How to Talk to ANYONE (Once You Know Their Color!)

There are four types of communicators

that every single person can be

categorized into. There are the reds who

are driven by power and results. The

greens who are driven by peace and

stability. The blues who are driven by

logic and structure and then the yellows

who are driven by fun and connection.

Understanding these four colors and

types of people has allowed me to form a

strong connection with 95% of the people

that I've met as an international

keynote speaker and communication coach,

even if we have nothing in common. In

this video, what you're going to learn

is, first of all, what color are you?

And the second thing, the problem each

color faces, and then the third thing

is, well, how do you talk to each of the

different colors? If you don't learn

this, you'll keep wondering why talking

to some people feels effortless while

talking to others feels impossible. But

imagine being able to walk into any room

and instantly get a read on someone to

know what drives them, what they are

afraid of, and how to speak their

language so that you can connect with

them. And it starts with firstly knowing

what color you are. I learned how to do

this with the color system created by

Thomas Ericson who wrote the book

Surrounded by Idiots. Now, this is an

amazing book. If you get the time,

definitely give it a read. It's awesome.

Now, the book suggests that you fall

into one of these four colors. And of

course, we are all a mix of all of the

colors, but we all have a default color

we tend to speak. As I talk through

these colors, I want you to think of the

one that you are, and then I want you to

think of which friend comes to mind for

the other colors. This makes remembering

all the colors really easy and sticky.

First, we have red. Now, reds are bold,

decisive, competitive, results driven,

and they're a little bit impatient.

Then, next we have the yellows. They are

social, enthusiastic, talkative,

creative, optimistic. Then, next we have

the greens. They are calm, supportive,

reliable. They don't like sudden

changes, and they're extremely patient.

Then, finally, we've got the blues. The

blues are precise, detailoriented,

they're cautious, they're critical

thinkers, and they're perfectionists.

Now, if you're still unsure at this

point which color you are, then I want

you to ask yourself these three

questions to better help you identify

which color you are. Question number

one, are you more introverted or

extroverted? If you're introverted, that

means you're either a blue or a green.

And if you're extroverted, that means

you're either a red or a yellow. Next

question. Am I more logical or

emotional? If you're more logical, then

that means you're either a green or a

red. And if you're more emotional, that

means you're either a blue or a yellow.

With these two questions already, you

should be able to know which color you

are. But you can ask a third question

just in case. And the third question is,

do I speak more deliberately or quickly?

Now, if you're more deliberate, that

means you're either a green or a blue.

And if you speak more quickly, then that

means you're a red or a yellow. And

through the process of elimination,

these questions are going to better to

help you work out which color you are.

Now, use me as an example as you take

these questions for a test run. Do I

seem more introverted or extroverted?

Ah, I'm extroverted. If you guessed

that, you got it right. Which means I'm

either a yellow or a red. Okay, so now

we go to the next question. Now, do you

think I'm a logical or am I an emotional

person? If you guessed emotional, you're

correct. Ding, ding, ding. Now, if I'm

emotional, that means I'm either a blue

or a yellow. So, which color am I? I'm a

yellow. And no, that's not because I'm

Asian. I'm yellow because of this color

profile. And after these two questions

alone, you should know what color you

are, too. But if you're still stuck and

you're a little bit unsure, you can do

one final check with that third

question. So, work out which one you

are, and then leave a comment below and

tell me what your color is. Now, this is

the core problem that we're addressing

here. Most people communicate in their

own color, assuming that everybody

around them communicates the same way.

When a red meets another red and they

communicate with each other, they get

along great. Whereas, when a red

speaking to a green or a blue or a

yellow, it feels frustrating. They

clash. They disconnect and then they

don't respond the way they expect. Let's

have a look at this situation here.

You've got two reds about to connect.

When you're a red, don't forget it means

you're direct, decisive, no fluff or

outcome. And when these two reds are

about to connect, watch what happens.

>> So, when are you handing in the project,

and what issues are you facing?

>> I'm going to hand it in today at 5:00

p.m. And I'm facing three specific

problems. One, Peter's getting stuck in

the weeds with the details. Two, Craig's

being indecisive. And three, I love

these skits. They're fantastic for

YouTube engagement because it's what

makes the viewer like and subscribe.

>> God, I love talking to you.

>> God, I love talking to you, too.

Do you see that? When you communicate in

a direct and decisive way, reds will

love you because you're speaking their

language. But here's the trap. When you

speak to other colors, the blues and the

greens and the yellows, they won't

connect with you as much. They might

even think of you as someone who's cold,

abrasive, and maybe even a little scary.

Now, here's what happens when a red

speaks to a yellow, a blue, and a green.

Have a look at these situations. All

right, listen. And I don't have that

much time. I need to know what is our

current return on ad spend and what is

our net profit after OPEX. I have to

show you the ad before we get to any of

that because the ad we filmed was

hilarious. You're going to love it. You

know what? I'm not just going to show

you. Guys, guys, come in. Come in. Let's

all watch the ad together. We're all

going to watch the ad together. We'll

laugh together. Then we'll learn

together. Then we'll get to the data

that you want. And that's the very

important project.

