I'm curious your thoughts on what about these techniques fail to capture the audience of those who have preconceived notions. So for instance you brought up the lobster example which uses a lot of the same things you talked about here and said how it doesn't feel like he's attacking and doesn't insight that feeling of being attacked. I completely agree. However, it seems that for a certain subsect of people that this is the opposite. They try to ridicule him saying we are nothing like these animals and things like that?
A very important rhetorical device mentioned here is Dr Peterson's explaining the point he is making right from the start. That gives the listeners a reason to listen. A great many UA-camrs (engineers, historians, doctors, etc.) talk till they're blue in the face before one has any idea where they're going (most often, I stop watching). They think it's more engaging to make a presentation like a thriller, with a dénouement at the very end but it's not a good idea because one doesn't have a reason to listen. Elementary, yet unknown to so many professionals.
@@castelodeossos3947 I think the best way to describe it, he treats discussions like Essays. In formalized education, the concept of 'introduction, body, conclusion' is nailed down hard in the form of essays. But it wasn't until an elective speech course in college where I learned the value of it in conversation. And it's odd... It's for the same reasons, yet the concept of it being used in in discussion that happens without a pen or keyboard was never really addressed.
Yes but lions like most animals are colorblind and can't see the color red so what stuck in your mind is a BS story JP used to plant a false idea in your mind that made you mistakenly believe that you learned something new and important when in fact the entire point of JP's long winded story could be summed up in a few words, non-conformists stand out and often become targets of conformist. Something as obvious as the nose on your face .
I see him as very passionate, and an intense kind of personality - at least when speaking in public. He has a serious look. When I showed a clip of him speaking to a person I know, they thought of him as "angry." It's so fascinating to me how people perceive the same thing differently.
@@serpentines6356 I like Jordan Peterson a lot, his level of intelligence is way greater than my own, and yet he has a way of speaking that all can understand. I think, sometimes people see what they want to see, but then, people seem to imply that anger is a bad thing, when I don't think it is, I think there are things in the world that are worth being angry at, as long as someone uses that anger in a positive way, it can be a very good thing.
I’ve been in a church where the preacher used the same tactic. His sermons were usually quite good but always ran long, but since he implanted the suggestion, I rarely noticed.
There is an aspect of this that is learning also. The inability to see what is in front of us is partially explained by the lions vision. I watch people learn to tie knots. The process can be challenging. You tell someone AND show someone to go UP through the hole and then they go down...
It is a demonstration of how social thinking works and how social thinking can become toxic. This is notable because there are few places in the world where this has happened more egregiously than in Canada. It's not just that people like it for the protection it offers them, it has become a social rule and now it's like if the zebras attacked the zebra that stood out from the group, not even the lions. Canadian culture is unbelievably toxic and the only antidote is methodical, rational logic. But that is often also seen as the enemy (in spite of protestations to the contrary). Ironically, most people there see themselves as secular and scientifically engaged, yet have no idea that they are just entrenched in a system of social arguments, social validations and virtually zero real science backing up that which has become a social law, with great penalty for those who dare to stray from.
Mr. Lyon, I appreciate the work and thought you put into your videos. I never think I walk away from your videos without knowing a few new things about communication.
That was an enjoyable presentation describing Jordans story telling techniques . I like the way he uses his hands while telling the story . he talks about the researchers taking notes, and his hands mimic that action , he puts his hand on his backside when talking about the painting of the zebras haunches, and quickly rubs his ear when talking about clipping the zebras ear to identify them . I believe actors call this blocking .
The blocking done by actors is actually deciding upon the most effective positions and movements on the stage, in relation to the other actors and and the audience.
The lean in from him at the beginning makes you take note and the draw back into his chair reminded me of reeling in fish. It’s why I’m never full comfortable on the phone, too much can be missed by not seeing body language. Good breakdown 👍🏻
Great video, One aspect about Dr. Peterson's communication methods is that he is very dynamic. Nearly every word that he speaks, he speaks very explicitly, as if he puts great effort in just getting the word out of his mouth, he sounds kind of loud, messaging that he wants to be heard. He is not monotonic, his sentences are up and down in tone, and thus in emotions and he is a very emotional speaker, he makes strong eye contact, uses his hands, shoulders, his entire body to communicate, when he tells a painful content, he looks and sound like he himself is in pain. All put together, he is high energy and it is sort of contagious, we, listeners pick up on it and listen in high energy fashion. We are not likely to fall asleep while listening to Jordan Peterson.
I know you're avoiding politics, which I like very much. But analyzing this story you're analyzing something potentially political without revealing your true colors and without adding to polarization. Which I like even better.
Hi, Siward. Yes, I have my own opinions and views on life and society like anybody else. I really do want to be known by people for who I am. In fact, I talk about it in a lot of videos (especially the "get to know you" videos I do when the channel crosses various milestones). In my own private life, I lean conservative. I think most viewers can sense that after even a couple of videos. In the end, I'm just not that "into" politics or even more specifically politicians. I just try to live my life and lead by example. But, all that aside, thank you for your comment. I appreciate it.
I believe in transparency, too. That's why I talk about my faith so much on my channel and website. We sponsor 6 kids through a Christian organization, Compassion International. My testimony is on my website. In fact, I'm so open about my faith I've lost corporate clients over it because I refuse to take it out of certain videos or talks. I LOVE talking about Jesus. One of the most common critical comments I've gotten over the years is to leave my faith out of it because it isn't inclusive to indicate that I'm a Christian or because I say "God bless" at the end of every video or sometimes quote the Bible in videos. But politics? Meh. It just doesn't get my motor running. I think at some level virtually all politicians from both major parties can't be trusted much. Politics sort of grosses me out. Now, I've said ALL of this hundreds of times on my channel in the comments section, in videos, and to the people on my email list. In fact, if you watch my video, "How I grew from 0 to 300,000 subscribers," I talk about all of this pretty openly (again). And, once more, I'm posting all of this transparently for all to read.
I agree with everything said but here's something that took me a long time to learn: I love great storytellers as much as the next person and Jordan Peterson is no exception, he's great at it. He is one of the many people who I can listen to for hours and many things he says make sense to me. I have had to learn the hard way that the danger with listening to great storytellers who are also politically motivated, or have some other agenda, is that sometimes I get pulled in so completely that the pull of charisma and charm overrides my ability to know when I've been led to an idea that may not be completely true. Most of the time when that happens I am completely blind to it until someone else points it out for me. Only then does the charm loose it's grip and I realize it isn't the idea that I am invested in, but the personality. I'm not saying anything about Peterson in particular, only using him as an example because this video is about him. I would like to hear if others have felt the same way at times. This is one of those things that we can easily see when it happens to others but usually hard to identify when we are the ones being pulled in. Thanks for reading this and I hope everyone has a great day.
This is why it is good to listen to many voices with a critical mind. You will develop your own stances and have more confidence in who you are and what separates you from another individual or a group of people. Which is why it also good to expose yourself to different cultures and groups, and find an appreciation for those differences.
That's exactly what politicians and motivational speakers do. Good orator skills can accomplish a lot. It can be used for good like Martin Luther King Jr. or evil like Adolf Hitler. Both men were phenomenal speaker but their motives were completely different. The way Peterson tells his stories just like in his book is because human beings are predisposed to learning from stories because that is how we evolved since man first gathered around the fire. Peterson also uses techniques he has used in his clinical practice. Keep in mind he has 30 plus years of experience treating people that are psychologically damaged and mentally ill. I know it's a cliché but he just knows how to "get into your head". Like when I'm reading his books, he often drags out the chapter to the point that I want to just put the book down. Just at that moment he comes right back to the point. I assure you it is no accident. He is doing that on purpose. As for the problem you have with being influenced so easily, the best thing to do is read and listen to opinions from different sources and you'll see a pattern. With time your skin will "thicken up" and that gullibility and naivete will subside.
i like the way you described Peterson to a T. At first I found him interesting and enchanting but after a while Peterson though charming and charismatic has a dark agenda when it comes to people. He also has been called on giving incorrect information and citing things that are not real. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this type of speaker.
