[TRANS] Myojo (Sept 2021): An initiation to secrets in being charismatic + "TONE" Records

[6ix_neiro]

SixTONES
Your communication skills will improve from this!!
An initiation to secrets in being charismatic

Be hopeless and honest to close the distance!

These 6 who have great communication skills; they chat easily to fans, friends and staff without any distance. We got them to teach us about the secrets of their communication skills♪ To you who finds making friends hard, you might make 100 friends after reading this?!


YUGO KOCHI

●I can chat with people at a job easily and I don’t mind opening up myself either. But I don’t think my communication skills are that good in environments other than that. Since the relationships I keep are “deep and long-term”, I don’t think about meeting new people or expanding my network; I think it’s too much of a hassle to have to introduce myself to someone for the first time and tell them everything about me (laughs). I’m not interested in conversations that I don’t care about either. Thinking about it like that, I think Jesse’s communication skills are really amazing. Different to me, I can tell that he really is interested in other people. I believe whether you have an interest in others or not really affect ones communication. It’s my problem that I don’t have an interest in others (laughs).

●When I was in around middle, high school, I felt that I had to fit in with others around me and do well, so I might’ve had better communication skills back then. That being said, I think I waited for others to initiate the conversation. I think, I was the type who thought other people would start talking to me if I waited (laughs). That might’ve not changed even now. Maybe people find me easy to talk to because of my hopeless character. In a new school term, we often get told [by the teacher] to “bring ___ with you and wait at the sports hall” right? I was the type to always miss what that was and ask others “what was that just then?” without hesitation. My hopeless character developed like that quickly, and a conversation can start from that too right? So people who are shy and find it difficult to make friends, it might be good if you ask a question on purpose, whether you know the answer or not. Try asking “do we need that tomorrow?”, and adding “thanks, see you tomorrow” should close the distance!

JURI TANAKA

●If you asked me if I’m a good talker or a good listener… I’m a better listener. When I’m speaking, I can’t help but feel the pressure to “say something funny”. But when I’m the listener - putting it in the extremes - it can be a conversation if I throw in aidzuchi [convo fillers eg. yeah, uh-huh etc] at the right times right? There’s no need for me to give any input so it’s easy. People who are easy to talk to or difficult to talk to - there’s no difference to me at all. Changing and adapting the topic and choice of words depending on the person’s age and position is something that I prioritise in my communication. Also, I take care to speak clearly and not use “um…” and “ahh…” in succession. If I mumble, then they’d think “this person isn’t very clear” and I’m bound to leave a negative impression. I’m especially conscious about this when I’m talking with someone I’ve met for the first time.

●At times where “I want to get closer to them!” with people that I meet for the first time, the technique that I use frequently is “having a honest chat”. For example, if they say “you’ve been on TV all the time lately”, I’ll reply with “keep this to yourself, but it’s only very recently where I’ve had the chance to go on so many shows” or something and sandwich in stories of our gruelling Junior days. Stories that they might think “forreal?!” are just memories in my perspective, so it doesn’t give me any damage at all. But “they disclosed their secret to me = they trust me”, and it also produces a sense of closeness, bringing both of us closer in an instant.

●What I want to tell people who are bad at communicating with others, or find it difficult to make friends, is that everyone is more unrelated than you think. It’s seriously a waste of time if you think about “that person, they actually hate me don’t they…” and such things! Especially when you’re a student, everyone is working on a “friend-like relationship”. The relationship will continue into adulthood if you click together, or it’ll fade out naturally if not. I think maintaining that mindset will make it easier to deal with people.

SHINTARO MORIMOTO

●Personally, I don’t think I have communication skills~ Because I’m the type to watch someone before I talk [to them]. I’ll read the aura of someone who I’m meeting for the first time and try to get a feel of what person they may be like before talking to them. I’m fine with moments of silence, so there are times where I’ll see how they react to understand them. I’ll act according to that reaction: if they’re a talkative person, then I’ll go off at 100 miles an hour too, but if they’re the quiet type, then I’ll stay quiet too. There aren’t times where I feel like “I really wanna talk!” in the first place, so I don’t really take the initiative in communicating, like thinking about a topic that would interest the other person. But, in terms of matching up with the other person, I think I’m pretty good at that (laughs). The complete opposite to me, Jesse can talk with anyone rapid-fire and that’s amazing. The number of questions he makes is no joke. When we’re with comedians, the end of the sentence is usually a question mark. He’s good at drawing things out of others. On top of that, he’ll say “that was ___ right? I too…” and add in episodes about himself and make them laugh, before firing off another question. The room is all lively before you know it and it’s seriously a feat!

