Written by: Ashley Tulio, Communication Specialist
Love Languages
The concept of love languages was developed by Gary Chapman, the author of The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts. The book discusses five different ways to express and receive love. Communication is an imperative factor in every relationship in your life, and the knowledge of these love languages can truly deepen connections in your life through unspoken understandings. Understanding your partners and your love languages is essential as it will allow you to treat them exactly how their hearts desire. As a result, you become more conscious, which enhances your overall thoughtfulness in your relationship, leading to a stronger relationship.
- Words of Affirmation: are verbal expressions, such as words or phrases that communicate your love or appreciation for another person. This form of love language allows you to open the communication channel as you show them that you notice the little things and appreciate them for who they are. In addition, words have the power to allow one to feel motivated or boosted in spirit. When providing a person with words of affirmation, it is essential to be authentic, genuine, empathetic, and appreciative.
- Quality Time: is giving someone your undivided attention without any distraction and being fully present at the moment you share. As you make aside time for others, they will feel valued, loved, and special. Due to the increase of distractions in the world, this may be hard. However, some ways to provide the people you love with quality time can include making eye contact, active listening skills, actively making plans, and being present in the now.
- Receiving Gifts: is sharing physical items given to express feelings of love or care. The true meaning of a gift isn’t so much how expensive it is but how sentimental it is. Gifts could range from flowers, small snacks, or even a cup of coffee in the morning. You have to be attentive with this language as you have to notice specific reactions to gifts in part and understand which gives the person the most happiness.
- Acts of Service: are a non-verbal form of love, as they are thoughtful gestures you know someone would appreciate. In order to perform acts of service, things to keep in mind include paying attention to small things that they want to do, considering doing a few chores they do not truly enjoy performing, and actions that you can do to help their days go by easier!
- Physical Touch: is any form of physical contact between individuals to show affection, it can be in the form of a hug, a special handshake, or even a pat on the back! Body language is also essential with this love language as it is very expressive.
Different ways love languages can be applied
Due to the pandemic, various businesses’ organizational structures have shifted from in-person settings to working from home. Whether your company size is small or large, businesses have different departments and teams! By understanding love languages, one could apply these concepts to strengthen their relationships with fellow team members. Furthermore, recognizing our colleagues’ professional love languages could increase employee morale!
How can we use love languages in a professional workplace setting?
- Words of Affirmation: This can be in the form of feedback and mentorship. For example, one can acknowledge the great job that they are doing.
- Quality Time: This could be workplace bonding activities, including celebrating workplace anniversaries or having lunch chats while discussing non-related work activities!
- Receiving Gifts: Gifts might range from new opportunities and challenges to pursue or simply getting a small gift card for a work anniversary!
- Acts of Service: In a professional workplace, it could be seen as support, which can be as simple as asking someone if you can assist them in any task.
- Physical Touch: This can be in the form of an encouraging high-five, a regular 1:1 meeting, or even eye contact and smiles!
Being able to comprehend other people’s love languages and your own can help deepen your relationships in different aspects of your love, whether the relationship is romantic, platonic, or professional!
Understanding and learning new languages
Languages are essential for culture and society for various reasons, including individual development, business opportunities, and personal communication. Learning both verbal and non-verbal languages can build more profound and more meaningful relationships in your life. Language opens the doors to understanding the people around us in an immeasurable way!
However, understanding and portraying love language in a different language can be difficult.
At MCIS Language Solutions, we offer training modules serving as development coursing covering specialized topics relevant to individual service providers or specific settings. These training modules are open to everyone and teach bilingual people various skills, including identifying factors related to stress and how that can affect one’s work, strategies to identify, prevent, or minimize secondary trauma, and how to manage common situations that might arise when interpreting. There are imperative factors to consider when interpreting, including non-verbal cues and tailored strategies for specific situations. These identifications can truly make a difference! To learn more about these training programs, please click here.