Emotional Magnetism: How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships
| Author : Sandy Gerber, May 2022
What’s It All About?
In our personal and workplace relationships, we’ve all come across this frustration situation: you’re telling someone about a topic that’s important to you, but the other person just isn’t understanding what you’re saying! In her book Emotional Magnetism: How to Communicate to Ignite Connection in Your Relationships, my friend Sandy Gerber digs deeper into why situations like this happen—and shares how we can dig in deeper, discover our biases, and find the path to productive communications.
Specifically, Sandy’s book is built on four communication motivators that “magnetize” our attention and motivate us to listen and act. Together, they spell “SAVE”.
- Safety
- Achievement
- Value
- Experience
Using practical, real-world examples, Sandy breaks down each of these communication motivators and shows us what happens when we fall into one of these four categories. Through her stories, you’ll be able to identify your own situations where there’s a block in communication, and learn what you can do to overcome it, have more win-win conversations, and ease your own vice to be right.
As someone who is always learning about self-awareness and my own emotions, I love how Emotional Magnetism made me think deeper about how I can communicate my own needs with others. This read left me with the space and energy I need to understand myself, others, and the “magnets” for stronger leadership, better outcomes, and ultimately, more profits.
And as a fellow Canadian, I love that Sandy’s book shows she’s a true Canadian! At just 169 pages (or four hours on Audible), Sandy respects the time of others by leaving out the fluff and getting right to the lessons we can all use for better communications and a better life.
Favorite Quote
“The more empathy we create, the more relationships we nurture and potentially save, and the more love and acceptance we create in our world.”
Biggest Takeaway
When someone is sharing their own situation or looking for help, it’s easy to give in to the desire to take over the conversation with your own similar situation. For example, if someone is telling you about the big fish they caught, you might be tempted to tell them about your even bigger catch. This is a classic situation, but when we block the opportunity to help and connect, it drives disconnect and hurts our relationships. I love how Emotional Magnetism highlights common communication blocks like this. I also appreciate how it opened my eyes to so many new things, even after many years of working to grow my own emotional intelligence.
Bonus information
When you visit Sandy’s website, you’ll find a quiz to learn about your own SAVE type. There’s great value in seeing your results, and knowing your type will help you increase and understand your own communication strengths and skills.
I enjoyed not only taking the quiz myself, but also sharing it with my partner Diana. Once both of us took the quiz, we were able to have a great conversation about each other’s emotional needs and gained more insights into the importance of growing together.
If you take Sandy’s quiz, I encourage you to look at your results with curiosity instead of judgment. Get rid of your biases and have fun! By learning more about your communication blocks, you can bring more curiosity and self-awareness to your everyday interactions.
Reviewed by: Trevor Blondeel, April 14, 2023
At Manufacturing Greatness, Trevor Blondeel works with manufacturers to connect the top to the shop floor. If you’re ready to improve your own organization, contact Trevor to learn how Manufacturing Greatness can help you build stronger leaders and develop a dynamic, high-performing workplace.