Pratique du Shadowing: Why Experienced Professionals Still Hesitate In English - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo
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Imagine this scenario.
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You're in an English meeting at work.
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Everything is going well.
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And then a colleague turns to you and asks a question you weren't expecting.
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You've been speaking English at work for years and you're good at your job, but you freeze.
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The words don't come out or they don't come out the way you want them to.
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You feel uncomfortable and you're worried that you're making a bad impression.
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In this video, I'm going to tell you why this happens and I'll share a technique that helps you manage it confidently.
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It's an interactive session, so you'll also get the chance to practice the technique with me.
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We'll look at two scenarios and I recommend sticking around for both.
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They cover very different situations and the second one is where most people struggle.
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Hi there and welcome to English for Professionals.
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I'm Derek and over the last 20 years, I've coached hundreds of experienced professionals at a wide range of international companies.
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I help them close the gap between their expertise
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and how they perform in English so they can reach the next step in their careers.
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If you've been using English at work for years and still feel that gap, keep watching.
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And to help you close that gap, I've created a free guide that goes deeper into this exact problem.
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It's called the Real-Time English Gap and it will help you respond with confidence in the moments that matter most.
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It comes with an interactive audio guide and the link to download it is in the description below.
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I highly recommend taking a look.
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And now let's get started.
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So why do experienced professionals still freeze when they're put on the spot?
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Let's look at two of the main reasons for this.
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First of all, your brain can quickly get overloaded.
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Especially when you're trying to find the right words, use the correct grammar and sound professional all at the same time.
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And secondly, there's the pressure.
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You're worried that even the smallest mistake will make you sound unprofessional.
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Now, when we say freeze, you might imagine going completely silent.
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And sometimes that's exactly what happens.
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But often, it's not silence at all.
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It's a weak attempt at trying to say something or an answer that trails off and doesn't land properly.
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Uh, probably.
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Uh, I think so.
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That's the freeze too.
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And here's what's really going on.
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People often want to get the whole answer ready in their head before they begin.
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The technique you're going to practice does the opposite.
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It gets you started properly with something solid, so the rest of the answer has time to come together as you speak.
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And one important thing before we start.
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If you sometimes get nervous before an important meeting, take a moment and remember this.
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You were invited to that meeting for a reason.
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You're good at your job and your ideas and opinions are worth more than your grammar.
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So don't let the fear of making a mistake hold you back.
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And now it's time for our first scenario.
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Andrea is a project manager.
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She's in a weekly team meeting.
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It's going fine.
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And then a colleague turns to her and asks, Andrea, quick one.
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Is the end of September still happening for the launch?
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Or are we being too optimistic?
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Now, Andrea knows this.
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It's her project.
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But she wasn't expecting the question.
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So here's what comes out.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, I think it should be fine.
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I mean, probably.
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We'd have to check a few things, but yeah.
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Obviously, that's not what she wanted to say.
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That's what came out when she was trying to deal with the unexpected question.
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Now, let's take a look at how she can handle that better.
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First of all, she can use an acknowledged phrase, something like this.
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That's a fair question.
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Now you might be thinking, that's easy.
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I know what an acknowledge phrase is and maybe you do.
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But here's the real question.
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When someone asks an unexpected question, do you actually use an acknowledged phrase?
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Or do you go quiet and start searching for the perfect answer?
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Because knowing the phrase and using it under pressure are two very different things.
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Now let's talk about what this phrase is actually doing, which is a few very important things things.
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It's getting Andrea started without freezing and makes a more confident impression.
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It also buys her a few seconds to start putting her answer together.
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Then she can add something like this.
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That's a fair question.
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The short answer is and then the answer follows.
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That little phrase the short answer is is doing something clever.
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She's not answering yet but she's telling the room how she's going to answer.
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A lot of people spend those few seconds searching for the perfect answer.
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Andrea uses hers to decide how she'll start and then the answer follows.
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And did you notice the very short pause?