Or maybe you're so drawn in by the storytelling that you subconsciously open your mind, which allows your beliefs to actually be challenged. When that happens and you become aware of it, you may react in fear because those beliefs made you feel secure and accepted by your peers and by society. Keeping an open mind and considering views that aren't part of the mainstream narrative is hard, because it makes daily life harder to navigate when you realize things aren't what they are purported to be by the majority of people or by the authorities. Not only does it complicate many decisions you make, it can also make you stand out socially (like in the story of the video).
@Jay Smith Most people are. For example, I still hear people espousing the lie that made Peterson a hero of the far right in the first place: That bill C-16 would put people in jail not using someone's preferred pronouns.
I've been listening to many of your communication stories and was very interested to see how this one would unfold. Jokingly i say you take a big risk these days having an opinion about people like Jordan. Thank you for the very objective review of the event. It is refreshing to be able to listen to something that is not intended to polarize.
It’s crazy but understandable that people are so identity bound to their politics. I love Jordan Peterson but am pretty far left. I may not agree with his politics but I wish we could listen to and learn from one another without the anger!
@@RShaun Hi! Maybe you can help me out here. What exactly did you learn from all this? There are errors in his story. And, it is pretty glaring. He starts out saying we are zebras but somehow, some way we end up being lions (inside the same story arc)? So NOW, we are a society of lions and a society of zebras at the same time. If I substitute myself in place, it becomes even more apparent. According to the account, I am a zebra doing all the wonderful fun things that a zebra does. The exact same scenario, I am now a lion but I’m still doing all my zebra-y things as a zebra. How did this happen? Why did this happen? The only thing the good professor got right was his analogy that he’s a magician with a magic wand. Whether the professor is aware or not there is a part of him that’s recognizing that Peterson is creating an illusion like a magician does. Maybe he can clarify because him using the analogy of a magician is no accident. How do you square some of the details that don’t add up? What am I missing here?
Hi, Lukas. If you start with the ending conversation they had in the video (that brings up the expression, "The head that stands the tallest gets chopped off by the sword"), the point of the story is that there are both lions and zebras in society. People can be both. Other stories talk about "wolves in sheep's clothing." Again, in stories like that, people are both animals. The type of behavior people show would align them with either the zebras or the lions in the story. If we put the animal metaphor completely aside and only think about how society can act sometimes, it's an easy point to follow: When individuals stand out too much (for excellence, achievement, success), then many times other will attack them.
@@lukaslykus9599 my take away from Alex's video is: componentization of storytelling. I stated above, attempting to keep the comment objective, that I watched and listened to this video from an objective position. I was less concerned about the narrative, though I still listened and formed my opinion, but my opinion is not what I came here to leave with. I see the content (opinions, summations of history, facts) of the components as interchangeable. The components are part of a system to simplify understanding between the speaker and the audience. It is another tool to convey a point of view. I personally find it helpful to use clearly defined components of a presentation to help avoid rambling off topic and avoid redundancy. You may or may not take more value from this content if you take a less critical approach.
I said the same thing when I saw one of your other videos. I wish I had come across your channel when I was a college professor. I can really understand why in some cases I would come out of a lecture saying to myself "great job" only to have a student come up to me after class and as the most basic question that they should have gotten (or at least I thought so) from the lecture.
What stands out to me is the way he uses movement to illustrate his points. Unless he's behind a podium, he'll walk the whole stage and own it. His hand movements are perfectly matched to his words. He also uses the entertainer's trick of singling out people in the audience as if speaking to them alone, One can hardly get people to go to Church, but Peterson can fill a large auditorium with a biblical lecture.
Taking notes for myself... and why not others: 1. Starts with a story within a story - his own journey through this discovery 2. Signals the point of the story before getting into the details 3. Brings the story to life by telling it from the researchers' view - also uses hand gestures for visual engagement 4. Shares the key conclusion of the study 5. Ties it all together, making the point, by explaining the moral of the story
This story was fabulous this story got into my mind Jordan has outstanding confident Alex I've seen you, Lisa mojsin from accurate English then I saw you the first time I got to fan of you, you are the brilliant person in this world I like your accent thanks.
ALEX THE LYON!! I am so excited that my husband randomly found this channel! Absolutely one of my favorite professors. So excited to start binge watching these videos!
There is one glaring problem with this story - it isn't completely true. Firstly, the stripes aren't really there to confuse lions. This has been studied and the stripes tend confuse biting flies, thus granting the zebras from protection from these parasites. Making it more difficult to distinguish individuals (but only while they are still in the herd) may help, but the lions tend to split the herd until they get a zebra alone, in which case there is no camouflage effect. Secondly, predators do tend to go after weakened animals preferentially. This has been shown with mountain lions (a closed related species, btw). It makes sense, a weakened animal requires less energy to capture and kill. Also a weakened animal is less likely to hurt or kill a predator whether it is hunting alone or in packs. Thus the predators gain nearly as much energy from the weakened prey while spending much less energy and taking less chance of being injured during the hunt and kill. Please note, I am not arguing about your conclusions of the effectiveness of Jordan's style of communication. As best I can determine, your points are spot on. But to an evolutionary biologist such as myself, telling a story which is at best only partially true really weakens his point and reduces my respect for him.
Thank you for your post. I was very concerned that there was more to that "analogy" than what Peterson spoke of. This is the problem with analogies. They are basically used to confirm a position, not to actually seek the truth. The Communications specialist should be aware of this and point it out. Instead he applauds it, promotes it, and tells us to use this technique to become an effective communicator. While it does appears to work it does not mean that the point being made is actually correct. That's what drives me crazy about popular communicators. The audience likes the performance so much they simply abandon their critical thought process to make sure the story is true.
@@BrianHoff04 Thanks for your kind words. You are right, a bad analogy can do more harm than good. In my experience as a teacher a good analogy can be very helpful, but if you choose an analogy that is false or misleading it can give people the opposite image of what you are trying to illustrate.
You are correct. The real lesson from this story is that humans will often try to justify their beliefs with animal metaphors, to create some kind of argument for what is 'natural', even when those metaphors are totally wrong and actually have nothing to do with human behaviour.
That is not a problem with the story. Allegories are about conveying a concept or information by telling, what is in reality, a completely unrelated story. His story about zebras, about a supposed 'science paper' (which may or may not have had basis in truth), had nothing to do with zebras. I don't Jordan Peterson expects you to cite his story in one of your papers. Most evolutionary biologists would grasp this contextual distinction.
But Zebra's stripes are probably NOT a form of camouflage - regardless of what Jordan says. It's called the “motion dazzle hypothesis,” and it suggests that predators are confused by zebras' stripes and cannot understand their movement.
❢ I stumbled across your channel 9 days ago when the excellent video of you reacting to the Dolly Parton / Barbara Walters interview somehow came to my attention. I subscribed to your channel that day and have enjoyed a number of your videos since then. Your video about Jordan Peterson’s zebra story was fascinating to me, and from the insights replete in the zebra story, i gained a whole new perception and perspective regarding a certain person who is prominent on the world stage. Thank you for the video of you reacting to Will Smith’s apology - i thoroughly appreciate your wisdom and compassion in breaking down the content of Will’s apology video. I applaud the video of you reacting to Bill Gates - brilliant analysis!! Thank you for ❝What Does Integrity Mean?❞ and for your sage delineation of the ❝I have a dream❞ segment of MLK’s 1963 speech. If i were to comment on all of your videos that i’ve watched, there’d be several more paragraphs to add. So … enough already. As for suggestions on ❝who else❞ you could react to … i would love to see a video of you reacting to Fraudci - oops, i mean, Fauci! ❢
Thank you, on two fronts... I've never heard this story/interview before from JP, and secondly your perspective is both entertaining and thoughtful. Like and subscribed
Great to hear some non partisan sounding praise of Jordan Peterson. I wonder how he became such a gifted storyteller??? Is it a natural gift I wonder? I think some people are born leaders who do stand out and traditionally they would have been first in line in the battles. Either great if they win or fatal if they lose. The crowd senses safety but other potential leaders sense a threat.
