the from door, and introducing yourself or inviting them to a small get-together. Let them know you just moved in and where you moved from. If that still feels uncomfortable, then ask about garbage pick-up or recycling centers in the neighborhood. Remember that you live on the same street, in the same neighborhood.     4    

Host a get-together. Though it might be the last thing you warn to do while you're still unpacking, hosting a casual get-together is a great way to meet your neighbors all at the same time.     5     Ask people to bring snacks or drinks or chairs or all three. Everyone knows you've just moved in and don't expect much, plus they'll want to help out.