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  • James Corden has the fastest growing late night channel on Youtube.

  • Thanks mostly to the massive success he had

  • with carpool karaoke

  • and while it's certainly fun to watch your favorite singers

  • rock out to the most popular songs,

  • a big contributor to the success of those videos

  • is the dynamic that James is able to create in such a short time.

  • He's able to get people to open up and really enjoy themselves

  • and if you watch closely, there's a moment where the stars

  • were previously bored or sceptical seemed to really begin to like James.

  • Here's Justin Bieber saying why himself.

  • You know what? I appreciate you.

  • I appreciate the character that you come with.

  • Stop it, I'm welling up.

  • I appreciate your heart.

  • You're such a kind individualyou love people.

  • It's probably true that James Corden does love people

  • and his magnetism comes from the fact, certainly,

  • that he's able to make people feel good without losing the respect.

  • That's what we're going to learn how to do in this video

  • so let's start with one of the simplest ways to make someone feel good

  • the direct compliment.

  • We often compliment people at the beginning of an interaction

  • saying something like, "It's great to see you" or "you look great."

  • Both are solid polite phrases

  • but watch how James takes those to the next level

  • by being specific in his complimenting.

  • You are looking fine right now.

  • Thanks very much, James.

  • Seriously, I'm loving the hairit's a triumph.

  • Everytime I've met you, you seem like you're in a great manage.

  • Thank you.

  • You have such an amazing audience.

  • Don't I? I know.

  • It's the most incredible audience I've ever seen.

  • (audience cheers)

  • By trying to compliment to a specific attribute,

  • James makes it feel like more than just a polite formality.

  • And while you might brush off it's-nice-to-see-you,

  • if someone were to say to you, "You're always in such a great mood,"

  • it would probably make you feel really good

  • and want to spend more time with that person.

  • So the lesson here is that the more specific you can make your compliments,

  • the more genuine they feel and the greater impact they will have

  • and that's because in order to be specific,

  • you can't just have a stock compliment that you use with everyone

  • you need to notice something special about the individual.

  • And the more that you can attune yourself to the things

  • that you appreciate in others, the easier this will become

  • because at that point, it's just about voicing what you've seen.

  • Now while compliments can be wonderful

  • for connecting with people, if you overload on them,

  • it can begin to feel a bit like you're kissing butt

  • that makes people lose respect for you and the good news is

  • that there's a simple way to make compliments not feel like butt-kissing

  • it's the push-pull compliment or, in our case, the pull-push compliment.

  • Just watch.

  • I mean this from the bottom of my heart.

  • Yes?

  • I swear to you, and this is what I've been saying this whole carpet,

  • I was like, "If the only person I want to win

  • is this man right here more than anything

  • more than anything, truly, because if he wins, it gives us hope."

  • (Jimmy laughs)

  • Push-pull, pull-pushwhatever you want to call it,

  • it's something that we've discussed in the video on flirting

  • which you can check out now in the description or by clicking on the screen here.

  • The main idea is that even though it feels nice to be complimented,

  • it does create a feeling of tension

  • so an excellent way to defuse that tension

  • is by following the compliment up with a joke

  • that lets some of the air out of the compliment

  • and allows people to relax back into laughter.

  • This next clip is a great example.

  • Watch as Emily Blunt starts to feel a little bit embarrassed

  • while James pours on his specific and genuine compliments.

  • I've been telling people for a very, very long time

  • that I think Emily Blunt is one of the best

  • actresses in the world — I've been saying it for a long time.

  • Genuinely, I've been saying, "You got no idea."

  • You know, like, if you go back and watch that My Summer of Love

  • and things like this, they have phenomenal performances

  • and the the most thrilling thing watching this film is you go,

  • "Ah, there it is," and now everyone's going to say it...

  • So at this point, Emily is thoroughly embarrassed by the lavish praise.

  • You saw her making the kill-me sign at the beginning.

  • Even though that kind of praise must make her feel proud,

  • she simultaneously feels like she needs to reject the compliments

  • because they're beginning to feel like a bit too much.

  • So here's when James releases the tension with a joke.

  • ...and it will be actually annoying

  • and then I'll come full circle

  • and I'll start saying, "She's a bitch."

  • She is the worst.

  • She is horrendous.

  • She is the worst.

  • Like I said, we have more examples of push-pull in a flirting context in the description link

  • but for now I want to move on to another way of being both complimentary and funny

  • which is basically by complementing someone in such an over-the-top manner

  • that it becomes a joke.

  • By exaggerating someone's good features or success

  • so much that it becomes absurd,

  • you can see James do that here as he talks about a short film

  • he's shooting with a group of people he just met in Starbucks.

  • Excuse me?

  • What are you four doing right now?

  • Would you like to be talents folk in a major motion picture?

  • Come here just you four.

  • Here, here, here, and here.

  • Cut!

  • That's the scene they'll show at the Oscar's — that's the scene.

  • Thank you. Thank you.

  • Everyone knows that James is being absurd here

  • but it still feels nice to receive that over-the-top compliment

  • and the absurdity makes it a funny moment as well

  • so in this next clip, James does something very similar

  • with the addition of some self-deprecating humor.

  • Now I've gone deeper into self-deprecating humor before

  • so rather than repeat myself, I've made a playlist that you can check out

  • just go ahead and click the link in the description.

  • The important thing to know for this video

  • is that self-deprecating humor is very winning

  • when it's used by someone who is demonstrating the ability to lead conversation.

  • Now, if self-deprecating humor is used by someone who is already on the outskirts

  • or who seems to has low self-esteem,

  • that can rouse feelings of pity rather than laughter.

  • Clearly, as the host, James is capable of leading conversation

  • so it works for himcheck it out.

  • We would make a hell of a boy band, no?

  • We've got the cute one, the cool one,

  • the fat one who writes the songs...

  • (audience laughs)

  • And the bad boy.

  • ...and the Maverick who refuses to play by the rules.

  • Yeah.

  • (audience cheers)

  • Now everything that we've covered up until this point

  • is how you can go out and make people feel great

  • but of course we want to know how to do that

  • without getting walked over, without losing people's respect,

  • and sometimes that can mean dishing it out a little bit.

  • Now this is particularly true in certain groups of men.

  • There are groups, and you probably know some,

  • who relate to each other by digging at one another in a playful manner

  • and if you find yourself in a group like this, it's usually best not to go overboard

  • trying to win the who-can-dish-it-out-the-most game

  • but being able to ping pong back and forth in a playful insult manner can help

  • and the cue to do this is that someone tosses a playful insult your way.

  • So in this next clip, watch Joe Montana do it to James after he drops a few catches.

  • Are you serious? We refer to that as The Credit Card Jump.

  • A Credit Card Jump? Why is that?

  • Right, because we could just get a credit card underneath your feet.

  • Don't start, Montana.

  • So Joe has shown that his style of humor

  • is going to occasionally involve dissing his friendsin this case, James.

  • Again, it's all playfulhe's not commenting on sensitive subjects

  • just that James drop the football.

  • Now, James picks up this style of humor and comes back at Joe

  • after some other drop catches. Check it out.

  • You put the hands on the laces.

  • That's how you throw it.

  • There. See what I just did? I threw it into your hands.

  • Sorry guys, let's go again because of Joe Montana.

  • The important thing here is that even though he's giving it back to Joe a little bit,

  • James isn't taking really serious digs at him.

  • Joe Montana's ability to throw football is not something he's insecure about

  • he's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

  • So you can tease people on topics in which they are strong

  • like when James teases Joe's throwing