A signal that reaches the other person directlyHow they want to receive love: Words of affirmation
RLUEI → SLOAN
A signal that reaches the other person directly
SLOAN → RLUEI
A signal to make clearer
How they want to receive love
They want different signalsPhysical touch · Words of affirmation
Comparison by type
The love expressions you each want
The two codes' expressions overlap in only one direction. Ask each other directly which expressions you actually want.
RLUEI→SLOAN
A signal that reaches the other person directly
In the code data, RLUEI's Words of affirmation expression overlaps with SLOAN's receiving expression.
SLOAN→RLUEI
A signal to make clearer
RLUEI wants to receive Physical touch. A gesture SLOAN could try: Ask before making contact and wait for a clear yes. Respect no, and stop immediately whenever they ask, even after touch has begun.
One move today
If you both agree, try having type RLUEI express affection through ‘Words of affirmation’ and type SLOAN through ‘Physical touch’, then ask each other how it felt.
Love language
Our map of love signals
The giving and receiving expressions assigned to each type code are shown side by side. Use them to start asking each other which words and actions are actually welcome.
Love language
RLUEI
SLOAN
Quality time
Gives
—
Words of affirmation
Gives
GivesWants
Physical touch
Wants
—
Acts of service
—
—
Receiving gifts
—
Gives
Where you meet
In the code data, RLUEI's Words of affirmation expression overlaps with SLOAN's receiving expression.
Love language
Five situations for expressing affection
A personality profile is only a conversation starter. Ask each other which expressions you actually like and confirm them together.
01
An invitation to open up
1Propose
2Choose together
3Make the next plan
RLUEI → SLOAN · Words of affirmation
Familiar expression
RLUEI tells SLOAN why the invitation matters: ‘I love hearing what has been on your mind. Could we make a little time for just us this week?’
SLOAN → RLUEI · Physical touch
New expression to try
SLOAN asks RLUEI before any contact: ‘Would you like to hold hands while we walk?’ Welcome a no without pressure, and if they say yes, stop immediately whenever they ask.
What is one thing you would enjoy doing together this week?
02
Beside you on a hard day
1Ask what helps
2Choose the support
3Confirm understanding
RLUEI → SLOAN · Words of affirmation
Familiar expression
RLUEI names what SLOAN has carried: ‘You worked hard just getting through that today. I want you to know I am on your side before we look for answers.’
SLOAN → RLUEI · Physical touch
New expression to try
SLOAN asks RLUEI, ‘Would a hug help, or would space feel better?’ Accept no with ease, and even after a yes, stop immediately if they signal that they want you to stop.
Would listening, solving one thing together, or giving you room feel best right now?
03
Checking before getting closer
1Ask clearly
2Wait for explicit yes
3Stop when asked
RLUEI → SLOAN · Words of affirmation
Familiar expression
RLUEI asks SLOAN which affectionate words feel comfortable and which feel like pressure. Confirm, ‘Is it okay if I often say I like you? Please tell me whenever it feels uncomfortable.’
SLOAN → RLUEI · Physical touch
New expression to try
SLOAN names the exact kind and location of the touch and asks RLUEI, ‘May I hug you now?’ Do nothing without a clear yes, accept no without pressure, and stop immediately at any point they ask.
What kind of closeness feels good today, and what do you not want?
04
Mending after a miss
1State the facts
2Name the impact
3Choose the next action
RLUEI → SLOAN · Words of affirmation
Familiar expression
RLUEI acknowledges the impact on SLOAN before offering excuses: ‘I missed our agreed time, and that made you feel unimportant. I am sorry; next time I will message before I am late.’
SLOAN → RLUEI · Physical touch
New expression to try
SLOAN does not assume RLUEI wants a make-up hug and asks, ‘Would holding hands feel okay now?’ Accept no without pressure, and after a yes, stop immediately whenever they ask.
What happened, how did it affect us, and what will we do differently next time?
05
Drawing the next chapter
1Share wishes
2Agree on roles
3Revisit together
RLUEI → SLOAN · Words of affirmation
Familiar expression
RLUEI and SLOAN each choose one sentence they would like to hear more often. ‘It helps when you notice my effort’ gives the other something real to try and revisit next month.
SLOAN → RLUEI · Physical touch
New expression to try
SLOAN asks RLUEI which kinds of affection may feel comfortable in the future and which touch to avoid. Agree to ask every time, respect no, and stop immediately whenever either person changes their mind.
What future do we each want, how will we share the roles, and when will we revisit the plan?
Love language
A conversation about fitting your lives together
Personality types can start a conversation; the two of you decide how daily life works. Open a topic and compare your real answers.
01Money and gifts
Ask each other
When would you split a date equally, and when would each pay for what they ordered?