●I too have people that I think “it’ll work with this person!” when I meet them for the first time. Those people are generally similar to me. I’m bad at expressing things succinctly, so I pause to think, going “hmm….”and end up unnecessarily explaining things for a long time. My facial expressions change quickly during that time as I flicker between getting stuck and getting a lightbulb moment - I sympathise when I see people similar to me (laughs). I’d think, “they’re the same as me!”, “we can become friends!” and be enthusiastic with my approach from the very beginning, both quipping and teasing them. People who laugh a lot are also easy to talk to! It feels good when I can make them laugh and it livens up the conversation too. On the other hand, I like it as well if they’re enthusiastic in their approach, but how much distance to put is also important. There are times where if they take a huge step forwards towards me, I’d take a small step back… For example, it’d scare me if they gave me a unique nickname after just meeting them. That’s why I plan to be well mannered too!

HOKUTO MATSUMURA

●My communication skills are poor no matter how you look at it right. But after starting this job, I think I’ve found another personality to myself. I try really hard at drama shoots so that people don’t realise I’m shy. I’ll talk a lot and purposely be really friendly from the get go. And, another thing I consciously do is to not make a scary face when I’m alone; to make a dumb face so that I look easy to talk to. Then, I overreact both in expression and volume when someone talks to me and also throw in lots of questions to keep the conversation flowing. Even for a single line “ahh” in the drama, there are times where I have to draw out a familiar “ahh” from the other person. That’s why I’m working hard on my communication so that there are no impediments to my acting.

●Someone I consider to have great communication skills is Matsuko (Deluxe)-san. When I watch [him on] TV, he’s there giving a proper answer back to any question thrown at him. Even if an obscure city gets brought up, he’d reply “that place is famous for that”. After all, humans get closer when there’s a common interest or when they can sympathise with another don’t they. That’s why I consider the amount of knowledge as a huge strength in communicating with others. It’s impossible for me so I find it fascinating.

●For advice from someone shy like me, it’d be that “it’ll work out somehow if you work hard at the beginning”. I still remember this, but I had an obento [lunch box] for my first day of high school. At the time, I thought I’d be alone for the rest of my school life if I didn’t talk to anyone, and did my best to say “let’s eat together” to someone that I’d thought ‘they seem agreeable’ or ‘they look like fun’. I’m still close enough with that friend that I meet up with them time to time. If you pick up the courage at just the beginning and make a friend that’d say “you’re a shy dude aren’t ya”, then it’ll work out somehow, so do your best!

JESSE

●I generally initiate the conversation towards everyone! …But I was a shy boy originally. I used to only talk with people that I was close to and had this hard-to-talk-to aura. But I was trained through the live broadcasts of “R no Housoku”. I don’t get screentime if I don’t talk and any chance of getting to know me will disappear. That’s why I thought I had to do something and started joking around. Then, I had more chances to connect with others and gain friends too. This is how I turned out by the time I realised (laughs).

●Juri is good at explaining things and conducting himself like an MC, keeping things running smoothly. In my case, I’m good at talking with the other guests while he does all that! I don’t like being alone nor being seen alone, so I want to be talking to others. The only time I’m quiet is during makeup. Even during TV show recordings, every time, I’m always talking before the cameras are rolling and that makes things easier during the actual recording too. There are quiet geinin-san [entertainers] as well, but then I’ll be alone in the waiting rooms then! I’ll unnecessarily sanitise my hands again and get some coffee, hanging around until I find the timing to chat (laughs). The reason for the conversation can be anything: starting with “I watched that!” or joining into a conversation with “I know that too!” and getting excited!

●I love to talk but I think I’m a good listener too. There are people who tell the same stories over and over again right? If I know it’s going to be a long one, sometimes I’ll spill the ending like “then, this happens and this happens right?!”. If they ask me “you know?”, I’ll say “you told me the other day~”. This way you can show them that you remember what they talked about and you don’t have to hear the same story again! But in general, I’ll listen to the end since they’re having fun telling me about it. Johnny-san was just like that and I seriously thought I was getting tested (laughs). I wondered if he was thinking “I’m going to tell Jesse the same story but will he react as if it’s his first time hearing it?!”. That’s why I did everything to react like it was my first time!

