Shadowing Practice: Dealing with awkward situations at workplace & their escape routes - Interpersonal & Soft Skills - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello, my name is Imelda and welcome to Skillopedia, a place to learn skills for the real world.
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Life brings us many situations and some of them are so bad that they catch you in the wrong place.
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You don't know what is the best way to react, even worse you don't react at all.
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Am I correct?
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So today we will be exploring such situations especially when you are in office and the escape routes.
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So let's get started.
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The first point I have for you is candid emails.
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Yes we all agree we have friends in our office.
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We share things, we share information, we don't want everyone to know, especially our bosses.
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You know I'll tell you an example,
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I had a situation, I had a project that was given to me and I was not really happy about it.
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You know what I did?
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I wrote a very nasty, very sarcastic email to my friends.
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But unfortunately, I forgot to check who am I sending to and And that mail went straight to my boss.
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Guess how awkward it would have been for me.
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My boss as soon as he received the email, he called me into his office.
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I was nervous, I was shaking in fear, don't know what to do.
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He called me in, we talked, something very casual, he didn't say anything about it and I went out of the room.
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But trust me, my legs were still shaking, I could not believe I did something like that.
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So my advice for you is never write candid emails
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when you are in office and especially even if you're writing an email,
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always check the sender's information because those two things make a lot of difference
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and it will help you avoid awkward situations regarding your emails.
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The next situation I have for you is, to be caught distracted in a meeting.
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I'm sure you would agree that all the meetings that you attend do not go the way you expected them to be.
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You have a tendency and it's human to get distracted, you start thinking something else, anything except what is happening in the meeting.
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Now imagine if somebody throws a question at you during the meeting and you don't know what are they talking about.
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It will be the most awkward situation because now everyone will be looking at you.
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My advice for you is, start taking notes, that will help you a lot.
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Why?
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Because notes or taking notes will help you focus and next time if somebody is asking you a question,
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you know how to answer actively and the right thing.
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Also if you have a doubt, if you think the meeting is not going in the right direction, you can stop them and let them know,
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hey you know what, I think this point is more valid than that point.
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This will help you improve the credibility in front of your supervisors as well as your colleagues.
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So next time if you are entering a meeting room, please take a notepad and a pen.
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The next but the most difficult situation I have for you is, telling someone about their body odour.
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It is one of the most awkward situations that you can ever face.
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Imagine this, John works with Clark, Sandy, Isabella and everybody else.
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John's boss calls him and says, hey John, can you ask
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Clark to smell differently?
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I mean he's sweating, could you ask him to use a perfume or cologne?
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It's making everybody feel uncomfortable.
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Imagine how John would feel, why should he be the bad guy?
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But yes, the boss has given you something and you've got to do it.
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So what's the way you can do it?
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Well, this is what John should do.
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Clark, can you step aside?
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We need to talk.
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First step, ask him to step aside and let him know that you are going to talk to him.
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Second, hmm, some of our colleagues have noticed that she smell a little differently when you're in office.
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Tip number two, please
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Please do not mention who complained about him.
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It's not nice, it's not ethical.
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Just say, just make it vague, just say, some of us have noticed. So...
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Clark, some of us have noticed that you smell differently or you smell differently in office.
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Step number three, offer a solution.
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Perhaps you may want to use this perfume or this cologne, it's very new in the market and I'm sure you would love it.
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So offer a solution.
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Step number four, ask his thoughts.
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What do you think about it Clark?
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Now this entire conversation will help
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Clark give some time to understand what is happening.
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It will help him to be receptive rather defensive.
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Imagine if I step aside or if I tell about this in front of everybody.
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Clark you smell bad and I want you to change your perfume.
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Imagine how awkward or how bad it is for Clark.
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He will never face your colleagues again.
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Am I correct? right?
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So please be sensitive.
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Let me recap, ask him to step aside, tell the situation in a polite and diplomatic way,
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offer a solution and ask for his thought.
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Okay, so next time you have an awkward situation for a body order, you know exactly what to do.
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The next situation is quite common in a day -to -day office life.
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We encounter such situations quite often.
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What is it?
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Uncomfortable topics.
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You know and I know that there are some people who love to talk things with sexual references.
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Now that as a female makes me feel very uncomfortable
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And if you are such a person and if you are feeling uncomfortable with such topics, well this is what you should do.
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Ask the person to step aside and let the person know how uncomfortable you feel
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while he is talking something like that and ask him politely if he can avoid such topics.
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If you do not tell him how you feel, he will never know and he will repeat the mistakes.
