Shadowing Practice: ARE YOU TALKING TOO MUCH? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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36 sentences
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1
How do you know you talk too much?
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So first thing is nonverbal cues.
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Someone is checking out if they are opening their mouth as if to say something.
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I call it the open fish.
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And that's a subtle cue that you talk too much.
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Do you think they're listening right now and think, fuck, that's me?
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Yes.
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And there was a recent study when they found that 95 % of people have worked with someone who talks too much.
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Well, I have a do you talk too much test.
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So there's five questions here, and if you answer more than three times, you're probably an overtalker.
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Yeah.
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Because my next question is like, which one's worse, overtalking or undertalking?
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Well, I have spent the last 20 years studying master conversationalists, and I found that it's the vehicle to get what you want.
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And I'm a recovering awkward person, and I really struggled with bad conversation for a long time.
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But I think the next generations will be talking to technology more than they talk to humans.
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And because we're having less conversations, one in six people worldwide are affected by loneliness.
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And I now more than ever am sending nine -minute voice notes to my friends.
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But a voice note, it's the most selfish form of conversation.
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But in this age of technological change, the people who are masterful at conversation are going to have an advantage.
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But there's a blueprint to good conversation.
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And once you know the blueprint, it becomes easier.
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For example, we devised three different speed networking experiments with 500 speed networkers.
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And the best conversation starter was actually what was the highlight of your day?
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Because the moment we asked, how are you?
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What do you do?
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They ran out of things to talk about.
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But the worst question in the history of conversations is, but I also have a formula to immediately bypass that small time.
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Also a secret door into charisma.
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But also there are five archetypes.
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And this is going to impact getting our promotion and finding your soulmate.
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We're going to go through all of them.
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But what are the ways to get out of a bad conversation without offending people?
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Well, we tend to focus a lot on the first impression.
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But we don't really think about the end.
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But it's all really important.
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And I discovered this framework. So.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “ARE YOU TALKING TOO MUCH?”. This video has 36 sentences and 397 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:42. The speaker talks fast, about 234 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 7 of its 36 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| formula noun | /ˈfɔː.mjʊ.lə/ | Any mathematical rule expressed symbolically. |
| promotion noun | /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/ | An advancement in rank or position. |
| discover verb | /dɪˈskʌvə/ | To find or learn something for the first time. |
| experiment noun | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of… |
| impression noun | /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/ | The indentation or depression made by the pressure of one object on or into another. |
| awkward adjective | /ˈɔk.wɚd/ | Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments. |
| framework noun | /ˈfɹeɪm.wɜːk/ | A support structure comprising joined parts or conglomerated particles and intervening open spaces of similar or larger size. |
| recover verb | /ɹɪˈkʌvɚ/ | To get back, to regain (a physical thing; in astronomy and navigation, sight of a thing or a signal). |
| highlight verb | /ˈhaɪˌlaɪt/ | To make prominent; emphasize. |
| selfish adjective | /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/ | Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making. |
| subtle adjective | /ˈsʌtəl/ | Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive. |
| technological adjective | /ˌtɛk.nəˈlɑ.dʒɪ.kəl/ | Of, relating to, or involving technology, especially modern scientific technology. |
| starter noun | /ˈstɑɹ.tɚ/ | Someone who starts, or who starts something. |
| bypass noun | /ˈbaɪpæs/ | A road that passes around something, such as a residential area or business district. |
| cue noun | /kju/ | An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How do you know you talk too much?
- Because my next question is like, which one's worse, overtalking or undertalking?
- Because the moment we asked, how are you?
- What do you do?
- We're going to go through all of them.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have worked · have spent |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who talks · people who are |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: promotion /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/, impression /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/, selfish /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/, conversationalist /ˌkɑːnvɚˈseɪʃənəlɪst/
- Long words — get the stress right: experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, technological /ˌtɛk.nəˈlɑ.dʒɪ.kəl/, conversationalist /ˌkɑːnvɚˈseɪʃənəlɪst/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like formula, promotion, discover.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.