TAIGA KYOMOTO

●I recognise that I’m still childlike, so it’s a teensy bit scary to talk to adults. I’m 27 years old this year though (laughs). I feel like they’re much more superior even if they’re only a little older than me and I shrivel up. Since my teens, my friends were mainly the same age or younger than me, and I always got close with the child actors on set. We get along because my hobbies are childish like playing games and collecting cards. In the instance where I’m the principal of the troupe, I’ll always look to our [theatre] company’s moodmaker for help since I’m not sociable. I said “let’s warm up our muscles 10 minutes before we start rehearsals!”, and although it was just the 2 of us at the beginning, everyone else slowly started to join in and everyone was there at the end. Also, I set up a snack corner in the rehearsal studio so that everyone could gather together during breaks. That was pretty popular and I restocked the snacks once a week (laughs).

●In SixTONES, Jesse’s the one who has the strongest communication skills, but within Johnnys, (Kikuchi) Fuuma is amazing too. In the past, when I went to dinner with (Ikuta) Touma-kun and Fuuma - I wasn’t close enough yet to tease Touma-kun - Fuuma was there teasing him left right and centre. I was very impressed and believe it’s proof of his good nature and humour that he’s able to tease a senpai without coming off as unpleasant. Something I take note of when communicating with others is to not try and be in everyone’s good books. Not everyone is sociable and cheery; there are lots of types of people after all. It boils down to if they can understand your true self or not. Don’t create a false character and force yourself, it’s fine if you stay with people on the same wavelength as you. I’m a perfect example of that. In my Junior days, when extroverts like Juri and Fuuma would go to the beach on their days off, I would be with Shime (Shimekake Ryuuya) and other introverts at an onsen having a foot spa and talking about our dreams or something (laughs). Even though I couldn’t join first string, I was the leader of the second string so I have no regrets!

******

“TONE” Records
In the pair cross talk, Kouchi’s fortunetelling & Juri’s freestyle rap corners, we’ll be bringing you lots of exclusive and private details again this month!

Six minutes as a pair!!
#8 Jesse & Kyomoto
Enjoy the skit-like crosstalk between Kyomoto and Jesse who celebrated his birthday a day prior to the shoot♪

