Shadowing Practice: Business English conversation | Sales meeting - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everyone.
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This is Andrew at Crown Academy of English.
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Today's video is an English speaking video.
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So, in this video, you will hear a business meeting between two native English speakers.
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So the first person is Mrs. Jones, who is American.
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And she works for a company called called Venus Systems.
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And she is the CEO, the Chief Executive Officer.
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And the second person is Mr Lewis, who is British.
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He works for ABC Solutions.
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And he is the Sales Director.
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The meeting is at Venus Systems New York office.
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And Mr Lewis Mr Lewis has a business proposal for Venus Systems.
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After the meeting, I explain some useful vocabulary.
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OK?
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So that is the context.
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Get ready.
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Here is the meeting.
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Good morning, Mr Lewis.
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Pleased to meet you.
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I'm Mrs Jones, CEO of Venus Systems.
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Please take a seat.
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Good morning, Mrs Jones.
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I'm pleased to meet you too.
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Thank you very much.
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Did you find us okay?
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Yes, thank you.
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The map and directions you sent me were a big help.
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That's good to know.
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Did you have any trouble finding a parking space?
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No, it was fine.
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By the way, I really like your offices.
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What an amazing view.
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Yes, I never get tired of that view.
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It's one of the advantages of working on the 50th floor.
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Have you been to New York before?
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No, this was my first visit.
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It's incredible how big everything is.
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I know what you mean.
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I've lived here for five years and I still feel very small.
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Well, thank you very much for agreeing to meet me today.
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You're welcome.
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I have read the email you sent us, so you would like us to sell your products in the USA.
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Please tell me a bit more about your company.
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ABC Solutions is a British software company founded in 2010.
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Our head office is in London and we have a second sales office in Manchester, in the north of England.
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So you have two offices.
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How many employees do you have in total?
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We currently have 143 employees across both offices and we expect that to grow to 160 before the end of the year.
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It sounds like you're growing very quickly.
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What positions are you recruiting for?
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Those new positions are in sales, IT development and tech support.
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Tell me briefly about your company's products.
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We develop and sell accounting software to small businesses.
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The product, which is called ABC Accounts, tracks expenses, sends invoices, manages income,
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generates balance and income statements, and other reports.
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And how can Venus Systems help?
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We would like Venus Systems to sell our software in the USA.
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We understand that you already sell networking products and services to small businesses.
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We believe your clients would also be interested in our products.
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I see you've done your research.
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It's true that we have a lot of existing clients who could be interested in some accounting software.
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I would like to schedule another meeting with you, Mr Lewis, to discuss this in more detail.
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In fact, this will probably need several meetings.
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How long are you in New York for?
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I'm here for at least a week, although I could extend my stay if necessary.
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How about tomorrow morning at 10am?
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Yes, that's fine for me.
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What would you like to discuss?
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I'd particularly like to discuss prices, payment terms, technical support and training.
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That's fine.
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I agree that we'll probably need several meetings to discuss all that.
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Let's have the first meeting tomorrow and then we can play it by ear after that.
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Good idea.
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Well, thank you very much for your time, Mrs Jones.
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I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
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Well, thank you for coming all the way from London.
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I'll see you tomorrow.
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Goodbye.
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Goodbye.
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OK, now let's look at some vocabulary.
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So Mr Lewis says, those new positions are in sales, IT development and tech support.
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So IT, what does this mean?
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Well, it is in fact an abbreviation and it means information technology.
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IT is information technology and it simply means it's the field of computing.
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So the subject of computing.
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Example.
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We can say I work in IT.
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So this means I work in the computing department or I work in the field of IT.
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My job is in computers.
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Another example.
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Mark is studying IT at university.
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OK?
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So IT development here.
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This in fact means computer development, which means computer programming.
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So they were recruiting some computer programmers.
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Tech support.
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Tech support.
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This is an abbreviation for technical support.
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And if you have a problem with a computer or some software,
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then you call tech support for help.