>> H Vin, shouldn't we get everyone else's

opinion first? No need. I already

decided we're doing it. But uh what if

what if people don't like it?

>> What if people don't like it? Then

they'll get over it. Uh that doesn't

sound very harmonious.

>> Are you serious? Harmony is great, but

results are better. Morning, Pete.

>> Hey, Vin. I heard you went to the zoo on

the weekend. Tell me everything.

>> Productive.

>> Oh, okay. Productive. H how did the kids

enjoy the zoo?

>> Like I said, mission accomplished.

Animals were seen, snacks were consumed,

tantrums neutralized. It was an

efficient operation,

>> right? But did you enjoy it? Like, how

did it feel?

>> It felt done just like this

conversation. Do you see the problem? We

tend to default to our own communication

style and it works great, but only when

you are speaking to people just like

you. And everybody else, well, they just

tune out or worse, they judge you

wrongfully. Let me share with you how

the other colors view you. So, here we

have Andy. He's my head of marketing and

he's also a red. And filming this B-roll

for him is excruciating because he just

wants to get back to work and get

done. So, if you're like Andy and you

are also a red, you tend to overwhelm

others with your fast, direct,

outcomedriven style. You know, the

greens, they see you as someone who's

being pretty pushy. And the yellows,

they look at you as being someone who's

too serious. And the blues, well, they

think you are reckless with details.

Now, next on screen, we have a yellow,

who is me. And this is also the person

who came up with the idea for this

B-roll. And I love this. Look how look

how much fun I'm having. This is such a

great idea, Vin. You're a genius. And if

you're a yellow like me, you often lose

credibility because of your high energy.

Your ideaffilled communication style

often feels unfocused to reds, chaotic

to greens. A little too superficial for

the blues who crave detail. Loen, look.

Look on screen. Oh, that's our green.

Oh, that's Dan. Dan's our head of ops.

And you see Dan, he didn't want to do

this, but he's so non-confrontational

and he just loves to keep the peace that

he's doing it. That's why he looks so

awkward. I mean, look at him. Let's zoom

in a little. Look at him. Look how

awkward he looks right now. He does not

want to be here. My goodness. Let's zoom

in a little further. Ha. See how awkward

he is? He's so awkward. Now, if you're

like Dan, you tend to avoid and resist

conflict, which makes you seem

indecisive to reds, boring to yellows

who want more excitement, and

frustratingly non-committal to blues who

want specifics. Oh, and here we have our

beloved Smurf. Yep, that's a blue. Look

at him. He is so detailed. He scripted

out this entire video. wanted to get

everything optimal. But you know what,

Pete? I'm going to wing this next part,

mate. I'm going to bloody wing the

script. I don't even know what I'm going

to say right now. That's why I'm going

to now just talk for no reason. Huh? How

do you like that algorithm? Blue Pete,

how do you like that, Pete? What's

What's the algorithm going to do now?

Hey, let's zoom in to Pete. Let's zoom

into his nose. Closer. Closer. Look at

his nose. Look at that little cute nose.

Look at Let's zoom out a little bit.

Let's zoom out of something else. Let's

zoom out to his hands. See, he doesn't

even know where to put his hands. He has

no idea what he's going to do with his

hands. What are you doing with your own

feet? Awkward now. You meticulously

technical monster. If you're like Pete

and you're a blue, sometimes you overco

complicate things in life like a YouTube

video and you forget to have fun, right?

You have such a deep need for precision

and detail which feels too slow for

reds. It feels overly critical for

yellows and it feels really nitpicky to

greens who just want peace. That's why

mastering this isn't just about you

knowing your color. It's about you

learning to speak all the colors. And

this what I just shared with you right

now, this was a huge realization for me.

I'm a yellow. So naturally, I'm pretty

expressive, loud, and passionate.

Whereas my wife on the other hand, she's

a red. She's strong, decisive, and laser

focused on the results. And she values

clarity, efficiency, and moving things

forward. Not me pitching 12 brilliant

ideas to her before she's even finished

her morning coffee. Yeah, I can be a

little much. Now, here's where we used

to clash a lot. I would communicate

ideas fast, bouncing from idea to idea,

expecting her to just get on board. But

to her, it felt overwhelming and she'd

shut me down. Not because she didn't

care, not because she didn't love me,

but because I wasn't speaking in a way

that respected her direct, let's cut to

the chase style. I basically didn't

speak to her in her preferred

communication style, which is red. And

here's the lesson again. When you only

speak in your own color, you only truly

connect with people who are like you and

the same color as you. But not everyone

is you. Not everyone is the same color

as you. Now, I'm not telling you to

change the essence of who you are. I'm

telling you that if you want to be a

more effective communicator, you need to

learn how to adjust your delivery and

speak in their communication style so

that you can connect better with them.

Imagine for a second walking into work

tomorrow and talking to your boss,

quickly being able to identify what

color he or she is, then adjusting your

communication style to connect with them

better. What would that mean for you?