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That's not a mistake.
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She's already speaking.
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So this very short pause doesn't sound like she's stuck.
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It sounds like she's thinking.
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That's a fair question.
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The short answer is now I know pausing can feel uncomfortable.
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One second can feel like 10.
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But it's really worth practicing because a speaker who can pause effectively sounds more composed and professional.
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A speaker who rushes often sounds nervous.
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And those two phrases with that tiny little pause have bought her some time and will help her deliver her answer confidently.
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Because Andrea knows this.
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It's her project.
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The information was never the problem.
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She just never gave herself a few seconds to get to it.
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Now let's look at her full answer and then we'll practice together.
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Andrea, quick one.
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Is the end of September still happening for the launch or are we being too optimistic?
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That's a fair question.
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The short answer is yes.
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The end of September still works.
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Testing is on track.
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And if we get the legal sign off this week, we're fine.
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And now let's practice together.
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You'll hear me asking the question again and you'll see it on the screen.
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Just practice the part in white, not the full answer, and try to include the little pause.
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And one more thing, for more effective practice, try to read out loud if you can.
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Ready?
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Andrea, quick one.
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Is the end of September still happening for the launch, or are we being too optimistic?
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Great.
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Now let's practice it one more time.
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This time I've added a little challenge.
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I've removed a couple of the key words in the phrases.
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Can you remember them?
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Andrea, quick one.
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It's the end of September still happening for the launch,
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or are we being too optimistic? Did you guess right?
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Here's the response again.
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I recommend coming back to this part of the video again and practicing several times.
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Repetition is really important here.
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Now, before we move on to our second scenario, the one that most people struggle with,
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let's take a look at another way Andrea might respond to this question with a different acknowledged phrase.
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Andrea, quick one.
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Is the end of September still happening for the launch or are we being too optimistic?
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That's something I've been thinking about as well.
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There are two things I'm watching.
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The first is testing and that's on track.
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The second is legal sign off.
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That's the one that could move us.
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If we get that this week, end of September works.
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Now that acknowledged phrase, that's something I've been thinking about as well, does something extra.
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It tells the room she's already on top of this.
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She's not being caught out.
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She's been watching it.
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That instantly changes her position from someone who's being questioned to someone who's ahead of the problem.
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One word of warning though, only use it if it's true.
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If you haven't been thinking about it, don't say that you have, because the next question that comes could make things difficult for you.
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And before we move on, that phrase, there are two things I'm watching, does a very similar job to the phrase,
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the simple answer is, in the first example we looked at.
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So that was our first scenario with two examples of how Andrea uses acknowledged phrases to deal with an unexpected question.
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And this is one of the techniques that makes a huge difference for my one-to-one coaching clients.
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Once it clicks, they stop worrying about those pressure moments and feel much more in control.
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And now let's move on to the next scenario.
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Now, Andrea knew the answer to the question she was asked.
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But let's be honest, that's not always the case.
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Sometimes you don't know the answer, and that's a very different kind of pressure.
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Let's take a look at Mario.
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He's a systems engineer, and he's in a meeting with a client when someone asks, Mario, do you have the downtime figures for the last quarter?
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Now, that's a fair question, and it's completely normal not to have that number in your head.
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Nobody can be expected to have every figure available to them whenever someone asks for it.
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But that's not how Mario feels in that moment.
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He doesn't want to seem unprepared or incompetent, especially in front of a client.
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But here's what comes out.
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The downtime.
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I think it was.
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Sorry, I'm not sure.
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I'd have to check.
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Sorry.
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He says sorry twice.
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And here's the thing.
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Nobody in that room expects him to have every figure.
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What they see is someone lose confidence in himself.
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That's what does the damage, not the missing number.
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Now let's look at how Mario can handle that better.
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And the technique is exactly the same as Andreas.
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He starts with an acknowledge phrase.
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Right.
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The downtime figures.
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Now that's a simple one, but it's very useful.
