Rinatta Paries

Here are the basic rules of good communication:

1. The speaker can say what he or she thinks needs to be said, except for derogatory statements, shaming words, blaming words and globalizing words. Nothing to inflame the conversation. Just facts, feelings and true and honest thoughts.

2. The listener fully listens to what is being said -- even when having a reaction. Breathing through the reactions, giving the speaker the respect of being listened to.

3. When the speaker is done, the listener will reflect back to the speaker a summarized version of what the speaker said, to make sure the speaker is fully understood. Read more…

Rarely does Valentine's Day pass by without your notice. Evenif you are single and think the day has no significance, the day will arrive and you will want a relationship more than usual. If you are in a relationship and Valentine's Day does not get celebrated, it will leave hurt and resentment in its wake.

I invite you to think of Valentine's Day as "Focus on Love Day," as opposed to "Hurt About Lack of Love Day" or "Ignore Being Single Day." Read more…

Have you ever gotten into a relationship with a person who told you everything you have dreamed of hearing from a partner, only to have the relationship fall apart for no reason a short time later? This happens to almost all singles at some time. Read more…

Perhaps you let other make you feel uncomfortable, wrong or bad -- or you feel you need to accommodate others in order to date people, be loved or begin a relationship. In these situations, you are not honoring your own values about sexual conduct. Read more…

Communication is the heart of any relationship. It is not the only thing that builds a feeling of closeness and intimacy. But communication is one of a small group of actions that absolutely must be present in order for the relationship to work. Read more…

You are on a first or second date. You are sitting across from a fabulous someone, or an OK someone who could become your fabulous someone. You are trying to get to know this person, to see if you want to keep dating him or her.

If you have been around the dating block more than once, you don't just want heat and attraction: You want compatibility. You want to build a relationship that will work well, and that won't take a lot of effort and drama to maintain. Read more…

For many people, dating is an exercise in mind-reading. Do you know what I mean? When you are starting to date someone, isn't your mind busy analyzing your date's every action?

"Does he like me?" "What does she mean by that?" "Will he call again?" "Did I say the right thing and will she take it the wrong way?" "Will he reject me or judge me?" "What does he really feel?" "What does she want?" Read more…

Here is a question I am asked quite a bit by many readers, people at all stages of dating, from those just starting to date to those who have gotten out of a relationship and are newly dating again.

People ask, "What am I supposed to do when dating? How am I supposed to act?" The answer is both simple and complicated. Read more…