Check pressure and boundaries
What spending or gift price would feel burdensome, and is a return gift ever expected?
Try one agreement
Before the next date, agree on a comfortable budget and how you will pay.
02Friends and time alone
Ask each other
How much time with friends, together, and alone feels comfortable in a typical week?
Check pressure and boundaries
Can either person decline a friend gathering or the publication of a photo of you together without pressure?
Try one agreement
Protect one block of personal time each and decide how to flag schedule conflicts.
03Daily tasks and care
Ask each other
Which recurring task would each of you like to take on, and which feels hard?
Check pressure and boundaries
What sign would tell you the split has become unfair or exhausting?
Try one agreement
Choose one task to divide this week, then check the workload together next week.
04The pace of future plans
Ask each other
Which next step, travel, living together, or a longer plan, would you like to discuss now?
Check pressure and boundaries
Which decision are you not ready for or do not want?
Try one agreement
Without rushing a decision, choose when to revisit the conversation and what to ask then.
Love notes for both types
01
How they show love
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
When you love, your initial intensity overwhelms the other person. Once an interest takes hold you pour in all your energy, eager to explore their inner world deeply. But that intensity shifts with time, and the other person easily reads the shift as rejection. Your way of loving runs uneven, but in any given moment it's completely sincere.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
You want to do well at love too. You want to be the best partner they could have, and that intention shows in planning and preparation. You remember the anniversaries and store away what they mentioned in passing to bring out later. It is closer to proving love than giving it, so when the response falls short of what you hoped, it shakes you badly.
02
What they need
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
You need a partner who gives intellectual stimulation. Someone you can have deep conversations with, can explore new things with, and who can withstand your mood swings. Also, you need someone who can understand when you need time alone. A relationship that can give both safe stillness and intense connection.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
You need someone who tells you that you are fine regardless of any outcome. A partner who is only warm when you have done well will grow your anxiety. You are most at ease with someone who treats you at the same temperature on the days you achieved nothing, and who reads how hard you try as affection rather than pressure.
03
How closeness unfolds
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
Early in a relationship, you pursue the other person with great intensity and become extremely curious about them. As time passes, that intensity fades, and this sometimes leads to a crisis in the relationship. When conflict arises, you try to analyze rationally, but your emotions often take over. After a breakup, you need a long time alone to think through the experience.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
Early on you pour everything in. It deepens faster than they expected and your plans run a long way ahead. Once the relationship steadies, you start asking yourself instead, “is this enough?”. You tend to read their smallest non-reaction as a verdict, so even on days when nothing happened you may be quietly scoring yourself.
04
What to mind in the relationship
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
You need to practice believing that a relationship can last even after the initial intensity. Even when the intensity cools, comfort can fill its place, and you have to learn that this too is a valuable connection. Also, honestly sharing your emotional changes with the other person helps the relationship far more than keeping distance through silence.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
Your partner needs to know that your effort is itself an expression of affection. Preparing something is not showing off. It is care.
Still, there is something for you to practice: letting yourself feel, on the days you simply meet with nothing prepared, that the relationship has not shrunk. Only once that feeling piles up does the anxiety come down.
05
What triggers the guard
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
When the relationship feels routine or the other person cannot give intellectual stimulation, you begin to lose interest. Also, a strong defensive reaction rises when your emotional changes or way of inquiry are called “unstable” or “irresponsible.” It is triggered when the other person keeps distance or grows cold after an intense connection.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
Your guard rises when your effort is taken as a given and when you are compared to someone else. In particular, hearing “anyone could do that much” about something you put care into is a sentence that stays a long time. A stretch where their attention noticeably thins calls up the same reaction.
06
How distance shows up
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
When emotion rises like a storm, you tend to let it out in words or action right away. Either it pours out with a directness that feels like you're “about to say everything”, or you flip the other way and vanish into silence. Because emotion and reason fire at the same time, even you find your own reactions hard to predict.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
Outwardly you try harder. Instead of saying you were hurt you raise the intensity to draw a reaction, and when that does not work the feeling breaks out all at once. Afterwards you know yourself that the words came out heavier than what you actually felt.
07
What brings them back
RLUEIThe Novelty Seeker
After the intense emotion passes, you need time alone to think it over carefully. New experiences or creative work helps you recover. You feel close again when the other person reaches out to explore what happened with you. Having them stay with you works better than analysis.
SLOANThe Collaborative Achiever
After a fierce eruption you blame yourself and are the one to try for peace. Rather than apologizing directly you tend to make up for it in action: trying harder, or preparing something particular. You do not fully settle until they say clearly that it is all right, and only when that confirmation arrives does your energy come back.
Quality time
Words of affirmation
Physical touch
Acts of service
Receiving gifts