Hey its Min Liu from The Art of Verbal War again and today's video is called "How To
Be Witty Like Hank Moody".
One of the TV characters I love the most is Hank Moody from Californication.
Not because he gets all the women, but because I love it so much I have to confess, I've
seen the entire series, all seven seasons, twice.
I'm all about helping you guys excel in verbal skills here and from to time, I like to talk
about badass characters on TV or the movies that can help our collective journey towards
being verbal gods.
Well, I'm telling you today, Hank Moody is one of my own gurus.
So without further ado, let's check out a few ways how Hank Moody uses his wit to charm
the ladies and the people in his life.
Technique #1 is greetings.
Unlike what most of us do everyday, Hank never greets anyone with a simple hello or hi.
Instead, Hank Moody always makes his greetings non-generic.
Here's some examples.
In this scene when he's greeting his daughter, Mia, and a Rolling Stones magazine writer,
this is how he says hi:"Well, if it isn't the entire Ya Ya Sisterhood".
Now, most people say "hello" when they answer the phone, but not Hank.
In this scene in Season 3, Episode 8, when he picks up the phone, he says: "City morgue...you
kill em, we chill em".
So, the moral of the story is from now on, try to say hi to people in a new and creative
way.
Leave a comment below for everyone to see if you have any creative ways of saying hello.
Now, let's move on to some other ways that Hank Moody uses his wit.
Technique #2 is pop culture references and metaphors.
Hank loves himself a good pop culture reference.
Nary an episode goes by where he isn't dropping numerous pop culture references.
Knowing and using pop culture references skillfully is a sign of social intelligence.
One tip for you, when using a pop culture reference, the more absurd it is, the better.
Here's some examples.
In the episode called "Vaginatown", when talking about Chloe's house: "Your abode has a very
June Cleaver vibe to it".
In Season 1, Episode 10, when he's trying to convince Charlie that one night stands
aren't as great as he thinks: "Take it from somebody who's been there, that shit is emptier
than a Michael Bay joint".
In this scene, he's referring to the shitty action movie director known for the classic
films "Pearl Harbor" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".
Technique #3 is creating your own language.
Now in the final technique today, I'm going to talk about what I call "creating your own
language".
This is probably the most advanced level of verbal skills, which Hank Moody frankly is
a master at.
In Hank's case, we'll call these "Moody-isms".
The key to creating "Moody-isms" is not to care what other people think and being in
a carefree state which once again, Hank is a master at.
You can't care what other people like what you say or not.
If you do, if you care too much, you won't be in the state of mind that you need to pull
this off.
And, when you do this, make sure you're just trying to amuse yourself.
Now, let's look at some examples.
In this scene in Season 1, Episode 3, Hank is talking to Charlie: "It's a broner.
The word I'm looking for.
Unintentionally man-inspired boner...broner.
Duly noted.
Broner!"
In this scene in Season 4, Episode 12, he's introducing Karen's new boyfriend to someone:"This
is Karen's chilled black bohemian lover.
Blackhemian.
Is that a word?
Coining it!"
The other key to creating your own Moody-isms is to use the technique of "play on words".
Now, this is not the only way to create Moody-isms.
In this video, I just touched on the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Hank Moody and
what you can learn about being witty.
So, if you want to learn more about being witty like Hank Moody, get on the list for
The Hank Moody Guide To Wit at www.artofverbalwar.com/hankmoody, and I'll send you a free preview of The Hank
Moody Guide To Wit.
The Hank Moody Guide To Wit will teach you how to implement the verbal skills I talked
about in this video and also cover other topics like storytelling, metaphoric speaking, play
on words, absurdity, and a lot more.
In other words, how to become a verbal god like Hank Moody.
Again, go to www.artofverbalwar.com/hankmoody and sign up to get on the list for The Hank
Moody Guide To Wit.
This course will never be sold to the public.
That's it for today, I'm Min Liu at The Art of Verbal War, and please subscribe to this
YouTube channel.
And hey, remember to get on the list for The Hank Moody Guide To Wit at www.artofverbalwar.com/hankmoody.