He is well read. I don't like his communication style one bit though. He is only comfortable when his unchallenged and he states things that are subjective or just plain false with such arrogant authority.
@@chabaroux *REALLY?* 🤨🤔 Don't you think that Peterson Was and *IS More Challenged* than 90% Percent of all other "famous Speakers"..??? 🤷♂ And Would give an Example what you think about exactly, when you say he states Things subj./ plain False with Authority? BTW... I'm Asking out of honest Curiosity! and Don't Care for dumb Comment Fighting/-Feuds on who ""destroys"" who or some shit....
I am blown away in your critiques. Thanks. I just subscribed. With respect to Jordan Peterson's work, you are absolutely right. He gained notoriety and popularity from several of his books, speeches, and research. His thoughts about and on religion, gender, gender equality, race, sexuality, sexual orientation and the biological component of these topics has ruffled people's opinion of him in the United States. I have cringed a time or two but I am more open to hearing dialogue and discuss ideas. Talk about elevating yourself with regard to your work and people will knock you down for your opinions without any supporting facts. I respect and revere him for his mind. He has the ability to think consciously, rationally, emotionally and critically about himself and the world around him. Sadly, we are taught to take orders, not think critically. He is a master communicator who uses symbolic language to make us understand what he wants us to know. His clinical and psychological research/study methods establishes the rationality behind his thinking. I believe his experience with studying and observing people and their behavior is why he communicates so effectively. Humans are flawed and he understands it. While I haven't read his research, he reminds me of Robert Greene and Robert Cialdidni. Thanks for such an awesome critique of his effective communication style.
🎨 Painting is passing on information under the conditions of one own time. Communication by "seeing". Thank you for your interesting insight and information. Cheers!
Always great topics, thanks Alex! I'm still getting nervous when I am speaking. Today I was speaking for the organization in a member at. It's lobbying for new justice reform bills that were introduced this year. Anyway I tried to use a story Today to explain my point. It was a story I heard in church about the importance of sharing and contributing. The story is called stone soup. Basically everyone puts something in the pot and everyone eats good. I was trying to explain why it's destabilizing to pull someone out of there community rather than getting them the help they needed. It just eliminates more people who could be contributing. I was embarrassed because I got nervous and I had a hard time spitting it out. It seems like every time I'm talking to people that is more important than I am I can't talk very well. I know I'm not nearly as smart as them and I don't want it to show too much. Thanks for all your content, I hope to get better at speaking.
Hi Anthony. That's sounds difficult. If you keep at it (and practice a lot), it'll keep getting better. I have two recommendations. First, if you haven't watched them yet, I have two videos on this topic on both Mindset Tips and Behavioral Tips for public speaking anxiety. Second, Kit Pang, my UA-cam friend, is offering a 100% free Fearless Public Speaking Summit in a couple of weeks. It's online: www.bostonspeaks.com/fearlesspublicspeakingsummit
@@alexanderlyon thank you, this will help me a lot. I used to be addicted to hard drugs and have done a lot of jail and prison time and have only been clean for a few years and now try to advocate and help people that have addictions and mental health issues try and get there life back while making communities in NY safer and more united. It takes a lot out of me.
What I like best about Jordan Peterson’s Zebra story is that he explained something that I had always heard, but hadn’t quite understood. How can a zebra be said to be camouflaged when they don’t blend in with the environment? They are camouflaged against the herd. A lion nips the leg of a zebra running in a herd and the next moment, the lion thinks, “Which zebra did I just bite?” As Jordan Peterson concludes, there’s safety in not standing out.
I love how you're able to maintain a degree of neutrality despite making videos about some pretty controversial characters. "For fans of Peterson..." - you word it so well. I get the sense that you may be a fan as well, but you never commit to that - it's very skilful. Thanks, Alex - I'm always learning from you.
Thanks, Hayden. I try my best to be balanced but we all have our own personal biases and I'm no different. I'm comfortable that who I am comes through. The good news is, I tend to like lots of different people from all walks of life.
You asked to mention 1 thing you may have missed. The only thing I can think of is JP's ability to be incredibly succinct. Many times people extend unnecessarily. You're the expert..just a thought.
@@alexanderlyon I think that is the art of teaching. I'm pretty dumb, so I explain things very succinctly to my students. Somehow, I have a feeling that's why they've been successful. :) thank you so much for your expertise! You're awesome
@@alexanderlyon If you like the ability to be succinct then you'll LOVE Thomas Sowell; how he breaks down such complicated ideas into something so simple to understand is a very rare yet incredibly endearing skill. I would mention that he would be a good candidate for a video, but since his videos tend to have a political nature he might be someone to analyze for your own benefit instead.
That´s why many stories are effective, they move the main subject to another character, an antropomorphic animal, an animated object, anytihng but the original character and then they force that character go through a situation that can be associated to a similar experience we as humans go through, giving us a fresh perspective without making us feel jugded and leaving us more open to learn from the story. This is also why some other stories fail, because they try too hard to tell their moral that either they barely hide it or don´t even bother to do so.
Also true in schooling fish, I saw experiment where the one "altered" fish in the school was immediately attacked by the predator. Easier to choose, when something is different.
It is a great narrative and perhaps persuasive as a possible analogy of what is really happening in Canada. But somehow one can't help but think that once he speaks about Canadians in particular that he is wanting us to accept an obvious leap of logic and even his own created argument. There are many Canadians that stand out and have even been raised to hero status. So standing out in society can have varying results and that narrative is equally important. The persuasive magic unfortunately has the tendency to obscure truthfulness.
Once you notice those leaps of logic he makes almost all of what he says start to fall apart. I was captivated by the grand narratives he was spinning until I noticed him making connections that aren't really there.
Truthful... telling a story well does not make it truthful. His analogy does not actually describe how lions hunt Zebras. It sounded good but that's not actually how it worked. Just because someone said something is true doesn't make it so. One can admire the story but go ahead and question if it is true. And... if it is not, then question why the person tells that story.
@@henrykleyn3423 I take it you think the Zebra story is correct? That their stripes are what makes them hard for a lion to catch? And that this analogy is perfect for describing humans as Peterson said?
Prof Peterson does not make any statements out of ego. He reads and understands deeply what others have studied and analised. Maybe you do not understand what he is saying.
@@henrykleyn3423 I did not mention ego. You did. Now that you've brought it up I would say yes... Peterson does exhibit an amount of ego when speaking. Almost all people do. It is a part of our identity. It can be hard to suppress it. I mentioned that his analogy was entertaining but not very accurate. The inaccuracy is my issue and that he passes it off as if it were a terrific analogy. Too many of his audience lets him get away with that stuff.
Thanks for the comment, Nikki. I feel similarly about myself. I'm not really a "joiner" for it's own sake. I'm comfortable walking alone. At various points in my adult life, I've managed to find some likeminded people to group up with in an authentic way and it feels great when it happens naturally.
I was just thinking the same thing, my parents taught me to think critically which has had the result of me questioning things like herd mentality, personality worship, and quite a few communal institutions. Maybe I should try to fit in more? I don't know, I guess I'll just be lion food one day.
You missed That he says, " This story only takes two minutes and its worth it " because many people just waffle on and on and so you switch off. Jordan is a fantastic conversationalist and to be that he has to and Does let others speak. So he is effectively saying Listen to this and then you can tell me what you think. And you do because he has promised you a chance to have your say and so you listen and don't interrupt.
@@alexanderlyon Assertive and assertiveness are notions that do not have Croatian words. When we translate it, we describe it with longer sentences. And we even croatized the words into "asertivan" and "asertivnost" but people mostly have no idea what it means. I was lucky enough to have been trained early on in my career on being assertive but it took me years of practice and counselling to really learn to put it to practice. Your two cents will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Ratimira
A great example of this is how much crap Celine Dion had to endure, as a teenager, by the Quebec people, because she dared go international, and sing in English. I can still hear the comments, all those years ago: How dare she? Who does she think she is? They laughed at her publicly, while she was still very young (15-16). Thankfully, she had Rene to help her go through this horrible period, and then her obvious talent shut them all up. They praise her left and right now.
