Did you ever “click” with someone that you couldn’t stop thinking about it? You felt like you had so many things to talk about although you didn’t know each other? That experience is truly special. When you meet people that leave such a great impression on you, try your best to keep them in your life.
However, a recent study by Dartmouth College reveals that “clicking” is not as effortless and spontaneous as we thought. Certain factors affect the way two people connect; one of them is the response time.
Study Reveals that Fast Response Time Leads to Famous “Clicking” and Better Connection
According to the Dartmouth study, interlocutors that respond to each other quickly are more likely to “click” compared to interlocutors that take more time to respond. The conclusion came after the researchers conducted a study that included 66 people that participated in 10 conversations.
Strangers discussed random topics of their choice while being videotaped. Afterward, the participants watched the videos of the conversations and rated the connection between each other throughout the dialogue. The results showed that the partakers felt most connected at moments when the response times were fast.
The participants invited their close friends for the second part of the study; the procedure was the same and so were the results. Interlocutors experienced greater social connection at faster response times.
To conclude the study, the researchers included outside observers as well. They sent audio clips of the conversations to Amazon’s Mechanical Turk members. The analysts manipulated the response times in this case. Some audio clips were faster, some slower and some kept the original speed. The results, however, matched the previous results. Listeners responded that they felt the people from the recordings most connected at times when they were responding quickly.
One of the authors reminded that on average during a conversation there is approximately a quarter of a second gap between turns. She said that the purpose of the study was to show the importance of that gap in terms of connection. To conclude, the author said that two people “click” when they close the 250-millisecond gap. That’s when they feel like they can finish each other’s sentences and they could talk for hours without ever running out of topics!
How Does the Fast Response Time Work in Online Dating?
The difference between face-to-face and online conversation is not very significant. In fact, it is almost nonexistent. Your response speed affects largely your connection with the person you talk to on a dating site.
You can feel incredibly connected to someone even if you only text. However, you need to put some effort into it. If you only send a message and respond hours later, it’s unlikely that you will “click” with the person you are talking to. Events and distractions in the meantime will drive your mind away from the conversation. Thus, you will need to try to connect to your partner every time you respond; the same works for her. The fact that you don’t stay connected but need to force yourself to remember the previous direction of your dialogue automatically has a negative impact on your behavior.
On the other hand, if you respond fast, the conversation will run smoothly and you will feel closer to the woman you are talking to. The same applies to calls. You will only have to put some effort at the beginning and then the topics will just start coming up alone. The more you talk, the more connected you will feel. Thus, your chances of growing feelings and awakening feelings in your interlocutor will increase. You will get to know each other well and there will be fewer “awkward silence” moments; until there are none at all!
Build Your Connections
If you want to be successful at online dating, you should engage in your conversations, be a good listener and talker and, of course, respond fast. There are no limits on how many people you can talk to; talk to as many as you can and build valuable connections.
Fortunately, responding quickly does not take too much work because you will do it willingly and the conversations will truly interest you. Not only your interlocutor will feel close to you, but you will feel closeness as well. It is a pleasant feeling that will encourage you to interact more. You just need to put a little effort at the start and all the pieces will fall into place alone!
