“The mark of greatness is when everything before you is obsolete, and everything after you bears your mark.” – Dave Chappelle
Welcome welcome.
On this special Saturday edition of weekend recommendations, we’re taking a tour of my Communication & Charisma Mount Rushmore.
In a moment, we’ll watch four of the baddest communicators in the game put their world-class skills on display for our learning and entertainment.
After all, as I said in Advanced Communication and Charisma…
(plug: now available inside The Path)
…One of the best ways to develop your:
- Communication skills
- Articulation, storytelling, and humour
- Personality, charm and social intelligence
…Is simply to watch great communicators.
Not to copy them (I repeat, do not copy them), but to observe the underlying principles and freedom of personality that makes them so effective.
You ready?
Before we jump in, let’s warm up with this quick ~50 second clip from Jordan Peterson…
(who, for the record, is not on my Mount Rushmore, but makes a very compelling case for the importance of developing your communication skills)
…And, now that the blood is flowing, let’s move to the main course:
Craig Ferguson (The Late Show)
In his heyday, there was no one better at making guests (especially women) feel comfortable, charmed, and at ease.
Once you’re done with the clips in this list, enjoy binging his other stuff.
An absolute master.
“If I start giving people what they like I’ll turn into one of them and I don’t want to be one of them, I want to be one of me.” – Craig Ferguson
Russell Brand (MSNBC Interview)
The big, shining warning I gave earlier applies triple to Russell Brand, so I’ll repeat it here:
Do not to try to copy him.
For one, it won’t work (he’s a unicorn if there ever was one). For two, it will look creepy if you try. And for three, refer back to one.
What you can “copy” (observe, model, and learn from) are the underlying principles he puts on display:
Complimenting and praising openly, setting strong boundaries early, clarity of mission, body language, freedom of personality, and much more.
“I couldn’t possibly have s*x with someone with such a slender grasp on grammar!” – Russell Brand
Dave Chappelle (Netflix)
I chose this clip more or less at random because there’s no such thing as a bad Dave Chapelle clip.
His storytelling, timing, pacing, body language, and pretty much every other part of his act is masterful.
Work through his Netflix catalogue and it will be hard not to come away with stronger communication skills and a sharper sense of humour.
“I didn’t come here to be right. I came here to fxck around.” – Dave Chappelle
Hank Moody (Californication)
And finally, the communication GOAT.
Hank does a lot wrong, but what he does right, he does better than anyone in television history.
If you haven’t seen Californication yet (and you’re 18+), cue it up next.
“That was not s*x. That was naked poetry.” – Hank Moody
Finally, let’s cool down with one last < 1 minute clip featuring Bradley Cooper…
(again, not on our Mount Rushmore)
…Which is my current favorite example of boundary-setting and social integrity.
Whew.
You get through all that?
Beast.
If you’re still hungry to go deeper:
Check out Advanced Communication & Charisma inside The Path today.
Enjoy, and have an awesome Saturday.
– T
P.S. Quick reminder:
The Path is closing again on Tuesday at midnight, and when it does, the price will increase from $49 / month to $99 / month.
So if you’re still interested, now is the time to join.
“Maybe fear is God’s way of saying; ‘pay attention, this could be fun.’” – Craig Ferguso