So do the zebras drive the marked zebra out or do they stay with it knowing that it will be taken first. I don't think this analogy stands up. I know from growing up in an Irish family that people who "get ahead of themselves" are shunned by the crowd. Or in the analogy, by the other zebras. They are not taken by the lions, in fact they usually thrive.
Great points! I don't think you missed this on purpose, you probably couldn't talk about absolutely everything. But in the future if you can do some series on body language or include body language, from obvious signs to the more subtle ones, it would be fun to hear your take.
"why zebras don't get ulcers" is also a great story by Robert Sapolsky about humans. Read it. Also, read "behave" by dame author. Your mind will be blown.
This is great, thank you. Would you say that Jordan studied these techniques himself and mastered them? I'm trying to understand how much of this is innate talent versus preparation.
Hi, Andres. I don't think he studied these as techniques. I think he just does his best to make what he says engaging. As a college teacher, he's had decades in the classroom trying to keep sleepy college students' attention. I think when he does interviews and presentations now, he is just using a style he's naturally developed over the long run that works for him.
This theory is used by other culture exp. Japanese " when a nail sticking out we have to hammer it dow" something around that line. This Philosophy is for different purpose but the model is the same.
You are like a very weak lion, joining your voice to the heard, trying to take Peterson down. I say weak because your only power is being a commentator on threads such as this, I am not trying to insult you, I myself am no different. But you have nothing to say. You are simply repeating a narrative that you have heard. Why is Peterson unintelligent, which is what you are saying? What was said here that backs up your claim? What do you have to say yourself?
By the way, it is 'herd' and not 'heard'....Peterson? Besides the word salad, there are his stupid remarks. He does not discuss feminism; he rants. He suggested medical science has hurt us more than helped us...stupid, especially since medical science saved his life....he dismisses climate change, a proven fact...enough for you?
@@PeterbFree He champions personal responsibility and with that, accepting the consequences for one's actions, yet became a drug addict. To avoid the pain of withdrawal, he went to a European hospital where they put him in a near-coma like state while he was detoxing...he later contacted Covid and was treated at a hospital, which may have saved his life...then I hear him say he wonders 'if medical science has not done us more harm than good.' He styles himself a thoughtful man, above the average emotional based opinions of others, but then rants--and I mean, rants--against feminism. He says he believes 'population collapse' is a greater danger to us than climate change. He is entitled to his opinion, but A) his comment is pure conjecture and B) I suspect he and other conservatives are using it to distract us from doing anything about climate change. He is famous for his word salads and I am taking up too much time writing all this. Sorry about that.
I do not want to sound like a smartass, but I would expect that a communication professor is able to do his intro in one take and not with four cuts before offering his instant tips on how to become more confident public speaker. All respect to him, becoming a professor is undoubtedly great achievement that is worth admiration. Still, the intro was not so long to have five cuts in total. (0:07, 0:13, 0:27, 0:37, 0:46)
Hi, Maros. I spoke the intro straight through. I had those edits for video editing purposes, not to cover mistakes. My older videos (the channel is 6 years old) have numerous examples of me talking straight through the whole video without any edits, but they looked and felt much more dry and unchanging. Editing helps keep the energy going. At least, that's what I'm attempting to do.
I just stumbled across your podcast. I have to ask: Have you ever broken down any interviews he's done bring stories about Lobsters? LOL, you just said it as I'm typing it!
This is relevant to zebras, but like all analogies there are flaws. There are individuals that survive in society by standing out and being different. This applies to creative people like artists, who need to stand out to be recognized. To a certain extent we all seek to be recognized by society for our achievements or talents. People who are satisfied to seek camouflage in the herd are offering a weak response to challenges from others. Peterson himself talks about dominance hierarchies, how the hell do you have a hierarchy without a struggle to be recognized to some extent? So, this story relates to zebras who want to avoid being eaten by lions, but not to people who want to avoid being eaten by the crowd.
I agree with each of your points about Jordan Peterson's communication techniques, well done sir. I would like to add two observations that is in no way critical of your excellent analysis - firstly, I am always a bit dubious about someone drawing parallels between people and animals in order to criticize people, mainly because it reminds me of the Nazis comparing the Jews to rats and secondly that although they engaged in many cruel and dubious practices, it was very interesting and remarkably insightful of the Romans to make it a practice to have the slave stand behind a general and holding up his wreath of victory at his Triumph through Rome to periodically say 'Remember, you are but a man'. I agree that the tall poppy syndrome is pernicious and would like to add that self-aggrandizement and arrogance is just as bad. It's hard to strike and then maintain a balance isn't it? Anyway, thanks for sharing your excellent analysis.
Wonderfull! I am looking for a similar story to try break the reflex of people more on the left. I am trying to explain how by going toward progress, dispensing with religious values we can go too far and fall in traps. So far, most people close up fast and they get triggered easily.
Free Download pdf Confident Speaking: www.alexanderlyon.com/free-resources
He's a propaganda peddler.
Boo!
I'm curious your thoughts on what about these techniques fail to capture the audience of those who have preconceived notions. So for instance you brought up the lobster example which uses a lot of the same things you talked about here and said how it doesn't feel like he's attacking and doesn't insight that feeling of being attacked. I completely agree.
However, it seems that for a certain subsect of people that this is the opposite. They try to ridicule him saying we are nothing like these animals and things like that?
The way he tells stories make them stick in my mind. I remember most of his stories I've listened to and the purpose for telling them.
Very true. I have the same experience.
Absolutely! His excitement is contagious.
A very important rhetorical device mentioned here is Dr Peterson's explaining the point he is making right from the start. That gives the listeners a reason to listen. A great many UA-camrs (engineers, historians, doctors, etc.) talk till they're blue in the face before one has any idea where they're going (most often, I stop watching). They think it's more engaging to make a presentation like a thriller, with a dénouement at the very end but it's not a good idea because one doesn't have a reason to listen. Elementary, yet unknown to so many professionals.
@@castelodeossos3947 I think the best way to describe it, he treats discussions like Essays. In formalized education, the concept of 'introduction, body, conclusion' is nailed down hard in the form of essays. But it wasn't until an elective speech course in college where I learned the value of it in conversation. And it's odd... It's for the same reasons, yet the concept of it being used in in discussion that happens without a pen or keyboard was never really addressed.
Yes but lions like most animals are colorblind and can't see the color red so what stuck in your mind is a BS story JP used to plant a false idea in your mind that made you mistakenly believe that you learned something new and important when in fact the entire point of JP's long winded story could be summed up in a few words, non-conformists stand out and often become targets of conformist. Something as obvious as the nose on your face .
His enthusiasm, just right off the bat, is incredible.
I see him as very passionate, and an intense kind of personality - at least when speaking in public. He has a serious look.
When I showed a clip of him speaking to a person I know, they thought of him as "angry."
It's so fascinating to me how people perceive the same thing differently.
@@serpentines6356 I like Jordan Peterson a lot, his level of intelligence is way greater than my own, and yet he has a way of speaking that all can understand. I think, sometimes people see what they want to see, but then, people seem to imply that anger is a bad thing, when I don't think it is, I think there are things in the world that are worth being angry at, as long as someone uses that anger in a positive way, it can be a very good thing.
@@leesurridge2947 Exactly. It's how we channel that anger. Anger can be a driving force for either good, or bad.
The first thing he did was to inform the audience the would be short. This helps impatient people pay attention.
That is a good point.
@@mickblock It's a very useful tip for approaching groups of people: "Quick question... "
I’ve been in a church where the preacher used the same tactic. His sermons were usually quite good but always ran long, but since he implanted the suggestion, I rarely noticed.
I listened to his story as a beautiful example how one can seek protection from a group. It is a survival story also.
There is an aspect of this that is learning also. The inability to see what is in front of us is partially explained by the lions vision.
I watch people learn to tie knots. The process can be challenging. You tell someone AND show someone to go UP through the hole and then they go down...
It is a demonstration of how social thinking works and how social thinking can become toxic. This is notable because there are few places in the world where this has happened more egregiously than in Canada.
