Whether we think about it or not, almost everyone intuitively recognizes what a “conversation” is. When we talk to the person checking us out at the supermarket — who might ask, are these organic apples? to get the price right — we don’t go home and tell our partner, Hey, I had a great conversation at the market today! Of course not. We understand that talking for the purpose of exchanging information is not a conversation.

Aside from extreme examples, though, it’s a little less unclear when talking actually becomes what we call a conversation. That’s why we clarify the nature of a conversation with adjectives: I had an intimate conversation. I had a shallow conversation. I had a heated conversation. While we naturally add qualifiers to the description in order to be clear about the type of conversation we had, neuroscientists have begun taking the exploration of the science of conversation miles further. In fact, people have established entire companies dedicated to researching the art and science of conversation and how effectively communicating — conversing — can help people and businesses succeed.

The CreatingWe Institute is one such company. Founder Judith Glaser understood the tremendous importance of conversations, saying “To get to the next level of greatness, depends on the quality of the culture, which depends on the quality of relationships, which depends on the quality of conversations. Everything happens through conversations!”

One of the key things that researchers have discovered about conversations is how wildly they induce physical and emotional changes in the brain. Conversations can actually trigger the release of neurochemicals such as dopamine and endorphins, which make us feel a sense of well-being. That sense of well-being inspires us to trust the person we’re having the conversation with. However, not all conversations trigger positive reactions. Confrontational conversations, for example, can trigger stress hormones such as cortisol, which induces feelings of fear and anxiety.

Researchers are also discovering that the effects of a good conversation can be long-lasting, laying the foundation for building trust. That benefit makes the value of good conversations obvious relative to romantic relationships and friendships. But the value of good, trusting conversations can extend into your professional life. Writing for Psychology Today, Nicklas Balboa and Richard D. Glaser, Ph.D. reflect on this issue, saying, “Through co-creating conversations that focus on how we can cooperatively tackle challenges, we activate an appreciative mindset, changing our neurochemistry. We turn off the threat-based messages from the amygdala and turn on the brain connections that feed up into the prefrontal cortex. By translating current information, impulses, and our biochemistry, the prefrontal cortex helps us make judgment calls, have empathy and compassion, and anticipate the future.” That ability is crucial to people working in teams.

The subject of teamwork gets even more interesting when you take into account other biological factors. Balboa and Glaser cite another fascinating aspect of teamwork. “Humans in physical proximity influence each other’s nervous systems,” they write, “whether they are aware of it or not. We can create emotional contagion, for example, of positive or destructive feelings, that can quickly move from one person to another. Positive emotional contagion leads to successful communication and co-operation.” Which leads back to the art of conversation. Good conversations help build trust which in turn is emotionally contagious in a positive way.

There’s another notable phenomenon that occurs in a personal interaction between two people. Researchers have discovered that when two people are having a good conversation their brains begin to activate in synchronicity, which can be recognized when they start to subtly mimic each other’s gestures, including shared eye contact and subtle nods of the head to indicate intense listening. This “neural coupling” has been shown to be an excellent predictor of the success of a conversation.

The takeaway from this unfolding research is that there’s a reason why you feel so good after a deep and intimate conversation: your body and your brain are reinforcing the ability of that conversation to help you develop trusting relationships and even enjoy more success professionally.