Shadowing Practice: How to Explain Anything To Anyone (Even If It's Complex!) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I'm going to show you how to explain anything to anyone no matter how complex the topic is.
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I'm talking when you're trying to explain technical workflows to non-technical stakeholders, walking a client through changes they don't fully understand, or trying to pitch a complex idea to your team.
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And after 15 years of coaching communication to Fortune 500 companies and millions of people around the world, I see this one pattern constantly.
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The smartest, technically brilliant people, they tend to struggle the most when it comes to communicating things they know.
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And look, if that's you, it's not your fault.
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Because nobody ever taught you how to translate what's up here to come out of here.
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In a clear and concise, coherent way.
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So today I'm going to teach you how to do just that using what I call the clear filter.
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And I'll walk you through this in a second.
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But first let me explain why people feel the need to use complex language.
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When I was younger, I used to explain things in a really, really complex way.
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And it wasn't because I didn't understand the topic.
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It was because I wanted to appear smart.
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And by making it sound complicated, I felt smart and that made me feel good.
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For example, I used to talk about tax with my friends.
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I was studying accounting at the time.
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Yes, I was fulfilling the Asian prophecy.
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And my friends were studying pharmacy and medicine, also fulfilling the Asian prophecy.
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And they didn't know much about tax.
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And because I felt less smart than them, when I showed them how to do their tax returns, I deliberately used big words and acronyms to sound clever.
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I'd say something like this.
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Based on your accessible income and carried forward deductions,
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we'll maximize your concessional contributions and apply the available offsets to minimize your taxable income.
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Which is just a complicated way of saying, you earn this much and you can claim a few things, so we'll set it up so that you don't pay more tax than you need to.
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But I didn't say it like that.
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I said the unnecessarily complicated version.
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And I felt great saying it like that, because I knew none of my doctor friends would get it.
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and it made me feel better than them
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and we'd end up in this weird situation where i was over complicating everything to feel more important
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and confident and they were pretending to follow along
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because they didn't want to seem stupid two people having a conversation that's a complete bloody waste of time
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and if you do what i do because you lack confidence
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or if you just speak in a complicated way
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because you don't know any better then let me tell you
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what it's going to cost you people won't understand you which then causes them to disengage but most professionals You know what?
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They're really good at pretending they're still engaged.
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When in actual reality, they've already mentally checked out thinking about the movie Obsession and how bloody brilliant it is.
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Great movie, Curry Barker.
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Well done, mate.
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No, no, no, don't do that!
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And if you don't fix this problem, over time, people start avoiding interactions with you.
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Because they see you as somebody who's confusing, overly complicated, and way too technical to actually talk to.
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You'll be stuck in that technical role as the cog in the machine.
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Which brings us to the first part of the clear filter.
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The C stands for calibrate.
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Before you explain anything to anyone, you need to first know your audience.
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How much do they already know about the topic you're about to speak on?
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Most people skip this completely.
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If you assume they know everything you know, you'll speak at a level that loses them immediately.
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If you assume they know nothing, then you can come across like you're speaking down to them.
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So this first calibrating step involves asking qualifying questions to determine how much your audience already knows
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so you can meet them where they are.
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If for example, you're in a one-on-one situation with someone you might say something like this, before I go any further how familiar are you with this topic?
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However if you're preparing for a speaking event email the organizer ahead of time
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and ask on a scale of beginner to expert where would
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you say most of the audience sits with this topic I'm going to speak on?
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And if you're opening a group session impromptu and you had no time to prep then ask the group directly a question.
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Ask something like this, quick question before I start
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Raise your hand if you have had a year's worth of experience in this area.
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Okay.
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Raise your hands if you've had two years.
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Okay, now raise your hands if you had three years.
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And sometimes if you already know you're walking into a group of specialists, go deep, use the technical language, use the jargon, have the in-depth discussion.
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But you need to know where they're at first.
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One simple question asked up front tells you everything you need to know.
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Know your audience before you speak to your audience.
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The second part is link.
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Connect what they don't know to something they already know.
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You do this by using either an analogy, a metaphor, or a simile.
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I want to show you what this looks like from someone who's extraordinary at linking, Dr. Michelle Thaler.
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She spent her career at NASA, understands astrophysics at a level that would make most people's heads spin, but let me share with you a clip where she takes something really complicated
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and makes it easily digestible by using an analogy.
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The human brain is just as far away from perceiving the
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way the universe really is as a grasshopper is perceiving quantum mechanics.
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Isn't it wonderful what she just did?
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Even though you and I don't have a deep understanding of astrophysics like she does, we were still able to understand the concept she was sharing.
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Now imagine she didn't do that and imagine she read something like this to you.
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I mean, look at it.
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Can you even get past the second sentence?
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No, no, I mean, seriously, try to read it.
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Try.
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It's crazy, huh?
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No one could do it.
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Not me, not you, and no, don't you go pretending in the comment section that you knew exactly what that meant because none of us did.