It's not just that people like it for the protection it offers them, it has become a social rule and now it's like if the zebras attacked the zebra that stood out from the group, not even the lions.
Canadian culture is unbelievably toxic and the only antidote is methodical, rational logic.
But that is often also seen as the enemy (in spite of protestations to the contrary). Ironically, most people there see themselves as secular and scientifically engaged, yet have no idea that they are just entrenched in a system of social arguments, social validations and virtually zero real science backing up that which has become a social law, with great penalty for those who dare to stray from.
Mr. Lyon, I appreciate the work and thought you put into your videos. I never think I walk away from your videos without knowing a few new things about communication.
That was an enjoyable presentation describing Jordans story telling techniques . I like the way he uses his hands while telling the story . he talks about the researchers taking notes, and his hands mimic that action , he puts his hand on his backside when talking about the painting of the zebras haunches, and quickly rubs his ear when talking about clipping the zebras ear to identify them . I believe actors call this blocking .
Glad you enjoyed it!
The blocking done by actors is actually deciding upon the most effective positions and movements on the stage, in relation to the other actors and and the audience.
Jordon IS an actor. He's playing a role.
The lean in from him at the beginning makes you take note and the draw back into his chair reminded me of reeling in fish. It’s why I’m never full comfortable on the phone, too much can be missed by not seeing body language. Good breakdown 👍🏻
A herd of zebras is called a "dazzle"
In case you wanted to know
Great video,
One aspect about Dr. Peterson's communication methods is that he is very dynamic. Nearly every word that he speaks, he speaks very explicitly, as if he puts great effort in just getting the word out of his mouth, he sounds kind of loud, messaging that he wants to be heard. He is not monotonic, his sentences are up and down in tone, and thus in emotions and he is a very emotional speaker, he makes strong eye contact, uses his hands, shoulders, his entire body to communicate, when he tells a painful content, he looks and sound like he himself is in pain.
All put together, he is high energy and it is sort of contagious, we, listeners pick up on it and listen in high energy fashion. We are not likely to fall asleep while listening to Jordan Peterson.
You should do Jordan Peterson and
Cathy Newman interview! It's priceless and the dynamics are amazing.
All of your points about effective storytelling were spot on! Well done.
Thank you! I appreciate your positive feedback.
I know you're avoiding politics, which I like very much. But analyzing this story you're analyzing something potentially political without revealing your true colors and without adding to polarization. Which I like even better.
Hi, Siward. Yes, I have my own opinions and views on life and society like anybody else. I really do want to be known by people for who I am. In fact, I talk about it in a lot of videos (especially the "get to know you" videos I do when the channel crosses various milestones). In my own private life, I lean conservative. I think most viewers can sense that after even a couple of videos. In the end, I'm just not that "into" politics or even more specifically politicians. I just try to live my life and lead by example. But, all that aside, thank you for your comment. I appreciate it.
Personally, I prefer transparency rather than polite subterfuge.
@@TheresFuckeryAfoot Where do you experience subterfuge? I don't see what is secretly hidden to misguide..
I believe in transparency, too. That's why I talk about my faith so much on my channel and website. We sponsor 6 kids through a Christian organization, Compassion International. My testimony is on my website. In fact, I'm so open about my faith I've lost corporate clients over it because I refuse to take it out of certain videos or talks. I LOVE talking about Jesus.
One of the most common critical comments I've gotten over the years is to leave my faith out of it because it isn't inclusive to indicate that I'm a Christian or because I say "God bless" at the end of every video or sometimes quote the Bible in videos.
But politics? Meh. It just doesn't get my motor running. I think at some level virtually all politicians from both major parties can't be trusted much. Politics sort of grosses me out.
Now, I've said ALL of this hundreds of times on my channel in the comments section, in videos, and to the people on my email list. In fact, if you watch my video, "How I grew from 0 to 300,000 subscribers," I talk about all of this pretty openly (again). And, once more, I'm posting all of this transparently for all to read.
Thank you, Siward. I think if people watch even just a few videos from me, they figure out pretty quickly where I'm coming from.
I agree with everything said but here's something that took me a long time to learn:
I love great storytellers as much as the next person and Jordan Peterson is no exception, he's great at it. He is one of the many people who I can listen to for hours and many things he says make sense to me. I have had to learn the hard way that the danger with listening to great storytellers who are also politically motivated, or have some other agenda, is that sometimes I get pulled in so completely that the pull of charisma and charm overrides my ability to know when I've been led to an idea that may not be completely true. Most of the time when that happens I am completely blind to it until someone else points it out for me. Only then does the charm loose it's grip and I realize it isn't the idea that I am invested in, but the personality. I'm not saying anything about Peterson in particular, only using him as an example because this video is about him. I would like to hear if others have felt the same way at times. This is one of those things that we can easily see when it happens to others but usually hard to identify when we are the ones being pulled in. Thanks for reading this and I hope everyone has a great day.
This is why it is good to listen to many voices with a critical mind. You will develop your own stances and have more confidence in who you are and what separates you from another individual or a group of people. Which is why it also good to expose yourself to different cultures and groups, and find an appreciation for those differences.
That's exactly what politicians and motivational speakers do. Good orator skills can accomplish a lot. It can be used for good like Martin Luther King Jr. or evil like Adolf Hitler. Both men were phenomenal speaker but their motives were completely different. The way Peterson tells his stories just like in his book is because human beings are predisposed to learning from stories because that is how we evolved since man first gathered around the fire. Peterson also uses techniques he has used in his clinical practice. Keep in mind he has 30 plus years of experience treating people that are psychologically damaged and mentally ill. I know it's a cliché but he just knows how to "get into your head". Like when I'm reading his books, he often drags out the chapter to the point that I want to just put the book down. Just at that moment he comes right back to the point. I assure you it is no accident. He is doing that on purpose. As for the problem you have with being influenced so easily, the best thing to do is read and listen to opinions from different sources and you'll see a pattern. With time your skin will "thicken up" and that gullibility and naivete will subside.
i like the way you described Peterson to a T. At first I found him interesting and enchanting but after a while Peterson though charming and charismatic has a dark agenda when it comes to people. He also has been called on giving incorrect information and citing things that are not real. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this type of speaker.
Or maybe you're so drawn in by the storytelling that you subconsciously open your mind, which allows your beliefs to actually be challenged. When that happens and you become aware of it, you may react in fear because those beliefs made you feel secure and accepted by your peers and by society. Keeping an open mind and considering views that aren't part of the mainstream narrative is hard, because it makes daily life harder to navigate when you realize things aren't what they are purported to be by the majority of people or by the authorities. Not only does it complicate many decisions you make, it can also make you stand out socially (like in the story of the video).
@Jay Smith Most people are. For example, I still hear people espousing the lie that made Peterson a hero of the far right in the first place: That bill C-16 would put people in jail not using someone's preferred pronouns.
Hmmm.... Maybe the zebras the scientists were able to catch to tag or reach to mark with red paint were the slowest?
Thank you for this video. It's short, respectful to Dr Peterson and very insightful with the addition of your expertise. Keep it up man!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.
First video I’ve seen of yours, nicely structured and put together! Love some JP, easy guy to listen to for all of these reasons
Alex, you yourself captivate me with your very intellectual break downs of speeches you listen
I've been listening to many of your communication stories and was very interested to see how this one would unfold. Jokingly i say you take a big risk these days having an opinion about people like Jordan. Thank you for the very objective review of the event. It is refreshing to be able to listen to something that is not intended to polarize.
Thanks for listening, Brian. I appreciate your positive feedback.
It’s crazy but understandable that people are so identity bound to their politics. I love Jordan Peterson but am pretty far left. I may not agree with his politics but I wish we could listen to and learn from one another without the anger!
@@RShaun Hi! Maybe you can help me out here. What exactly did you learn from all this? There are errors in his story. And, it is pretty glaring. He starts out saying we are zebras but somehow, some way we end up being lions (inside the same story arc)? So NOW, we are a society of lions and a society of zebras at the same time. If I substitute myself in place, it becomes even more apparent. According to the account, I am a zebra doing all the wonderful fun things that a zebra does. The exact same scenario, I am now a lion but I’m still doing all my zebra-y things as a zebra. How did this happen? Why did this happen?