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Also, that may make another lady feel uncomfortable.
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So men, do not talk about anything with sexual references or religion in your office.
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That may make a lot of people uncomfortable.
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And ladies, if you are feeling uncomfortable, it's best to let the other person know, politely but assertively.
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And the last one I have for you is, too close to be comfortable.
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Very rare,
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very seldom but it does happen that somebody may be standing very close to you and that makes you feel very uncomfortable.
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Maybe because your definition of space is different than his or her definition of space.
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And if someone is standing too close to you, which you think is not right, this is what you're supposed to do.
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Let me give you an example.
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I had my boss, or once I had my boss who was working on something
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and he didn't realise he was standing right behind me.
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So close that I could feel his breath on my neck.
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I felt awkward, I felt a little shocked.
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What did I do?
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I turned around and faced him and started a casual conversation.
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Hey how are you doing?
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How was your day so far?
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How was the meeting?
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That conversation while looking at his eyes, looking at him, facing him made him realize the distance, lack of distance between us.
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He himself stepped aside and we continued with the conversation.
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Yes, it may not be possible and it may sound a little rude to tell the person of, dude step aside you're too close to me.
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Perhaps this may help you.
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So next time if you have someone way too close to you or standing way too close to you,
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step aside, turn around, look straight in his eyes and start a normal conversation.
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This will help the other person realise the lack of distance between both of you.
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So next time if you are caught in an awkward situation, I hope you know exactly what to do.
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I really hope you found these tips useful.
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I will be back with a new session, until then stay healthy, have fun,
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be good but more importantly subscribe to our channel Skillopedia, place to learn skills for the real world.
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Thank you.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles is gebaseerd op de video “Dealing with awkward situations at workplace & their escape routes - Interpersonal & Soft Skills”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: situation, step, uncomfortable, awkward, Clark. Deze video bevat 16 zinnen en 1382 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 9:19. De spreker praat in een gelijkmatig tempo van ongeveer 148 woorden per minuut, prettig om te shadowen. 87% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is goed te volgen. 19 van de 16 zinnen zijn vragen, dus het is goede oefening voor vraagintonatie en korte antwoorden.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
15 woorden uit de video die het leren waard zijn, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| uncomfortable bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | ongemakkelijk |
| awkward bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈɔk.wɚd/ | onhandig |
| differently bijwoord | /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/ | verschillend, anders |
| topic zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | onderwerp, thema |
| colleague zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈkɒliːɡ/ | collega, medewerker |
| perfume zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈpɝfjuːm/ | parfum, aroma |
| skill zelfstandig naamwoord | /skɪl/ | bekwaamheid, vaardigheid |
| shake werkwoord | /ˈʃeɪk/ | schudden |
| react werkwoord | /ɹiːˈækt/ | reageren |
| distract werkwoord | /dɪˈstɹækt/ | afleiden |
| sensitive bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/ | gevoelig, prikkelbaar |
| shock zelfstandig naamwoord | /ʃɔk/ | schok, shock |
| defensive bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/ | defensief, beschermend |
| valid bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈvælɪd/ | geldig |
| explore werkwoord | /ɪkˈsploɹ/ | onderzoeken, bestuderen |
Phrasal verbs die je zult horen
| Woord | Betekenis |
|---|---|
| turn around werkwoord | omdraaien |
| go out werkwoord | naar buiten gaan |
Zinnen om te herhalen
Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:
- Even worse you don’t react at all.
- You know what I did?
- Guess how awkward it would have been for me?
- Don’t know what to do?
- How was your day so far?
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | has given · have noticed |
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | was given · be caught · are caught |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 16 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals don't, you're, didn't. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De “th”-klanken: breathe /bɹiːð/, ethical /ˈɛθɪkəl/
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: shake /ˈʃeɪk/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, shock /ʃɔk/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, diplomatic /ˌdɪpləˈmætɪk/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, supervisor /ˈsupɚˌvaɪzɚ/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: awkward /ˈɔk.wɚd/, colleague /ˈkɒliːɡ/, sensitive /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/, defensive /dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/, valid /ˈvælɪd/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, react /ɹiːˈækt/, distract /dɪˈstɹækt/, valid /ˈvælɪd/, actively /ˈæktɪvli/
- /g/ — een harde plofklank, geen Nederlandse “g”: colleague /ˈkɒliːɡ/, vague /veɪɡ/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Spreek zin voor zin na op normale snelheid en herhaal elke zin tot je ritme gelijk is aan dat van de spreker.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als uncomfortable, awkward, differently.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.