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He's just repeating the key words back.
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And that does two things.
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It gets him speaking and it buys him a second or two while he figures out what he's actually going to say.
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Then he adds the second part.
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Right, the downtime figures.
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I'm afraid I don't have those in front of me, but what I can tell you is, and then the answer follows.
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And this is where Mario is different from Andrea.
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Andrea used her few seconds to decide how she'd give her answer.
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Mario can't do that.
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He doesn't have the answer.
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So he uses those few seconds for something else.
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He decides what he can offer instead.
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Because you often have something.
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You may not know the number, but you could know the trend.
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And what I can tell you is, commits him to that.
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Once he said it, he has to produce something.
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So he does.
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And again, notice the pause.
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He's already speaking so that silence doesn't sound like he's stuck
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and it's giving him an extra second to deliver his response
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Now here's something
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that I believe is very important You don't lose credibility by not knowing something you lose credibility by falling apart
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When you don't know Mario doesn't need the number.
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He just needs to stay in control of the room Let's take a look at his full answer Mario, do you have the downtime figures for the last quarter?
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Right, the downtime figures.
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I'm afraid I don't have those in front of me, but what I can tell you is that it has improved.
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We had less downtime than the previous quarter, and that came after we updated the firmware.
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I'll send you the exact numbers by the end of the day.
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He still didn't know the answer.
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He just didn't collapse and notice what he gave them, a direction, a reason, and a deadline.
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And now let's practice this one together.
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You'll hear me ask the question again, and you'll see it on the screen.
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Just practice the part in white, not the full answer, and try to include the pause.
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And don't forget to read out loud if you can.
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Ready?
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Mario, do you have the downtime figures for the last quarter?
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Great, and now let's practice it again, similar to Andrea's example in the first scenario with a little extra challenge.
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I've taken a few keywords out of the dialogue.
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Can you remember them?
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Mario, do you have the downtime figures for the last quarter?
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And did you guess right?
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Here's the response again.
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As with Andrea's first response in scenario one, I highly recommend coming back to this part of the video and practicing several times.
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Repetition is really key.
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And now let's look at one other way Mario might handle this, because sometimes it's even harder than that.
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Sometimes you don't have the number and you don't have the trend either.
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You genuinely have nothing.
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Mario, do you have the downtime figures for the last quarter?
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Good question.
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To be honest, I don't have that information to hand and I'd rather give you an accurate number than make a guess.
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So let me pull the figures and get back to you later today.
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Would that be okay?
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Now look at what Mario is offering here.
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He can't give them the answer.
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So he makes a commitment to get them the answer and gives them a time.
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And that phrase, I'd rather give you an accurate number than make a guess, is doing something extra.
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He's no longer someone who doesn't know.
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He's someone who won't guess.
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And that makes a completely different impression a very professional one.
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Finally, let's see how he finishes.
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Would that be okay?
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That's a small thing, but it's clever.
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He hands it back to them very calmly as if it's a completely normal way to handle it.
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Because it is.
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He's not apologizing, he's managing it.
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So let's briefly review the most important parts of this session.
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Andrea and Mario, their technique was the same.
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A short acknowledge phrase to get you started confidently, a tiny pause and then away into your answer.
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And notice it's the same technique whether you know the answer or not.
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What changes is what you do with the few seconds it buys you.
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Here's the thing to remember, you freeze less when you stop trying to have the whole answer ready before you speak.
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Get started and be brave enough to let the rest come together as you go.
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Now the real change comes from practicing and repetition.
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And that's exactly what I created the free guide for.
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It's called the Real-Time English Gap
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and it covers the acknowledge phrase technique from this session and two other techniques that often catch professionals out.
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It comes with an interactive audio guide so you can practice properly and the link is in the description below.
