What Makes a Great Conversation Just 'Click'

Research shows responding quickly to a partner during a conversation improves feelings of social connection and enjoyment of the conversation.Rapid response times in conversations are likely too fast to consciously control.

Recent research by Templeton and colleagues reveals a facet of conversations that strongly impacts feelings of connection to a partner—the speed of response time. As the authors report, response times in conversations are extremely short, around 200ms, and individuals who feel close and connected to one another respond more quickly than those who do not feel close to their partners.

In the second study, the participants were asked to return to the laboratory and bring three close friends with them. Once again, the researchers found that friends responding more quickly to the conversation also led participants to report stronger feelings of social connection and closeness. Interestingly, feelings of closeness were related to faster responses by one’s partner, but not faster responses by the individual themselves.

Because both studies 1 and 2 were correlational, the authors also conducted an experiment. The researchers selected audio clips from study 1 and experimentally manipulated those conversations to reflect shorter, longer, or control conversation response times. Participants who were not involved in the original conversations listened to these manipulated conversations and rated their perceived enjoyment of the conversations and the connection of the conversation partners.

The authors conclude that responding quickly to a partner during a conversation improves feelings of social connection and enjoyment of the conversation, regardless of whether one's interaction partner is a friend or a stranger. The authors suggest that responding quickly might signal that a partner is actively listening. Because the difference between quick responses and slow responses is very small the authors contend that it is likely too fast to be consciously controlled.

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