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So it's sometimes called a hotline or a helpline.
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Example.
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My computer won't start.
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I'm going to call tech support.
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Okay?
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Another word was said by Mrs. Jones.
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So she said, I would like to schedule another meeting with you, Mr. Lewis.
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Schedule.
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And in fact, this has two different types of pronunciation.
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and this is the American pronunciation.
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Schedule, schedule.
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Okay?
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But there is also a British English pronunciation.
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Schedule, schedule.
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Okay?
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So, here we are using it as a verb. To schedule.
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And it means to organize the date and time of an event or appointment.
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Let's schedule the interview for next week.
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And schedule can also be a noun.
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And it means your diary or your availability.
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The manager says, let's have a meeting.
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When are you available?
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And Mark replies, I will check my schedule and call you.
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Okay, so this was the British English pronunciation.
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I will check my schedule and call you.
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And with the American pronunciation, Mark would say I will check my schedule and call you.
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Okay?
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And finally, play it by ear.
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Let's have the first meeting next Tuesday And then we can play it by ear after that.
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So, play it by ear is an idiom.
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It's an expression.
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So, it's not a literal meaning.
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And the real meaning is to decide how to manage a situation as it develops.
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So in other words, we are flexible.
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We are not following a strict plan.
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Let me give you a better example.
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The context is Jane and Mark are going to the cinema.
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Before the film, they have this conversation.
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Mark asks, would you like to go for a meal after the film?
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And Jane replies, I don't know.
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Let's watch the film and then play it by ear.
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So Jane is saying, let's not follow a strict plan.
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Let's not decide now.
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We will decide later.
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Ok?
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So play it by ear.
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And the origin and literal meaning of play it by ear, well it comes from music.
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So to play a musical composition without reading the music.
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So without reading the music.
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If someone plays the piano or the violin without reading music,
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then they are playing it by ear.
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Okay?
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So that's the end of the video.
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I hope it was useful.
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Here are some other videos which you might be interested in.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 156 sentences and 1177 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:30. The speaker talks slowly, about 94 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
- goodbye /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ — Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.
- strict /stɹɪkt/ (adjective) — Strained; drawn close; tight.
- recruit /ɹɪˈkɹut/ (verb) — To enroll or enlist new members or potential employees on behalf of an employer, organization, sports team, the military, etc.
- vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ (noun) — A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
- literal /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/ (adjective) — Exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation; according to the letter; not figurative or metaphorical; following the letter or exact words; not…
- meal /ˈmiːl/ (noun) — Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
- proposal /pɹəˈpoʊzəl/ (noun) — A scheme or design.
- extend /ɛkˈstɛnd/ (verb) — To increase in extent.
- composition /ˌkɑm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/ (noun) — The act of putting together; assembly.
- piano /piˈænɪː/ (noun) — A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers…
- expense /ɪkˈspɛns/ (noun) — A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds.
- briefly /ˈbɹiːfli/ (adverb) — In a brief manner, summarily.
- generate /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/ (verb) — To bring into being; give rise to.
- cinema /ˈsɪn.ə.mə/ (noun) — A movie theatre, a movie house.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- work in (verb) — To find time or space for, amid other things.
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- go for (verb) — To try for, to attempt to reach.
- have in (verb) — To allow in; grant permission or admittance to; invite in or over; admit.
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
- look forward to (verb) — To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
- work on (verb) — To apply mental or physical effort to (something) in order to shape, form, improve, investigate, solve it, etc.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, composition /ˌkɑm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/, abbreviation /əˌbɹi.viˈeɪ.ʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, composition /ˌkɑm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/, availability /əˌveɪ.ləˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/, abbreviation /əˌbɹi.viˈeɪ.ʃn̩/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like pronunciation, goodbye, strict.
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 you been · I've lived · have read |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is called · was said |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | product, which is · development, which means |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will hear · will probably need · we'll probably need |
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.