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If you like this session, give it a thumbs up and watch one of these next.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulaire et conseils d’expression pour cette leçon
Cette leçon d’expression orale de niveau B2 s’appuie sur la vidéo « Why Experienced Professionals Still Hesitate In English ». Les mots qui reviennent le plus souvent : answer, Andrea, phrase, Mario, figure. Cette vidéo contient 248 phrases et 2491 mots à répéter en shadowing. La partie parlée dure 16:04. Le locuteur parle à un rythme naturel d’environ 155 mots par minute, proche d’une conversation courante. 87 % des mots font partie des 3 000 mots les plus courants en anglais, le vocabulaire est donc facile à suivre.
Vocabulaire clé de cette vidéo
Les 15 mots les plus avancés de la vidéo, avec leur prononciation et leur sens :
| Mot | Prononciation | Sens |
|---|---|---|
| downtime nom | /ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/ | pause, repos |
| pause nom | /pɔːz/ | pause |
| acknowledge verbe | /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/ | reconnaître |
| scenario nom | /sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/ | scénario |
| freeze verbe | /ˈfɹiːz/ | geler, glacer |
| optimistic adjectif | /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk/ | optimiste |
| confidently adverbe | /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/ | candidement, confidemment |
| repetition nom | /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/ | répétition |
| interactive adjectif | /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/ | interactif |
| credibility nom | /kɹɛd.əˈbɪ.ɫɪ.ti/ | crédibilité |
| colleague nom | /ˈkɒliːɡ/ | collègue, confrère |
| grammar nom | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | grammaire |
| uncomfortable adjectif | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | inconfortable |
| compose verbe | /kəmˈpəʊz/ | composer |
| firmware nom | micrologiciel, firmware |
Les verbes à particule que vous entendrez
| Mot | Prononciation | Sens |
|---|---|---|
| come out verbe | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | sortir |
| come together verbe | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | affluer, s’assembler |
| catch out verbe | piéger | |
| fall apart verbe | tomber en morceaux | |
| figure out verbe | cerner |
Des phrases à répéter
Des phrases courtes et complètes de la vidéo, à réutiliser dans la conversation de tous les jours :
- The technique you're going to practice does the opposite.
- We'd have to check a few things, but yeah.
- This time I've added a little challenge.
- Can you remember them?
- Did you guess right?
La grammaire de cette vidéo
Les structures que le locuteur utilise le plus, avec les mots exacts de la vidéo :
| Structure | Dans la vidéo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continu have/has been + -ing — une action commencée avant et toujours en cours | You've been speaking · you've been using · I've been thinking |
| Present perfect have/has + participe passé — une action passée qui compte encore maintenant | I've coached · I've created · have bought |
| Voix passive be + participe passé — l’accent est mis sur ce qui arrive, pas sur qui le fait | were invited · being caught · being questioned |
| Propositions relatives who / which + proposition — une précision sur une personne ou une chose | doing, which is · someone who doesn · someone who won |
Prononciation à surveiller
Le locuteur utilise 69 contractions et formes réduites, comme don't, you're, doesn't. Prononcez-les sous leur forme courte, telles que vous les entendez.
- Mots longs — placez bien l’accent: optimistic /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, interactive /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/, credibility /kɹɛd.əˈbɪ.ɫɪ.ti/
Les sons difficiles pour les francophones :
- /tʃ/ et /dʒ/ — à ne pas adoucir en « ch » et « j »: acknowledge /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/
- /r/ anglais — langue recourbée, sans frotter la gorge: scenario /sɪˈnɛəɹioʊ/, freeze /ˈfɹiːz/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, credibility /kɹɛd.əˈbɪ.ɫɪ.ti/, grammar /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/
Comment s’entraîner avec cette vidéo
- Écoutez la vidéo en entier une fois sans parler et notez les mots que vous ne connaissez pas.
- Commencez à la vitesse 0,75×, répétez phrase par phrase, puis revenez à la vitesse normale quand cela devient facile.
- Enregistrez-vous et comparez avec l’original, en faisant attention à des mots comme downtime, pause, acknowledge.
Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?
Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.