12 Ways to Build Trust in a Relationship: Expert Advice

Importance of Trust in a Relationship

Trust is a very critical word in a relationship. No relationship can stand without trust. You can say, trust is the basic foundation of any kind of relationship, whether marriage, romantic, friendship, parenthood.

Today, in this blog post, I will share some basic and effective tips on ‘how to build trust in a relationship.’

Well, why should you trust me, first of all? Do I qualify to advise you about trust?

See, here also, you need ‘trust’ to believe me in what I am saying.

When it comes to marriage and relationships, I am confident that whatever I share in my blog is completely based on my personal life and experiences.

My marriage will complete six years on May this year, and it has been an amazing journey so far.

My husband and I have had our ups and downs financially and emotionally, but no matter whatever it is, we both have always given our relationship the first priority.

So, do I qualify to advise you with some tips? I think I am. I am willing to share what all factors have helped us build ‘trust’ in our relationship.

Why am I writing about ‘trust?’

Recently, a very old friend of mine contacted me, disclosing the upheavals his marriage is facing. He explained and shared with me the things that have been affecting his one-year-old marriage.  

From the conversation, I understood that it is the lack of ‘trust’ in their marital relationship that ruins them.

Like any well-wisher and good friend, I advised rather than suggested to him and his wife things they should work on now. After 2 months, he messaged me, saying ‘he sees improvement in their relationship.’

So, if you face ‘trust issues’ in your relationship, you must work on it to make your relationship better with your partner.

12 Winning Ways to Build Trust in a Relationship

Communication is always key

Communicate, communicate and communicate. I always say communication is one of the factors in a relationship that can solve all the problems.

In a modern relationship, it has been seen that there is a lack of communication between couples. They hardly communicate. You can always talk about everything to your partner.

You can talk about career aspirations, family, desire, displeasure, any random thing.

The more you communicate, the better understanding will get. You will know each other better in and out, which helps build the ‘trust.’

Couples often complain that after few years of marriage or relationship, they tend to communicate less. Either they lose interest in communicating, or both get so busy in their respective lives that there is hardly anything left to communicate.

When there is no communication in a relationship, it kills the romantic spark between the two and vanishes the trust.

I have previously written about ‘why communication is important in a relationship’ in a post. You can check that out. I am sure it will help you get clarity.

Give time to your partner

Time helps building trust in a relationship. The more time you will spend with your partner, the better you will know each other, hence get the scope to develop ‘trust.’

Trust builds in an atmosphere of security, safety, and love. All these develop when you give ample of time to each other to nurture your relationship.

Especially in the early stages of a relationship, it is crucial to build mutual respect, understanding, and trust.

If you think ‘communication’ and ‘time’ are not important from the beginning of your relationship, then in no time will you start noticing how it affects your relationship.

Even if you are super busy, both have to find time for each other.

For Example – Dating are the best saver. Either of the ones can plan a simple and romantic date idea at home. If both are working and busy on the weekdays, plan your date ideas at home on Sundays.

In so many great and simple ways love can be expressed, and trust can be gained in a healthy relationship. All you need is love and patience.

Be a Good Listener

My husband is a very good listener. Whenever I have something to share or say, he always patiently lends his ears to me. He listens, motivates, and encourages me always. I feel so thankful to him for the quality he has.

Why am I saying a good listener helps in building ‘trust’ in a relationship?

Take my situation as an example – My husband is a very positive person, whereas I tend to get negative quickly. In times of any failure or difficult times, I get demotivate quickly.

Back of my mind, I always have the ‘trust’ that my husband will support and uplift my confidence. I always have trust in my relationship that if I go down or feel down, I have him beside me.

Similarly, when he faces any difficult situation or had a bad day in the office, he knows I am there to uplift his mood and make him feel comfortable at home.

Or, in any situation where he can’t manage, he pushes me forward because he ‘trust’ me as his soul partner.

So, what I am trying to say is ‘try to be a good listener’ in your relationship; it will help shape your trust in each other and increase the understanding level.

Never ever cheat on each other

How do you build trust in a relationship?

Simple, by not breaking the trust. Be loyal to your partner and never cheat.

But what will happen if either of the one cheat and breaks the key element of a relationship, ‘TRUST.’

See, trust cannot be built overnight. In a relationship, both individuals have to nurture their love for each other, stay faithful and be 100% committed to each other.

If you are not faithful or loyal to your partner, there is no way your relationship will work. Yes, couples do try to regain trust and try to work on their relationship even after one partner cheats.

But once the trust is broken, it is extremely hard to rebuild or regain the trust. There’s always remain a deep crack in the relationship which can’t be mend.

Building ‘trust’ requires undeniable commitment, love, kindness, and respect.

Take decisions mutually

How taking decisions mutually build ‘trust’ in a relationship?

When you are in a relationship, it involves two individuals having different opinions and perspectives towards life and matters.

It is important to respect each other’s views and opinions. Your perspective towards a thing might not match your partner’s opinion, but you must consider listening to her/his opinion as a partner.

After consulting with each other, taking decisions together defines how much understanding and trust is there in your relationship.

For example: In my marriage, my husband and I always consult with each other before taking any decisions. Be it before buying any sofa or regarding any investment, we make sure to consult, take about the pros and cons and then finalize into taking a mutual decision.

Teamwork is Important

Like at any sports or office, teamwork boosts confidence and productivity. Likewise, a relationship also needs ‘teamwork.’ Relationships require consistent hard work to maintain, alone can’t be done.

So, both have to equally be committed and play their role respectively in maintaining a ‘healthy relationship.’

Let each other help and guide, learn together new things to improve themselves, and take small steps together towards establishing a beautiful long-term relationship.

Respect each other

What is one of the most effective ways to build trust?

Respect.