The only thing the good professor got right was his analogy that he’s a magician with a magic wand. Whether the professor is aware or not there is a part of him that’s recognizing that Peterson is creating an illusion like a magician does. Maybe he can clarify because him using the analogy of a magician is no accident. How do you square some of the details that don’t add up? What am I missing here?
Hi, Lukas. If you start with the ending conversation they had in the video (that brings up the expression, "The head that stands the tallest gets chopped off by the sword"), the point of the story is that there are both lions and zebras in society. People can be both. Other stories talk about "wolves in sheep's clothing." Again, in stories like that, people are both animals. The type of behavior people show would align them with either the zebras or the lions in the story. If we put the animal metaphor completely aside and only think about how society can act sometimes, it's an easy point to follow: When individuals stand out too much (for excellence, achievement, success), then many times other will attack them.
@@lukaslykus9599 my take away from Alex's video is: componentization of storytelling. I stated above, attempting to keep the comment objective, that I watched and listened to this video from an objective position. I was less concerned about the narrative, though I still listened and formed my opinion, but my opinion is not what I came here to leave with. I see the content (opinions, summations of history, facts) of the components as interchangeable. The components are part of a system to simplify understanding between the speaker and the audience. It is another tool to convey a point of view. I personally find it helpful to use clearly defined components of a presentation to help avoid rambling off topic and avoid redundancy. You may or may not take more value from this content if you take a less critical approach.
I said the same thing when I saw one of your other videos. I wish I had come across your channel when I was a college professor. I can really understand why in some cases I would come out of a lecture saying to myself "great job" only to have a student come up to me after class and as the most basic question that they should have gotten (or at least I thought so) from the lecture.
I love the way you show us to how to improve in all aspects, many thanks, much appreciated.
What stands out to me is the way he uses movement to illustrate his points. Unless he's behind a podium, he'll walk the whole stage and own it. His hand movements are perfectly matched to his words. He also uses the entertainer's trick of singling out people in the audience as if speaking to them alone, One can hardly get people to go to Church, but Peterson can fill a large auditorium with a biblical lecture.
True. I won't go to church but have tickets to his lecture.
He’s also terribly interesting to listen to and shares very intelligent information. Unfortunately two things church often lacks!
There are still plenty of people going to church in countries where it is allowed (and in some countries where it is illegal).
Taking notes for myself... and why not others:
1. Starts with a story within a story - his own journey through this discovery
2. Signals the point of the story before getting into the details
3. Brings the story to life by telling it from the researchers' view - also uses hand gestures for visual engagement
4. Shares the key conclusion of the study
5. Ties it all together, making the point, by explaining the moral of the story
I think you are very good at telling stories yourself. So I’m in good company you and Dr. Peterson.
Thank you.
🙏🇨🇦🙏
Thanks!
This story was fabulous this story got into my mind Jordan has outstanding confident Alex I've seen you, Lisa mojsin from accurate English then I saw you the first time I got to fan of you, you are the brilliant person in this world I like your accent thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the kind words.
ALEX THE LYON!! I am so excited that my husband randomly found this channel! Absolutely one of my favorite professors. So excited to start binge watching these videos!
Ha. I've been called that many times, Kimberly. So glad you found the channel.
Well, I think we all know the kind of people who antagonize professor Jordan Peterson, I guess Alex is the other kind
Jordan is truly gifted in many ways. This breakdown extracts some of that giftedness for the rest of us... thanks, Alex! God Bless
This was true for me at one of my old jobs. Sometimes people just don't want you to be as great as you can be.
Well done! This was comprehensive to the point that anyone can profit from it. Keep up the good work.
Much appreciated!
There is one glaring problem with this story - it isn't completely true. Firstly, the stripes aren't really there to confuse lions. This has been studied and the stripes tend confuse biting flies, thus granting the zebras from protection from these parasites. Making it more difficult to distinguish individuals (but only while they are still in the herd) may help, but the lions tend to split the herd until they get a zebra alone, in which case there is no camouflage effect.
Secondly, predators do tend to go after weakened animals preferentially. This has been shown with mountain lions (a closed related species, btw). It makes sense, a weakened animal requires less energy to capture and kill. Also a weakened animal is less likely to hurt or kill a predator whether it is hunting alone or in packs. Thus the predators gain nearly as much energy from the weakened prey while spending much less energy and taking less chance of being injured during the hunt and kill.
Please note, I am not arguing about your conclusions of the effectiveness of Jordan's style of communication. As best I can determine, your points are spot on. But to an evolutionary biologist such as myself, telling a story which is at best only partially true really weakens his point and reduces my respect for him.
Thank you for your post. I was very concerned that there was more to that "analogy" than what Peterson spoke of. This is the problem with analogies. They are basically used to confirm a position, not to actually seek the truth.
The Communications specialist should be aware of this and point it out. Instead he applauds it, promotes it, and tells us to use this technique to become an effective communicator. While it does appears to work it does not mean that the point being made is actually correct. That's what drives me crazy about popular communicators. The audience likes the performance so much they simply abandon their critical thought process to make sure the story is true.
@@BrianHoff04 Thanks for your kind words. You are right, a bad analogy can do more harm than good. In my experience as a teacher a good analogy can be very helpful, but if you choose an analogy that is false or misleading it can give people the opposite image of what you are trying to illustrate.
You are correct. The real lesson from this story is that humans will often try to justify their beliefs with animal metaphors, to create some kind of argument for what is 'natural', even when those metaphors are totally wrong and actually have nothing to do with human behaviour.
That is not a problem with the story. Allegories are about conveying a concept or information by telling, what is in reality, a completely unrelated story. His story about zebras, about a supposed 'science paper' (which may or may not have had basis in truth), had nothing to do with zebras.
I don't Jordan Peterson expects you to cite his story in one of your papers.
Most evolutionary biologists would grasp this contextual distinction.
@@dankarson Well said. Seems about right to me.
🤗 You are a tremendous blessing! Thank you. You are an amazing comunicator.
Wow, thank you, Vilma.
Ditto!!!
👍
But Zebra's stripes are probably NOT a form of camouflage - regardless of what Jordan says. It's called the “motion dazzle hypothesis,” and it suggests that predators are confused by zebras' stripes and cannot understand their movement.
❢
I stumbled across your channel 9 days ago when the excellent video of you reacting to the Dolly Parton / Barbara Walters interview somehow came to my attention. I subscribed to your channel that day and have enjoyed a number of your videos since then. Your video about Jordan Peterson’s zebra story was fascinating to me, and from the insights replete in the zebra story, i gained a whole new perception and perspective regarding a certain person who is prominent on the world stage.
Thank you for the video of you reacting to Will Smith’s apology - i thoroughly appreciate your wisdom and compassion in breaking down the content of Will’s apology video.
I applaud the video of you reacting to Bill Gates - brilliant analysis!!
Thank you for ❝What Does Integrity Mean?❞ and for your sage delineation of the ❝I have a dream❞ segment of MLK’s 1963 speech.
If i were to comment on all of your videos that i’ve watched, there’d be several more paragraphs to add. So … enough already.
As for suggestions on ❝who else❞ you could react to … i would love to see a video of you reacting to Fraudci - oops, i mean, Fauci!
❢
Very well-done, Alex. We want more on storytelling if possible.
Yes, more is on the way!
@@alexanderlyon Looking forward to receiving the notifications.
Thank you, on two fronts... I've never heard this story/interview before from JP, and secondly your perspective is both entertaining and thoughtful. Like and subscribed
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great to hear some non partisan sounding praise of Jordan Peterson. I wonder how he became such a gifted storyteller??? Is it a natural gift I wonder? I think some people are born leaders who do stand out and traditionally they would have been first in line in the battles. Either great if they win or fatal if they lose. The crowd senses safety but other potential leaders sense a threat.
He read a lot as a child and continues to read a lot to this day.
Some of us do it all the time to get concepts across.