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Learning how to link the unknown to the known is a powerful skill set.
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Now, let me give you my own example.
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I do a lot of corporate trainings with engineering teams, very technical teams.
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And when I'm pitching my two-day communication workshop to a tech company, instead of walking through the full curriculum and speaking in a complex way like this,
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on day one, we separate vocal image from visual image, and then we deconstruct a vocal image into five core concepts.
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First, we've got rate of speech, then we've got volume, tonality, pitch and melody, and then the strategic pausing, which combines all together into vocal archetypes that each trigger different listener responses.
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And then on day two, we formalize the narrative structure by breaking stories down into discrete incidents built around peak emotion, peak action, or the key lesson learned.
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And then we derive a single governing point so the story actually holds their attention.
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Yeah, that's how I used to do it, because I thought that would make me seem like an expert.
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And normally when I do this the clients look confused
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and I can literally see them disengage And then I end up not winning the business.
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Whereas what I do now is I use a simple metaphor
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music and then I link it to Communication
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which is something most people don't usually understand fully again the linking the known to the unknown
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That's the magic
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and this is what I say now on day one I'm
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going to teach your engineers how to play their instrument being their voice and their body language language.
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Then on day two, I'm going to teach them how to write great music.
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And that's how to structure their ideas so that they're clear and compelling.
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And if you want a more detailed breakdown of the two-day syllabus, I'll send you the PDF.
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That's it!
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Two full days of content in under 20 seconds!
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And every single time I watch the other person nod and then they say, Oh, then that's exactly what my engineers need.
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So learn how to use analogies, metaphors, and similes.
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Find the link between the known and the unknown and make it simple for people to understand.
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By the way, if you want to learn how to go deeper into frameworks like the Clear Filter
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that I'm walking you through right now, I put together a free two-hour training where I'll teach you the top three communication frameworks I use in professional
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and personal conversations to help you speak with more structure, clarity, and confidence.
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So you stop rambling and speak more coherently.
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Just click the link in the description or scan the QR code on screen to get access.
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It's completely free.
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Let's keep going.
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The next part of the filter, E, is for envision.
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Some ideas are too hard to just describe with words alone.
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And when you hit one of those, draw it.
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Literally.
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I mean draw a shape, a triangle, a circle, a rectangle, draw a simple diagram.
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And in this example with Envision, I'm going to be a little bit cheeky here.
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I'm going to combine Envision with the next part of the filter, which is A for abstraction.
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And abstraction is taking a complex idea and boiling it down to its simplest form.
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One of the questions that people ask me all the time is they say, Vin, how do you actually get good at public speaking when you're starting from zero?
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And if I was to answer that without envisioning and abstracting, it sounds something like this.
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First, you're unconsciously incompetent.
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Then on your journey, you move to the next point where you become consciously incompetent.
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Then most people get stuck there.
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However, if you continue the journey, then you move into conscious competence.
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And very few get to the final step where they reach unconscious competence, which is a state of mastery that, once again, most never get to.
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Oh, you see what the problem is?
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When you explain it like that, the listener's brain has to work harder to understand you and remember what you're talking about.
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But the moment you envision it by drawing it out as a contextual model and you abstract it by simplifying the language, watch what happens.
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So the question is, well, what does it look like when you're on the journey of improving your public speaking ability?
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Well, the first part of your journey, you start here.
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Unconscious incompetence.
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Here you simply don't know what you don't know.
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And that's okay.
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everybody starts there we all start by not knowing anything about anything
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but then when you watch a video like this
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and you subscribe to a YouTube channel about public speaking then you begin the learning journey
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and you move to the second phase
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and you move to conscious incompetence in other words what this
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is is now you know now what you don't know for example you now know
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that in order get rid of the ums
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and the ahs you need to learn how to pause more
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and the reason you um and ah is simply
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because you're uncomfortable with silence that's all now you know how bad ums
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and ahs are you know how bad filler words are using like
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so do you know what i mean using them excessively you now understand destroys your clarity
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which then now moves us to the next stage of learning
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which is conscious competence and what this stage essentially means is that You're doing it, but you still have to think about it.
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Here, you know now to get rid of the ums and the ahs, you just replace it with a pause.
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So you're doing it already, but you still have to cognitively think about it
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because your brain is in overdrive trying to replace so many different types of behaviors.
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Which now moves us to the final stage of learning which is unconscious competence.
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This is where you reach a state of mastery.
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You no longer have to think about it because the behaviors become automatic.
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So if you go back to the pause example, originally when you're learning it in the conscious competence phase, that you're doing it but you still have to think about it,
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that pauses will still seem a little bit unnatural.
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But once you get to unconscious competence, now here the pauses are automatic and they come across completely natural.
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Wasn't that way easier to understand?
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And I know what you're thinking.
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Vin, by simplifying the language and dumbing it down for other people like this, doesn't it make you seem dumb?
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Well, let me ask you this.
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At any point in this video while you were learning with me, did you feel like I didn't know what I was talking about?
