Shadowing Practice: Don't Take Things Personally I Robert Greene - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
One thing I want to do in this book, and I think it can really liberate you, is to not take anything personal.
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Now, I know that sounds like an ideal that's really difficult, because we're always taking something personal.
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If someone says something, we get in an argument, or they say something that we perceive as hostile, we assume that they're being personal,
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that they're attacking us, they're attacking us for who we are, and we really are upset about it.
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But nothing is really ever personal in the realm of social relations not nothing, rarely is it, so that when a person shows anger towards you or
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Don't Take Things Personally I Robert Greene”. This video has 5 sentences and 109 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:34. The speaker talks fast, about 192 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 10 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ideal adjective | /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| anger noun | /ˈæŋɡə/ | A strong and unpleasant feeling of displeasure, hostility, or antagonism, usually combined with an urge to yell, curse, damage or destroy things, or harm… |
| rarely adverb | /ˈɹɛəɹli/ | Not occurring at a regular interval; seldom; not often. |
| relation noun | /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ | The manner in which two things may be associated. |
| hostile adjective | /ˈhɑstəl/ | Not friendly; appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence or a desire to thwart and injure. |
| perceive verb | /pɚˈsiv/ | To become aware of, through the physical senses, to see; to understand. |
| liberate verb | /ˈlɪbəˌɹeɪt/ | Often followed by from: to allow or cause (someone or something) to be free; to set free, to release. |
| argument noun | /ˈɑɹɡjʊmənt/ | A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason. |
| upset verb | /ʌpˈsɛt/ | To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy. |
| assume verb | /əˈsjuːm/ | To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true, especially without proof. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 ideal, anger, rarely.
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.