He is well read. I don't like his communication style one bit though. He is only comfortable when his unchallenged and he states things that are subjective or just plain false with such arrogant authority.
@@chabaroux *REALLY?* 🤨🤔 Don't you think that Peterson Was and *IS More Challenged* than 90% Percent of all other "famous Speakers"..??? 🤷♂
And Would give an Example what you think about exactly, when you say he states Things subj./ plain False with Authority?
BTW... I'm Asking out of honest Curiosity! and Don't Care for dumb Comment Fighting/-Feuds on who ""destroys"" who or some shit....
Thousands of hours of practice makes people fairly good at something compared to the average joe
I am blown away in your critiques. Thanks. I just subscribed.
With respect to Jordan Peterson's work, you are absolutely right. He gained notoriety and popularity from several of his books, speeches, and research. His thoughts about and on religion, gender, gender equality, race, sexuality, sexual orientation and the biological component of these topics has ruffled people's opinion of him in the United States. I have cringed a time or two but I am more open to hearing dialogue and discuss ideas. Talk about elevating yourself with regard to your work and people will knock you down for your opinions without any supporting facts.
I respect and revere him for his mind. He has the ability to think consciously, rationally, emotionally and critically about himself and the world around him. Sadly, we are taught to take orders, not think critically. He is a master communicator who uses symbolic language to make us understand what he wants us to know. His clinical and psychological research/study methods establishes the rationality behind his thinking. I believe his experience with studying and observing people and their behavior is why he communicates so effectively. Humans are flawed and he understands it. While I haven't read his research, he reminds me of Robert Greene and Robert Cialdidni.
Thanks for such an awesome critique of his effective communication style.
Best opinion/critic/description of JP i have read so far.
When I decided to watch this I thought hers another hack
I was wrong. You are helping people get it.
Great analysis! I’m always engaged with Peterson’s stories, now I better understand why…
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! A fascinating analysis that I would not have come to on my own. Thanks!
🎨 Painting is passing on information under the conditions of one own time. Communication by "seeing". Thank you for your interesting insight and information. Cheers!
Always great topics, thanks Alex! I'm still getting nervous when I am speaking. Today I was speaking for the organization in a member at. It's lobbying for new justice reform bills that were introduced this year. Anyway I tried to use a story Today to explain my point. It was a story I heard in church about the importance of sharing and contributing. The story is called stone soup. Basically everyone puts something in the pot and everyone eats good. I was trying to explain why it's destabilizing to pull someone out of there community rather than getting them the help they needed. It just eliminates more people who could be contributing. I was embarrassed because I got nervous and I had a hard time spitting it out. It seems like every time I'm talking to people that is more important than I am I can't talk very well. I know I'm not nearly as smart as them and I don't want it to show too much. Thanks for all your content, I hope to get better at speaking.
Hi Anthony. That's sounds difficult. If you keep at it (and practice a lot), it'll keep getting better. I have two recommendations. First, if you haven't watched them yet, I have two videos on this topic on both Mindset Tips and Behavioral Tips for public speaking anxiety. Second, Kit Pang, my UA-cam friend, is offering a 100% free Fearless Public Speaking Summit in a couple of weeks. It's online: www.bostonspeaks.com/fearlesspublicspeakingsummit
@@alexanderlyon thank you, this will help me a lot. I used to be addicted to hard drugs and have done a lot of jail and prison time and have only been clean for a few years and now try to advocate and help people that have addictions and mental health issues try and get there life back while making communities in NY safer and more united. It takes a lot out of me.
I love how you break it down plus I agree A+ story. He is a great communicator. You missed nothing!
I really appreciate the sharing of your knowledge. Thank you
Glad it was helpful, John.
You should do Prince Andrew’s interview
I appreciate the commentary, man.
Peterson is brilliant and I have great respect for him. Thank you for including this story on your site.
Peterson again with the brilliant, but simple explanation. There’s also the Japanese saying, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
That is a great story and I get it. Thanks for explaining it out to us.
Your work saves lives. Thank you.
What I like best about Jordan Peterson’s Zebra story is that he explained something that I had always heard, but hadn’t quite understood. How can a zebra be said to be camouflaged when they don’t blend in with the environment? They are camouflaged against the herd. A lion nips the leg of a zebra running in a herd and the next moment, the lion thinks, “Which zebra did I just bite?” As Jordan Peterson concludes, there’s safety in not standing out.
I love how you're able to maintain a degree of neutrality despite making videos about some pretty controversial characters. "For fans of Peterson..." - you word it so well. I get the sense that you may be a fan as well, but you never commit to that - it's very skilful. Thanks, Alex - I'm always learning from you.
Thanks, Hayden. I try my best to be balanced but we all have our own personal biases and I'm no different. I'm comfortable that who I am comes through. The good news is, I tend to like lots of different people from all walks of life.
You asked to mention 1 thing you may have missed. The only thing I can think of is JP's ability to be incredibly succinct. Many times people extend unnecessarily. You're the expert..just a thought.
That's true, William. Telling a story in 2 minutes is REALLY hard. He made his point with no extra words.
@@alexanderlyon I think that is the art of teaching. I'm pretty dumb, so I explain things very succinctly to my students. Somehow, I have a feeling that's why they've been successful. :) thank you so much for your expertise! You're awesome
@@alexanderlyon If you like the ability to be succinct then you'll LOVE Thomas Sowell; how he breaks down such complicated ideas into something so simple to understand is a very rare yet incredibly endearing skill. I would mention that he would be a good candidate for a video, but since his videos tend to have a political nature he might be someone to analyze for your own benefit instead.
learned a lot from this video, thank you .
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for the comment.
Would love to hear your feedback on Matt Walsh’s interviews regarding “what is a woman?”
That´s why many stories are effective, they move the main subject to another character, an antropomorphic animal, an animated object, anytihng but the original character and then they force that character go through a situation that can be associated to a similar experience we as humans go through, giving us a fresh perspective without making us feel jugded and leaving us more open to learn from the story.
This is also why some other stories fail, because they try too hard to tell their moral that either they barely hide it or don´t even bother to do so.
Great video, thank you! Please keep up the good work!
Thanks, will do!
Also true in schooling fish, I saw experiment where the one "altered" fish in the school was immediately attacked by the predator. Easier to choose, when something is different.
interesting indeed.
Great video! Loved the 🪄 wand!
Thanks, Cici.
hope you do some more Peterson videos.
Beautifully done.
Greatly educational for me. Thanks.
His critics: "Jordan Peterson says humans are no different than zebras"
It is a great narrative and perhaps persuasive as a possible analogy of what is really happening in Canada. But somehow one can't help but think that once he speaks about Canadians in particular that he is wanting us to accept an obvious leap of logic and even his own created argument. There are many Canadians that stand out and have even been raised to hero status. So standing out in society can have varying results and that narrative is equally important. The persuasive magic unfortunately has the tendency to obscure truthfulness.
Once you notice those leaps of logic he makes almost all of what he says start to fall apart. I was captivated by the grand narratives he was spinning until I noticed him making connections that aren't really there.
cool video, JP is really brilliant!
I somehow think that Jordan is a natural story teller as the story and picture in his mind is clear and truthfull and designed to help others in need.
Truthful... telling a story well does not make it truthful.
His analogy does not actually describe how lions hunt Zebras. It sounded good but that's not actually how it worked.
Just because someone said something is true doesn't make it so. One can admire the story but go ahead and question if it is true. And... if it is not, then question why the person tells that story.
Nobody loves a hater.
@@henrykleyn3423 I take it you think the Zebra story is correct? That their stripes are what makes them hard for a lion to catch? And that this analogy is perfect for describing humans as Peterson said?
Prof Peterson does not make any statements out of ego. He reads and understands deeply what others have studied and analised. Maybe you do not understand what he is saying.
@@henrykleyn3423 I did not mention ego. You did. Now that you've brought it up I would say yes... Peterson does exhibit an amount of ego when speaking. Almost all people do. It is a part of our identity. It can be hard to suppress it.
I mentioned that his analogy was entertaining but not very accurate. The inaccuracy is my issue and that he passes it off as if it were a terrific analogy. Too many of his audience lets him get away with that stuff.