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Did I seem dumb?
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Or were you more engaged because you were able to follow along?
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Here's a trap that most experts fall into.
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Experts don't realize that there's a difference between being a great expert and actually being a great leader.
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Being a great expert means you personally have deep knowledge on a subject.
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Good for you.
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But if you want to be a great leader, you have to develop the skill of teaching because great leaders create other great leaders,
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and they do that by passing on what they know through the skill of teaching.
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And to be a great teacher, you need to be able to simplify your ideas, which makes the transfer of knowledge more effective.
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And that's the best part about great leaders.
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They grow other leaders.
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Whereas most of the time, a great expert who doesn't know how to become a great leader, they only grow themselves.
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Einstein famously said, if you can't explain it to a dog, then you don't understand it.
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Wait, wait, wait, sorry Peter, was that the right quote?
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No. No. No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We were having a nice day.
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Actually then, what the quote actually is, if you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it well enough.
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That's the quote silly billy.
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That's what it was.
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Nice work, Peter.
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And to the last part of the filter, R stands for repeat.
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This one's simple, but never skip it at the end of your explanation close
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the loop come back to the shape of your idea one more time let me show you what I mean
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and right there my friends is the clear framework first you've
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got C for calibrate here's where you need to know your
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audience before you even start ask the qualifying questions then you've
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got L for link connect the unknown to something they already understand by using an analogy a metaphor
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or a simile then you've got envision here's where you draw it make it visible, use contextual models.
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Then you've got abstraction, this is where you distill the message to its simplest form.
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And then R, repeat what I've literally just done to you in this segment of the video.
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Being able to simplify something is one of the most important traits of a great communicator and therefore a great leader.
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It means you understand what you know so deeply that you can translate it for anyone.
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So pick one complex idea this week that you need to explain to someone
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and run it through the clear filter and watch what happens.
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And if you want to keep building on what you've been learning today, click on the link in the description for my free two-hour training to learn more about communication frameworks
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or just scan the QR code to access it right there.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “How to Explain Anything To Anyone”. Este vídeo tiene 202 frases y 2719 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 13:31. El hablante habla rápido, unas 201 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. El 85 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| envision verbo | /ɪnˈvɪʒn̩/ | imaginar, visualizar |
| competence sustantivo | /ˈkɑm.pə.təns/ | competenza |
| pause sustantivo | /pɔːz/ | pausa |
| simplify verbo | /ˈsɪmplɪfaɪ/ | simplificar |
| analogy sustantivo | /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/ | analogía |
| metaphor sustantivo | /ˈmɛt.ə.fɚ/ | metáfora |
| unconscious adjetivo | /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəs/ | inconsciente |
| conscious adjetivo | /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/ | consciente |
| abstraction sustantivo | /æbˈstɹæk.ʃn̩/ | abstracción |
| calibrate verbo | /ˈkæl.ɪ.bɹeɪ̯t/ | calibrar |
| simile sustantivo | /ˈsɪməli/ | símil |
| vocal adjetivo | /ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/ | vocal |
| astrophysics sustantivo | /ˌæs.tɹoʊˈfɪz.ɪks/ | astrofísica |
| contextual adjetivo | contextual | |
| disengage verbo | /ˌdɪsɪŋˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | desenganchar, desatar |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| come across verbo | pasarse a |
| check out verbo | investigar, chequear |
| end up verbo | terminar, ir a parar |
| get past verbo | pasar desapercibido |
| put together verbo | construir, elaborar |
| walk through verbo | explicar paso a paso, enseñar |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- I'd say something like this.
- Raise your hands if you've had two years.
- Isn't it wonderful what she just did?
- Can you even get past the second sentence?
- Here you simply don't know what you don't know.
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verbo — un hábito o estado pasado que ya no es cierto | used to explain · used to talk · used to do |
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | filter, which is · competence, which is · learning which is |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 79 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, don't, I'm. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: envision /ɪnˈvɪʒn̩/, unconscious /ˌʌnˈkɑnʃəs/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/, abstraction /æbˈstɹæk.ʃn̩/, deduction /dɪˈdʌkʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: analogy /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/, astrophysics /ˌæs.tɹoʊˈfɪz.ɪks/, incompetence /ɪnˈkɒm.pə.təns/, incompetent /ɪnˈkɒmpətənt/, cognitively /ˈkɑɡ.nɪ.tɪv.li/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: scan /skæn/, stakeholder /ˈsteɪkˌhəʊl.də/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: envision /ɪnˈvɪʒn̩/, vocal /ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/, perceive /pɚˈsiv/, cognitively /ˈkɑɡ.nɪ.tɪv.li/, excessively /ɪkˈsɛsɪvli/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: pause /pɔːz/, astrophysics /ˌæs.tɹoʊˈfɪz.ɪks/, translate /tɹænzˈleɪt/, formalize /ˈfɔɹ.məlaɪːz/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como envision, competence, pause.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.