Kyomoto: Congratulations!
Jesse: Yay! Thank you!
Kyomoto: Jesse turned 25 yesterday. How does it feel, after a day? Do you feel like you’re 25?
Jesse: It doesn’t feel like 3 days have passed yet.
Kyomoto: Yeah. Cos 3 days haven’t passed yet (laughs).
Jesse: But well, nothing’s changed. Age is just a number.
Kyomoto: But 25 years old is a milestone. Numbers-wise.
Jesse: Ah~ true. By the way, I took a selfie! I got a video of it too.
Kyomoto: Did you say something?
Jesse: I did.
Kyomoto: Your aspirations after turning 25? Or was it about your history up till now?
Jesse: My aspirations! I won’t talk about my history (laughs).
Kyomoto: Oh~
Jesse: All alone while I nursed a glass.
Kyomoto: That’s nice~! The moment the date changed?
Jesse: Uh-huh.
Kyomoto: That’s nice~ How about your stage play (Standing Ovation)? Rehearsals haven’t started yet?
Jesse: Nothing yet. I still haven’t received the script yet. I’m scared!
Kyomoto: Have you started memorising your lines?
Jesse: Not yet!
Kyomoto: Ah, I see. You don’t have the script yet. Then there’s no way you can prepare.
Jesse: No…
Kyomoto: That’s nerve-wracking. The performance starts in August right?
Jesse: August 3rd! Tell me! How should I learn my lines?
Kyomoto: You’d need to see the script first. That’s the only thing.
Jesse: Then… What have you been up to lately? (laughs) Simply (laughs).
Kyomoto: You changed the topic completely (laughs). I rewatched all of it yesterday. Um~ That.
Jesse: Which? Ah, your own life?
Kyomoto: Hahaha! Movies from the Avengers series.
Jesse: I see.
Kyomoto: I watched all of them again.
Jesse: I need to watch it too~
Kyomoto: I rewatched it and thought “woah, omg~”. That, the order of the movies is complicated.
Jesse: Avengers? Isn’t that Star Wars?
Kyomoto: Avengers too, there’s a thing where you watch this one and that one after “Captain America”. If you watch all 3 Iron Man movies in one go then you won’t understand what’s happening. There’s an order that if you watch the first “Iron Man”, then you should watch that next.
Jesse: Was there something like that? Isn’t it okay if you watch Iron Man from the first to the third one?
Kyomoto: It’s okay but the Iron Man series has other Avenger movies sandwiched between them.
Jesse: I see! But you’re only able to watch it like that now because it’s all finished right?
Kyomoto: But you know, the order of their release follows the timeline.
Jesse: So that’s how it works! I gotta watch it in that order then~
Kyomoto: That’s why I also watched “Captain Marvel” and “Black Panther”. They were so good! The final movie “End Game” has parts where you won’t understand if you don’t watch all the movies.
Jesse: “End Game” reminded me, but have you been cooking lately?
Kyomoto: I’ve been making tea lately.
Jesse: Tea?
Kyomoto: Different teas. Like tea bags.
Jesse: Bring them with you let’s drink it together in my Moroccan room (the room that Jesse has decorated in a Moroccan-style at his place) (laughs).
Kyomoto: Ah, I want to try that! I need to go to the Moroccan room.
Jesse: Come come. What other things have you cooked lately that you think are delicious?
Kyomoto: That I cooked myself?
Jesse: Yeah. You haven’t cooked anything for me yet so I want to try it out~
Kyomoto: Lately, something that I think I made pretty nicely was tomato reimen [cold noodles]!
Jesse: Reimen!
Kyomoto: What was it again. Some sort of syrup…
Jesse: Gum syrup?
Kyomoto: No (laughs). Dashi [stock]! I made it using something like dashi for reimen.
Jesse: The noodles are thin in reimen aren’t they.
Kyomoto: They tend to be thin. Sarani [in addition], I added things like cucumber and tomato to it on.
Jesse: Salami and tomato?
Kyomoto: ‘In addition’.
Jesse: In addition.
Kyomoto: … Tomato reimen has been a hit for me lately (laughs).
Jesse: (in a loud voice) I want to try that! I still haven’t had reimen this year yettt.
Kyomoto: It felt summery.
Jesse: Did you add ice?
Kyomoto: I didn’t add ice. Do you like soumen? [T/N: Typically the type of thin noodles used in reimen]
Jesse: I love soumen!
Kyomoto: How do you eat it?
Jesse: Normally, with chopsticks.
Kyomoto: Not the method (laughs). Just with mentsuyu [dipping sauce]?
Jesse: Just the sauce. I eat noodle dishes simply.
Kyomoto: Huh~ It’s nice if you add mayonnaise.
Jesse: Eh, to soumen?! No way!
Kyomoto: Uh-huh. Mixing mayonnaise into the mentsuyu.
Jesse: No no no!
Kyomoto: No, give it a go. Seriously. It’s good.
Jesse: Then I’ll try it at your place. I won’t do it at mine (laughs).
Kyomoto: That’s fine with me since soumen can be made quickly. And there are also delicious twists like using soy milk or adding chilli oil to a sesame sauce to make it like tantanmen.
Jesse: That sounds amazing! I’ll intrude at your place next time.
Kyomoto: Yeah, let’s have tomato reimen first. My wishes for this year… (6 minutes are up!) Thank you very much~
Jesse: Ahahaha!

FREE STYLE JURI
Coming up with a freestyle rap to the theme! Leggo to the final member introduction rap!!

Keyword: Morimoto (Shintarou)
The group’s youngest, Morimoto
You’ve found it, a job that suits you
At locations and in acting, an established reputation
But that voice, keep it down a little ‘kay

It’s an introduction rap but… the last bit is a small complaint (laughs). When we’re doing magazine interviews, his voice would be so loud when he’s nearby and I lose track of what I was saying. I think the interviewer thinks like that too. Talking about Shintarou’s topics lately… he changed his hairstyle. He got a perm suddenly one day and all of us were shocked and went “what happened with you?!”. It’s not that it didn’t suit him but you’d think something happened if he changed his image so suddenly right? He told us that it was just to have a change of scene. On top of that, he apparently left it all up to the hair stylist and said “it was different to what I imagined” (laughs). Why are you unhappy about it when you left it up to them!

Yugo’s Manor
It’s up to you to believe it or not! But Kouchi’s help may come to your need if you believe in it!

This month’s lucky vegetable: Eggplant
“Talking about summer vegetables, it’d have to be cucumber and tomato right?”, “Kouchi, why’s it gotta be eggplant of all things?!” - to you who had such thoughts. Through that condescension of eggplants, it’s revealing your luck which is being stagnated by your wicked thoughts. Eating some fresh eggplant and purifying your heart is the first priority. To people who can say “eggplants are good”, “summer = eggplants” with a smile, happiness is sure to follow.