--- title: What Makes You ‘Click’ With Someone Else? description: The content of a conversation is less important than how personal and emotional it is canonical: https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-13T04:01:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:38.584Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What Makes You 'Click' With Someone Else? og:description: The content of a conversation is less important than how personal and emotional it is og:url: https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cd46ee16e471aa1/6986a330adae4470dc544ee1/141475403.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 141475403 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Makes You 'Click' With Someone Else? twitter:description: The content of a conversation is less important than how personal and emotional it is twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cd46ee16e471aa1/6986a330adae4470dc544ee1/141475403.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Makes You 'Click' With Someone Else? ## Video: A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now [Watch (HLS stream): A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uJFYIrvP.m3u8) (3:13)  _Published 2014-08-20. A practicing sex therapist in New York City, Dr. Shirley Zussman has witnessed everything from the legalization of the contraceptive birth control pill to the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s to the rise of internet porn in the new millenium._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 13, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  The hand of the man and woman connected with a red The hand of the man and woman connected with a redYagi Studio—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 13, 2014 4:01 AM UTC You can’t put your finger on it. You may not have anything in common. On paper it might seem you’d never be friends. But you just… “_click_.” How does that work? Personally, I’m not one for flighty explanations like simpatico, serendipity, or soulmates. In [Click: The Magic of Instant Connections](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385529066/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385529066&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman (authors of the interesting book [Sway: The Irresistable Pull of Irrational Behavior](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385530609/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385530609&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20)) explore these phenomena and give some solid insights. They discuss a number of the more obvious causes of connection like proximity and similarity but what struck me most was their emphasis on **_vulnerability_**_._ Via [Click: The Magic of Instant Connections:](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385529066/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385529066&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) --- > “” --- Vulnerability is also the element of clicking you have the most control over and can therefore use to improve how often and how deeply you connect with others. There’s a heirarchy of vulnerability in the types of communication we have, each one being more open and more likely to lead to a solid connection: * **Phatic**: These statements have no emotional content: _“How are you?”_ * **Factual**: These share information, maybe personal information, but no strong opinions or emotions are involved: _“I live in New York.”_ * **Evaluative**: These statements show opinions, but they’re not core beliefs:_“That movie was really funny.”_ * **Gut-level**: Here’s where it heats up. The first three are thought-oriented. Gut-level communication is emotionally based. It’s personal, says something deeper about who you are and is focused on feelings: _“I’m sad that you’re not here.”_ * **Peak**: The most emotionally vulnerable level. Peak statements share your innermost feelings. “…feelings that are deeply revealing and carry the most risk in terms how the other person will respond.” These statements are rare, even with people we are very close to: _“I guess at heart I’m terrified I’m going to lose you.”_ The authors spell it out clearly: **_“We can help to create magical connections simply by elevating the language we use from the phatic to the peak level.”_** Does this really work? Yes. Arthur Aron studies what makes people connect quickly and deeply and has found it’s the emotional, personal form of information exchange that promotes feelings of understanding. You can even use it to accelerate the creation of bonds with strangers. It’s just a matter of asking the right questions. Via Sam Gosling’s book, [Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465013821/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0465013821): --- > “” --- (You can read some of the questions used [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-shortcut-to-bonding-with-a-romanti).) But how effective can this be really? In under an hour it can create a connection stronger than a lifelong friendship. Via [Click: The Magic of Instant Connections](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385529066/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385529066&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- The content itself is less important than how personal and emotional it is. Having online daters [discuss controversial and taboo subjects like STD’s and aborton is more effective in building a connection than “safer” topics](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-discussing-abortions-and-stds-make-for-a): --- > “” --- [Click](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385529066/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385529066&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) points out that studies have shown self-disclosure promotes sexual satisfaction and relationship/marital satisfaction. It even helps online daters: --- > “” --- This concept resonates with a lot of people. In fact, one of the most popular TED talks of all time is [Brené Brown](https://twitter.com/BreneBrown)‘s [presentation on vulnerability](http://www.ted.com/talks/brene%5Fbrown%5Fon%5Fvulnerability). I recently posted on how to [best strengthen your friendships](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-ways-to-strengthen-your-friendships) and [romantic relationships](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-6-things-can-improve-your-relationship). This may be another tool to put in that toolbox. Open up with those close to you. Give it a try. (Aron’s questions are [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-shortcut-to-bonding-with-a-romanti).) Share this post and encourage your loved ones to open up with you. And if you do, [email me](mailto:ebarker@ucla.edu) and let me know how it works. :) **Join 25K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)**_._** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/"},"headline":"What Makes You 'Click' With Someone Else?","datePublished":"2014-09-13T04:01:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:38.584Z","description":"The content of a conversation is less important than how personal and emotional it is","url":"https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cd46ee16e471aa1/6986a330adae4470dc544ee1/141475403.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cd46ee16e471aa1/6986a330adae4470dc544ee1/141475403.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"141475403","caption":"141475403","creditText":"Yagi Studio—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/","name":"What Makes You 'Click' With Someone Else?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now","description":"A practicing sex therapist in New York City, Dr. Shirley Zussman has witnessed everything from the legalization of the contraceptive birth control pill to the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s to the rise of internet porn in the new millenium.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uJFYIrvP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-20T13:40:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uJFYIrvP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/","duration":"PT3M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3343755/what-makes-you-click-with-someone-else/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```