The Unspoken Rizz Hypothesis - by Eden Chan
To study how language evolves, study TikTok.
The viral content-creation platform is known for innovating new slang and developing old ones.
Trending slang may feel strange or unfamiliar to most people, but eventually, those trends become part of the broader language, even if it's never universally adopted.
Most recently, this happened with the phrase "unspoken rizz."
To understand unspoken rizz, one must first understand the origins of "rizz." The inception of “rizz” began with YouTuber Kai Cenat who used the term to refer to his skill at impressing women.
There are three grades to measure "rizz" in Kai's construction. Those three grades are L, V, and W, with L being the worst and W being the best. L suggests you lost and were unable to impress the woman, while W suggests you won.
The "unspoken rizz" is the rarest form and refers to a man's ability to impress a woman without saying a word.
Kai doesn't offer much insight into improving said "rizzing" abilities. Coincidentally, V has yet to be defined.
In finding the definition of V, I hoped to gain insight into developing said “rizzing” abilities.
But even Wiktionary, the single source of truth, was unable to provide a definition.
However, the search did allude to the true origins of “rizz” as the precursor to charisma.
Going forwards, Rizz is capitalized to distinguish its true meaning from its limited meaning “rizz.”
Unsatisfied with my Google searches, I embarked on a meditation trip to find out the true meaning of Rizz.
Here’s what I found.
It comes in many forms, and its definition should not be limited to a man’s ability to impress women.
The purest form of Rizz is a person’s ability to impress others.
Then unspoken Rizz is the ability to impress others through listening.
I asked the highest Rizz individual I knew, Jon, who happened to be the Director of Sales at Wrk for insight on unspoken Rizz.
He told me this:
In any spoken message, 55% of the meaning is translated non-verbally, 38% is indicated by the tone of voice, while only 7% is conveyed by the words used.
People like to feel heard and understood.
In feeling heard and understood, people are more likely to hear and understand your opinion. By empathizing with the speaker, and asking questions, you show presence.
By showing presence, you prove to the speaker that you’re genuinely interested in understanding from their perspective.
Wanting to find out the truth more than wanting to feel right is essential in having more authentic conversations. Sure, this might lead to disagreement, but thoughtful disagreement leads to thoughtful discussion.
Then thoughtful disagreement is the precursor to authentic conversation.
Active listening and asking thoughtful questions demand the empathy and presence of Rizz.
Oprah is famous for her mastery of active listening and asking thoughtful questions.
Her authenticity and her yearning to find out the truth empowers people to share their most authentic stories with the world.
She also happens to be a self-made billionaire who achieved more than most people could ever dream of.
Success leaves evidence, and here are the three traces Oprah left behind.
Oprah was raised in poverty by a single mother and faced sexual abuse and neglect.
At the age of 14, she had an unexpected pregnancy, where the baby died shortly after being born. Oprah realized that she needed to turn her life around.
When she got ahold of the autobiography of Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, she felt seen and validated for the first time in a way she never felt before.
She realized her voice could be used to empower people who have suffered as she did, and uplift them to pursue their dreams.
She was determined to succeed. She prioritized learning from others and got a full-ride college scholarship to develop her strengths in journalism and media. Her success was built on mastering active listening and asking thoughtful questions.
The rest is a living history that self-belief demands Rizz.
Oprah went from being a poor, abused child to one of the most successful women in the world.
She strived to be her best, even at her worst.
She repurposed her trauma into self-belief that she was destined to empower those who have suffered as she did, and uplift them to pursue their dreams.
In 1986, Oprah started “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, which ran for 25 years, with a diverse range of perspectives from over 30,000 guests on her show.
It’s no wonder she’s featured as one of the 100 most influential people of 2022 in Time. Michelle Obama described how Oprah uses her platform to uplift: “When Oprah connects with something—a person, a book, a song, an idea—she makes sure to shine her light on it. She validates it. She anoints.”
Oprah’s authenticity is displayed in High Rizzolution, which helped her connect with, and empower others in sharing their most authentic stories with the world.
It takes courage to be authentic, but it’s worth it. Oprah confessed she did cocaine during an interview with four mothers who struggled with cocaine addiction:
“This is probably one of the hardest things I have ever said. I relate to your story so much. I have done this drug--I know exactly what you are talking about. And that is my life’s great big secret that has always been held over my head.”
She repurposed her trauma into a compelling story that gained her viewer’s respect for her strength and honesty in confessing her past drug addiction.
Her authenticity and courage to share the truth empower others to share their most authentic stories with the world.
The Oprah Winfrey Show has displayed in High Rizzolution that authentic stories demand Rizz.
Success does not happen alone. Success requires working with people, and people like to work with people they like and trust.
Success is built on relationships, and relationships are built on authenticity.
Oprah understood this and invested in building meaningful relationships through authentic conversation.
She used her platform to work with cultural change-makers to support the pursuit of education, especially for young girls and marginalized communities.
In 1998, Oprah founded “Oprah’s Angel Network”, and raised over $80 million dollars to build over 60 schools globally, and fund the education of over 30,000 students.
In 2010, she donated $30 million dollars to create “The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls” in South Africa to provide quality education for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In recent years, she donated 13 million dollars for COVID-19 aid to disadvantaged families, and worked with Nelson Mandela, to donate over 20 million dollars to the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture.
By asking for the help of others, Oprah went above and beyond fulfilling her destiny in empowering those who have suffered as she did, and uplifting them to pursue their dreams.
No one succeeds alone. Success requires working with people, and people like to work with people they like and trust. Oprah’s success is a testament that meaningful success demands Rizz.
Oprah went from being a poor, abused child to one of the most successful women in the world.
She repurposed her trauma into self-belief to empower those who have suffered as she did and uplift them to pursue their dreams.
Oprah displays authenticity in High Rizzolution, empowering others to share their most authentic stories, and pursue their dreams. Her success is built on the collective wisdom of the people she has worked with.
By actively listening, and asking thoughtful questions, she showed presence and empathy that empowers others to share their most authentic stories.
She used Rizz to activate the wisdom shared through authentic stories and turned her success into a wild success.
The journey of sharing wisdom through authentic stories demands Rizz.
There’s much to learn from Oprah's words of Rizzdom.
Wisdom alone is not enough to be wildly successful to influence others. You need Rizz to amplify Wisdom and make it more palatable for others.
Rizz activates channels for Wisdom.
If success is built on relationships, and relationships are built on authenticity, then authenticity is built on Rizzdom.
Unspoken Rizz, or Rizzdom is the catalyst to career and personal growth.
My quest for the next four months is to test the Unspoken Rizz Hypothesis through conversations, content-creation, and iteration by cycling through this three-step process.
Show up, empathize, and have an opinion to encourage having more authentic conversations. My focus will be on learning through conversation from people in the Effective Altruism, Startup, and Non-for-Profit community.
Internalize and share the Rizzdom through writing, starting a podcast, and creating video content. My focus will be on building my personal brand, and building organizational brands of Effective Altruism, UW Blueprint, and Wrk.
Iterate on the feedback from High Rizz Individuals; learn from writers and content creators to have more authentic conversations and create more authentic content.
Although my search for the definition of V rizz was inconclusive, the search yielded insight into the true meaning of Rizz.
If there’s one piece of advice I’d give to myself for the next four months, it’s this:
Be radically open-minded, seek thoughtful disagreement, and think for yourself.
ncG1vNJzZmibmJa7tK3WppinZqOqr7TAwJyiZ5ufonyxe9OhnGatnqi9sLfEp2SroaqveqnFz6iroZ2jnsA%3D