The 5 Love Languages, as outlined by Dr. Gary Chapman in his popular book, have been used as a framework for understanding how people express and receive love for over 30 years. These languages include Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. We usually hear these used in the context of personal relationships. But you can also put these five love languages to work in your business to foster meaningful gestures and communication within a professional setting.
In this episode, Pam and Teri give an overview of the five love languages. Then, they discuss how each language translates to our relationships with our clients, colleagues, and team members.
What is your love language? How do you give and receive “love” (or appreciation) within a business context? Comment below and let us know!
Putting the 5 Love Languages to Work for Your Business
Topics Covered
- Overview of the 5 Love Languages [00:35]
- Pam and Teri’s top love languages [01:10]
- How the five love langauges play out with your clients [03:49]
- How to decipher your clients’ love languages [05:27]
- Creating content that makes clients feel seen, heard, and appreciated [07:09]
- Love language examples: How each language can play out in an online business [08:15]
- Stepping back from your personal love language to meet customers’ needs [17:02]
- Building a team with various love languages [18:18]
- Finding creative ways to speak to each love language in a virtual world [19:30]
- Embracing differences in love languages to create a comfortable workplace [21:03]
- This or that, Acts of Service Edition: Have somebody wash your dishes or do your laundry? [25:34]
Deciphering Our Clients’ Love Languages
- “When we talk about the love languages of clients, I think it is important, to a point, to know how to feed into your clients so that they are seen and heard because I think then the working relationship is a lot better.” – Teri
- “I think it’s important for me to decipher how each person feels most seen and most appreciated as a member of our community, as a fellow business owner, and all of those things. a lot of times you can decipher this, without specifically asking them, through their behavior. A lot of people show their love languages by how they show you appreciation.” – Pam
- “For example, setting up a course. You would think about, ‘What are the different learning styles?’ But at the same time, as they progress through the course, we want to have connection with them. We want them to feel seen, and encouraged, and supported as they grow. So we need to think about, also, their love languages as we’re walking through that process with them.” – Pam
Love Language Examples at Work
- “Just really paying attention to those things. Even you could have just a spreadsheet of your different customers. When they say things, ‘Oh, their dog’s name is Charles.’ Okay. So you write down, ‘Their dog’s name is Charles,’ just so that you remember and then people feel so valued when they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you listened to me.'” – Pam
- “When somebody’s totally different than your love language, learning to embrace that and figure it out. It’s not necessarily always easy for us to do that but I think to be good leaders and to be good business owners, that’s one of the things we need to do. Because that keeps clients coming back, that keeps our teams moving forward, all those kind of things, and just makes for a healthier work environment, which is what we want.” – Teri
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