Respecting each other is one of the key things to consider in a relationship. Modern relationships lack this key ingredient, hence losing faith in each other, in the relationship and in love.

When two individuals are bonded together in a relationship, they pledge to look after, love, and support each other. Sometimes they forget that with love and support, respecting each other is also mandatory.

From the beginning of your relationship, you love your partner. Still, you disrespect her/him in front of others, never care to listen to her/his opinions, never care about your partner’s wishes and comfort, then how will there be ‘trust?’

To build ‘trust,’ both have to collaborate, everything love, respect, establish understanding, care, attention, provide comfort, motivation, and so on.

Admit mistakes, Apologies & forgive

Often when a couple involves in an argument, it quickly escalates into a fight. They blame each other for their mistakes, dragging all the past incidents, and sometimes the fight gets so brutal that it creates a gap.

Well, fighting and arguments are natural in a relationship. My husband and I always get ourselves tangled in the midst of an argument, but we know very well how to handle or stop fighting without any effort.

Our argument/fighting never lasts for more than half an hour (30 minutes).

If you want to know our tricks, I have already covered an article on this ‘How to stop fighting in a relationship,’ you can read.

In brief, three things will help you building ‘trust’ in your relationship – admitting mistakes, say ‘sorry,’ and forgive immediately.

There are several sweet ways to apologize and expressing love to your partner. You can surprise her/him with a ‘sorry’ card or a love letter, some gifts and flowers.

Why keep dragging a dull situation? Instead, you can take the opportunity and do something special for your partner.

Your Relationship should be your top priority

The subtitle itself explains what I want to say. You must always keep and consider your marriage and relationship your top priority. Nothing comes between or above your relationship.

Respecting boundaries and preferences

It can be difficult to navigate the line between what we feel comfortable with and what our partner is comfortable with. However, respecting boundaries and preferences is a key part of building trust in any relationship. Your partner should be someone who you feel comfortable talking to about your personal preferences and boundaries.

It is also important to remember that everyone’s boundaries are different. Respecting each other’s preferences and boundaries is an essential part of building trust in any relationship.

Promises are Important

Promise in a relationship is important because it shows how much each person values the other and gives them a reason to trust them. Promises can help building trust. You can start keeping promises about little things and see where it is going.

For example, Keep the promise of bringing the kids from the school, picking up flowers for the guest etc.

There are times when you may hurt your partner by breaking the promises. This can be avoided if you start taking care of the small habits. They may sound worthless, but small things shouldn’t be overlooked.

Promises also help you identify your partner’s intention and commitment, which is crucial for building long-lasting relationships.

Love each other unconditionally

Both need to be feel loved by each other unconditionally. Be open to each other about your emotions and feelings. It is very crucial to show each other how much they meant for them and show that you completely ‘trust’ each other.

Love is the only thread that binds two individuals in a relationship. If there is no love, there is no point in any relationship. People say, in a relationship, both have to compromise; I beg to differ.

If you both love each other unconditionally, all the other components that make a relationship healthy follows.

How Do You Save A Relationship Without Trust?

Trust is the key component in a relationship. It is extremely hard to take your relationship forward without trust. It is like a glue that holds a relationship together. If you find your partner has cheated you and the trust has been broken, your relationship is end.

Only if both agree to reconcile and work on rebuilding their trust by solving the millions issues. There is a probability your relationship will be back on track in no time.

If you can both look at the relationship and agree that trust has been broken, then you can start to work on rebuilding it. One of the most important things is communication. You need to be honest with each other about what happened and why it happened. Once you know what the problem is, you can start to work on fixing it. 

You would need to rebuild trust by being honest with each other. Establish an honest and open communication. Take responsibility for your own actions and apologize for your part in breaking trust. Be patient as you both work on rebuilding trust. It takes time and effort from both sides.

What causes a person not to trust?

There could be many different reasons why a person may not feel comfortable trusting someone. Trust is a very delicate thing, and once it is broken, it can be very difficult to repair.

It could be past betrayals, If someone has been betrayed in the past, it can be difficult for them to trust anyone else. They may feel like they can’t trust anyone.

Another possible reason could be ‘afraid of being hurt.’ Even if they haven’t been hurt before, they might still be afraid of being put in a situation where they could be. This fear can make it hard to take the leap and trust someone completely. 

What causes lack of trust in a relationship?

There can be many causes for a lack of trust in a relationship. One reason may be past experiences where trust has been betrayed. This can make it difficult to trust again.

 Even if there hasn’t been any infidelity, lying can still damage trust. If one partner consistently lies to the other, it will eventually erode trust.

Lack of communication and honesty are also common causes of mistrust in relationships. When couples don’t communicate openly and honestly with each other, it can create an environment of suspicion and secrecy. Keeping secrets from your partner builds an environment of suspicion which generates mistrust in a relationship.

If you’re feeling insecure in your relationship, communicate your concerns to your partner. Trust is built on communication and understanding, so open communication is essential to rebuilding trust.

How to know if my partner trusts me?

Trust is a critical component of any healthy relationship. If you’re wondering whether your partner trusts you, here are some signs to look out for –

They are open with you
They rely on you
They communicate with you
They respect your privacy
They make time for you
They don’t accuse you of wrongdoing
They let you make your own decisions
They are willing to work through issues

It’s important to remember that trust takes time to build, and it’s not something that can be established overnight. If you’re unsure whether your partner trusts you, have an open and honest conversation with them about your feelings and concerns. Communication is always the key to building and maintaining trust in any relationship.

Conclusion:

So, these are my 11 effective & outstanding ways to build trust in a relationship.’ If a couple can implement these points in their relationship from the beginning, trust will establish with zero effort.

In that case, I can assure not only will your relationship be strong, but the very foundation of your relationship can never break.