Determining the Issue

by Ann Pham, LGMFT
Thursday, May 1st, 2025
Picture this: You’re arguing with your partner regarding an issue that’s bothering you and suddenly, your partner becomes defensive. The conversation then shifts to how your partner disliked your attitude or the raised tone of your voice in that moment. Now you’re defending how you communicated, and it feels like the initial issue you were talking about is pushed to the side. It is understandable to quickly become resentful if issues were never addressed properly. As challenging as this sounds, it’s important to re-examine and establish communication boundaries before the next argument.
- Use I-statements and be an active listener: Both partners must agree before the next argument to focus on the presenting issues first. The speaker should use I-statements to talk about how the issue is impacting them. The listener should validate the speaker’s feelings and minimize interruptions. As the listener, you will have a chance later on to address your concerns.
- Set ground rules: Establish your communication rules. Agree on what you can and cannot tolerate and determine what to do next if the rules are infringed upon. For example, partners may not like the judgmental tone they hear, but will do their best not to point it out until the main issue has been addressed. However, if their partner is shouting at them, the listening partner is allowed to step away and stop the conversation.
- Be honest and respectful: If communication rules are broken, partners should share why they need to step away. “I feel really angry because you’re yelling at me. I can’t have this conversation right now.” Whichever partner broke the rule, should do their best to take accountability and not try to dispute what the other partner felt or witnessed. Whichever partner initiated the break should be the one to bring up the conversation again.
It is important for partners to understand and agree that their main communication focus is to address the initial presenting issue, not sidelining it. It is best to avoid power imbalances, especially when it comes to resolving problems.