Does that mean you have to do it with

everyone? No. No. You just do this with

the people you truly want to connect

with. Let me quickly remind you. When

you meet somebody for the first time and

you want to identify what color they

are, you can ask yourself the same three

questions I shared earlier. I'll pop

them just over here for you, too. It's

such a cool, powerful little tool that I

have on the corner of my computer

screen. any call I get onto, I

immediately think of these three

questions to myself and I'm able to

slightly shift the way I communicate and

it helps me connect with people really

fast. You know, I was asked this

question at my recent workshop.

>> How do you not judge people?

>> I do. I do. I do. I'm I'm human, okay?

But I do it as little as I can.

>> Let's just piggyback off what I just

said there. You see, I still do judge

others. And I'm human just like you. But

the reason I'm more compassionate is

because I now understand that there are

four different colors. There are four

different types of human beings in this

life. And they speak different

languages. And by me understanding that

now more and more, I'm able to be more

empathetic. I'm able to be more

understanding. And I'm able to judge

people less. And you know what's even

cooler? I speak all four languages now.

I can speak red, yellow, green, blue. So

that means that when I meet you,

regardless of what color you are, I'm

going to be able to connect with you

more instead of judging you. So now the

final step, how to talk to each color.

Think of this as your secret

communication hack. Now, when it comes

to the reds, make sure you are direct,

you're decisive, you're confident, and

make sure you use frameworks while

you're communicating. They love the

frameworks because it will help you

become more clear, concise, and

coherent. They respect speed, clarity,

and results. So, skip the fluff and

focus on the outcome. Don't say, "Let me

walk you through all the background

details before we decide what to do

next. I want to show you all 147

slides." Instead, say, "Listen, the

report's finished. I've gone through all

the data and summarized for you the top

three points and here's what I recommend

the next steps be. Let me know if you

have any questions. Why is this

important? It's important because a lot

of leaders in senior positions are

really time poor and they love direct

communication. And in the example that I

just shared with you, I'm using a

communication framework. So, if you want

to learn more about communication

frameworks and how to speak in a

concise, clear, and coherent manner,

I've recorded a free 2-hour training for

you where we dive deeper into more

frameworks so you can come across more

clear and confident. Just click the link

in the description to save your spot.

Now, when you're talking to a yellow, be

enthusiastic, be positive, be engaging.

Don't say, "Let me give you a 5hour

tutorial exactly on how to use this

particular camera," and then give you a

40page PDF on how to get the most out of

this camera. Instead of that, say, "Hey,

just hit the record button. Go have some

fun. Go work it out as you go. You're

going to love it." Why do this? Well,

because they thrive on energy, ideas,

and stories. Keep it light. Keep it fun.

Keep it creative. Let them roam free.

Leave the details to the blues. Now,

when you're talking to a green, be calm.

Be patient and supportive. Don't say,

"We need to make this change right now.

Now, now, now, now, now." Say instead,

"Hey, listen. I know this is a shift,

but we'll move at a pace that feels

comfortable for you, and I'm going to

support you all the way through it." Do

you notice the difference when speaking

to greens? They value harmony and

reliability. So, slow down, listen, and

avoid pushing too hard too fast. Now,

when you're talking to a blue, be

precise, structured, and factual. Don't

say, "Don't worry about the details.

Just trust me." Instead, say, "Here's

all the data, and here's the

step-by-step plan that I've created from

the data, and I want to give it to you

so you can do a quick double check if

you want." Do you notice the subtle

change there for the blue? They care

about accuracy and process. So, come

prepared, respect the details, and avoid

exaggeration. Oh, they hate that. As you

learn how to do this, you'll be able to

connect with 95% of the people that you

meet. And remember, this doesn't mean

you're changing who you are. It means

you're just learning how to adapt your

communication style to their

communication style. Masterful

communicators meet people where they are

and make the connection effortless. We

often hear the phrase, "Be yourself."

And yes, look, that is true to a certain

extent. But if you want to truly connect

with others, you also have to learn to

be dynamic like water. You adapt to the

shape of the vessel that you're poured

into.

>> Be formless, shapeless

like water.

>> See? See? Even Bruce Lee says so. So,

thanks for that, Uncle. I appreciate

that. At the end of the day, we are all

the colors. There's a version of you

that's fun and playful, yellow. There's

a version of you that seeks connection

and depth and detail, blue. There's a

version of you that's conflict avoidant

and always seeks peace, green. And then

there's a version of you that just gets

done, red. We are all of them. We

just tend to default towards one. It

doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't

speak the other colors. It means you

should learn them all. This is what I

teach in my programs, the ability to be

multilingual without losing your

identity. To walk into any room and meet

people where they are while still

bringing the most powerful version of

you, that's a superpower. So, which

color are you? If you haven't, let me

know. What color are you? Communication

is the tide that lifts all boats. And

when you master this skill, your entire

life rises with it. Hey, let's keep

learning together. If you want to dive

deeper down the rabbit hole, hit this

video right here.