Communication in Relationships

Self-disclosure is a way that you can create intimacy with others, it is a vulnerable bid for connection that gives others an opportunity to respond, and as a result grow the relationship. That said, this does need to be managed carefully in order to protect your own privacy, exposure and risk.  This is something that only you can determine based on the context, the person that you’re interacting with, and the sensitivity of the information that you’re sharing.

This is a form of matching or raising the bid, as vulnerability is a sign of trust, and if you showcase that you trust someone by offering a more vulnerable bid, they will actually trust you more – because they believe that you trust them.  It’s similar to the liking principle – we like people who like us – and we trust people who trust us… because subconsciously we think, ‘They like me and trust me, so they have good judgement.”.  Obviously, this can be a detriment with unsafe people.

 There are countless factors that can impact how we communicate in our connections with others, and each theory and technique can majorly impact how we approach our day-to-day relationships.  We explore this invaluable topic along with how to develop healthy relationships, here.