Fascinating analysis! Also great story, although I've always stood on the edge of the herd.
'follow the herd tread in poop'
Thanks for the comment, Nikki. I feel similarly about myself. I'm not really a "joiner" for it's own sake. I'm comfortable walking alone. At various points in my adult life, I've managed to find some likeminded people to group up with in an authentic way and it feels great when it happens naturally.
I was just thinking the same thing, my parents taught me to think critically which has had the result of me questioning things like herd mentality, personality worship, and quite a few communal institutions. Maybe I should try to fit in more? I don't know, I guess I'll just be lion food one day.
Dope. Thank you.
You missed That he says, " This story only takes two minutes and its worth it " because many people just waffle on and on and so you switch off. Jordan is a fantastic conversationalist and to be that he has to and Does let others speak. So he is effectively saying Listen to this and then you can tell me what you think. And you do because he has promised you a chance to have your say and so you listen and don't interrupt.
i cant find anywhere this study ,does anyone know where it is
I love how Jordan talks with his whole body and especially hands. I get interested instantly, each and every time he starts :-D
Please do a podcast on assertive communication
Good suggestion. I have had that on my list for a long time. I think I'll be doing that in a couple of months from now.
@@alexanderlyon cheers 💐 youve great professional content, thanks 😊
@@alexanderlyon Assertive and assertiveness are notions that do not have Croatian words. When we translate it, we describe it with longer sentences. And we even croatized the words into "asertivan" and "asertivnost" but people mostly have no idea what it means. I was lucky enough to have been trained early on in my career on being assertive but it took me years of practice and counselling to really learn to put it to practice. Your two cents will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Ratimira
A great example of this is how much crap Celine Dion had to endure, as a teenager, by the Quebec people, because she dared go international, and sing in English.
I can still hear the comments, all those years ago: How dare she? Who does she think she is? They laughed at her publicly, while she was still very young (15-16).
Thankfully, she had Rene to help her go through this horrible period, and then her obvious talent shut them all up. They praise her left and right now.
Great work 👍✨
So do the zebras drive the marked zebra out or do they stay with it knowing that it will be taken first. I don't think this analogy stands up. I know from growing up in an Irish family that people who "get ahead of themselves" are shunned by the crowd. Or in the analogy, by the other zebras. They are not taken by the lions, in fact they usually thrive.
I didn't expect to subscribe to your channel, but I did.
Good analysis. Thx.
Great points! I don't think you missed this on purpose, you probably couldn't talk about absolutely everything. But in the future if you can do some series on body language or include body language, from obvious signs to the more subtle ones, it would be fun to hear your take.
I need this skill. I'm really bad at communication. I'll subscribe.
Great analysis.
Dr Peterson is amazing communicator
"why zebras don't get ulcers" is also a great story by Robert Sapolsky about humans. Read it.
Also, read "behave" by dame author. Your mind will be blown.
Fantastic. Thank you!
What to react to next? Well Peterson referenced Robert Sapolsky and he's an absolutely captivating speaker.
Thank you for writing it so that I can look for him. It is Robert Sapolsky though
This is great, thank you. Would you say that Jordan studied these techniques himself and mastered them? I'm trying to understand how much of this is innate talent versus preparation.
Hi, Andres. I don't think he studied these as techniques. I think he just does his best to make what he says engaging. As a college teacher, he's had decades in the classroom trying to keep sleepy college students' attention. I think when he does interviews and presentations now, he is just using a style he's naturally developed over the long run that works for him.
Love to see you Break down JFK moon speech that would be a good breakdown
That's a great idea!
How about your reaction to an Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime story? I always find them interesting, they are unusual but have a lasting effect.
I really enjoyed this analysis 👌
This theory is used by other culture exp. Japanese " when a nail sticking out we have to hammer it dow" something around that line. This Philosophy is for different purpose but the model is the same.
I wholeheartedly approve of the person who wrote that Peterson is for people who are not particularly intelligent but believe he is.
You are like a very weak lion, joining your voice to the heard, trying to take Peterson down.
I say weak because your only power is being a commentator on threads such as this, I am not trying to insult you, I myself am no different.
But you have nothing to say. You are simply repeating a narrative that you have heard.
Why is Peterson unintelligent, which is what you are saying? What was said here that backs up your claim? What do you have to say yourself?
By the way, it is 'herd' and not 'heard'....Peterson? Besides the word salad, there are his stupid remarks. He does not discuss feminism; he rants. He suggested medical science has hurt us more than helped us...stupid, especially since medical science saved his life....he dismisses climate change, a proven fact...enough for you?
@@PeterbFree He champions personal responsibility and with that, accepting the consequences for one's actions, yet became a drug addict. To avoid the pain of withdrawal, he went to a European hospital where they put him in a near-coma like state while he was detoxing...he later contacted Covid and was treated at a hospital, which may have saved his life...then I hear him say he wonders 'if medical science has not done us more harm than good.' He styles himself a thoughtful man, above the average emotional based opinions of others, but then rants--and I mean, rants--against feminism. He says he believes 'population collapse' is a greater danger to us than climate change. He is entitled to his opinion, but A) his comment is pure conjecture and B) I suspect he and other conservatives are using it to distract us from doing anything about climate change. He is famous for his word salads and I am taking up too much time writing all this. Sorry about that.
@JulianMarsh,
You are so right! When he speaks about women in general, he starts at recalcitrant and works his way up to Unhinged!
I do not want to sound like a smartass, but I would expect that a communication professor is able to do his intro in one take and not with four cuts before offering his instant tips on how to become more confident public speaker.
All respect to him, becoming a professor is undoubtedly great achievement that is worth admiration. Still, the intro was not so long to have five cuts in total. (0:07, 0:13, 0:27, 0:37, 0:46)
Hi, Maros. I spoke the intro straight through. I had those edits for video editing purposes, not to cover mistakes. My older videos (the channel is 6 years old) have numerous examples of me talking straight through the whole video without any edits, but they looked and felt much more dry and unchanging. Editing helps keep the energy going. At least, that's what I'm attempting to do.
"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
I just stumbled across your podcast. I have to ask: Have you ever broken down any interviews he's done bring stories about Lobsters? LOL, you just said it as I'm typing it!
You're creative keep going✨✨✨✨✨..
Sender: your brother (Baraa) from Palestine
🇵🇸🇺🇲
This is relevant to zebras, but like all analogies there are flaws. There are individuals that survive in society by standing out and being different. This applies to creative people like artists, who need to stand out to be recognized. To a certain extent we all seek to be recognized by society for our achievements or talents. People who are satisfied to seek camouflage in the herd are offering a weak response to challenges from others. Peterson himself talks about dominance hierarchies, how the hell do you have a hierarchy without a struggle to be recognized to some extent? So, this story relates to zebras who want to avoid being eaten by lions, but not to people who want to avoid being eaten by the crowd.
I agree with each of your points about Jordan Peterson's communication techniques, well done sir. I would like to add two observations that is in no way critical of your excellent analysis - firstly, I am always a bit dubious about someone drawing parallels between people and animals in order to criticize people, mainly because it reminds me of the Nazis comparing the Jews to rats and secondly that although they engaged in many cruel and dubious practices, it was very interesting and remarkably insightful of the Romans to make it a practice to have the slave stand behind a general and holding up his wreath of victory at his Triumph through Rome to periodically say 'Remember, you are but a man'. I agree that the tall poppy syndrome is pernicious and would like to add that self-aggrandizement and arrogance is just as bad. It's hard to strike and then maintain a balance isn't it? Anyway, thanks for sharing your excellent analysis.
Hitler also liked dogs. Do you like dogs?
Wonderfull!
I am looking for a similar story to try break the reflex of people more on the left.
I am trying to explain how by going toward progress, dispensing with religious values we can go too far and fall in traps.
So far, most people close up fast and they get triggered easily.
Great story!
You look like Benedict Cumberbatch, omg! ❤
Excellent analysis of JBP's storytelling. Learnt a lot!
I think he’s Paul Rudd’s brother