Shadowing Practice: Emma Watson Reveals the Best Advice That Changed Her Life - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
C1
I know it's a bit hot,
253 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
I know it's a bit hot,
2
but I've got a couple of questions.
3
Yeah, do it.
4
I want to end on.
5
We end on with every episode.
6
Yes.
7
These are your final five.
8
Okay.
9
They have to be answering one word to one sentence maximum,
10
but I will probably ignore that rule, as I always do.
11
Amazing.
12
So question number one is,
13
we ask these to everyone who's ever been on the show,
14
what is the best advice you've ever heard or received?
15
I'm going to cheat slightly, if you'll allow it.
16
Yeah.
17
I read Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Marie Brown.
18
It was given to me as a gift by my friend Anne-Marie for my 30th birthday.
19
And I think that being a good,
20
pious, Protestant English girl, I really believed that if I worked hard enough
21
and if I was kind of saintly enough that someone would see my good deeds and all of my hard work and,
22
like, give me the sticker,
23
you know, give me the star.
24
And so a kind of martyrdom was part of my,
25
sort of, I understood was important in my,
26
and I think reading her book and reading about pleasure activism,
27
which is sort of the idea that like,
28
anything that you want to sustain,
29
e.g. justice, e.g. you need it to be easy and you need it to be pleasurable in a way,
30
because that's what's going to mean that you'll be able to do it for a long time.
31
Part of my burnout was that I wasn't prioritizing pleasure
32
and joy as kind of like underpinning for even some of the harder,
33
more somber, cerebral things that I was doing.
34
And I think that changed my life.
35
And I think we also have a model,
36
particularly within activism and lots of spaces,
37
that like this kind of sole, individual, charismatic leader.
38
And I like you, you know,
39
my hero is always Martin Luther King and Gandhi,
40
and you just saw this sort of like solitary person
41
that was doing that and i think if i could go back and do anything differently it would be
42
that when i embarked on some of the public activism
43
that i did i wouldn't go in the way i did i would go in with what i have now
44
which is not just like an activist community like i have friends who can give me feedback
45
and who i can talk to and who i feel that i'm not doing the work alone,
46
solo, however heroic that might look.
47
Yeah, I guess heroism and martyrdom,
48
the way that it was looked,
49
maybe I just don't believe that's how we'll get the job done anymore.
50
Anything good will get done.
51
So I think that book and I think that idea,
52
that revolutionized my approach.
53
I love that.
54
Yeah, that's a great answer.
55
It's beautiful.
56
I want to read that book now.
57
Yeah, you should have her on the podcast.
58
Yeah, absolutely.
59
Question number two, what is the worst advice you've ever heard or received?
60
Oh, so much.
61
How long have you got?
62
God, mostly just like, I think a lot of stuff around toughen up,
63
bottle it up, deal with that later.
64
You know, just like subtle versions of like,
65
well, maybe tell the truth,
66
but just not all of it.
67
Just maybe like, maybe just like tell like a little bit of it,
68
but not like the whole thing, you know?
69
Because like the truth is,
70
the problem with like telling three quarters of the truth is that then you're sort of in this like constant
71
peeling and unpeeling of yourself where you sort of like,
72
you're sort of trying to do it,
73
but you're not quite doing it.
74
And I don't know, I think a lot of advice around that.
75
Also, anyone that tells you not to do what you love,
76
terrible advice
77
doing what you love will lead you where you need to go even if you can't see it at the time yeah
78
yeah terrible
79
terrible beauty tips
80
and advice I've been given around like I don't know just
81
like oh god again like back to our previous conversation all the ridiculous things
82
that you are encouraged to try and do as a woman like fake tan
83
and and i mean it's hilarious i actually right now i i it might be like well covered up
84
but i accidentally have a bottle of fake tan in my bathroom
85
and in my jet lag state last night i thought i was putting moisturizer on
86
but now i have like these like horrific uh fake tan marks on my legs and feet
87
I guess I'm just thinking about just like, oh my God.
88
And recently I was like,
89
okay, I want to get my teeth whitened.
90
And I looked like Ross from Friends when he'd had that awful fake tanning accident because they were just way too white.
91
And then I had to spend,
92
go back for two other visits to get the dentist to put my teeth back to my normal teeth.
93
So I guess I was just laughing,
94
thinking about like worse advice is just like don't ever listen to beauty technicians
95
or anyone advising you to do anything weird to your body
96
face appearance just just don't don't listen don't don't take the bait just don't do it
97
so good question number three how are you how are you now going to choose
98
work projects or activism differently does the person that's asking me to do something with them
99
can they confidently look at me and say that they care about me far more than what we're producing?
100
And do I care about them that way?
101
One of my favourite people I worked with,
102
Steve Chbosky, I remember him leaving what was a very productive rehearsal or script meeting with Logan Lerman,
103
Ezra Miller and I, and he was like,
104
I need to go and be with my wife now.
105
And we were like, I don't think I've ever heard.
106
I mean, at that point,
107
I certainly hadn't ever heard a director in my career say they needed to leave for a personal reason
108
or for a personal relationship.
109
But I worked far harder for Steve than I worked for any other director
110
because I think I was able to give a far more vulnerable performance in
111
that film because I felt that he really cared about me beyond the product of the film.
112
And I want to work with people like that,
113
for whom the process is as important as the outcome.
114
And the people that are part of it are more important than whatever the outcome is.
115
I think this is a really difficult thing that I see everywhere in the world right now,
116
is that we treat objects and things like they're sacred.
117
And we don't treat people like they're the sacred thing.
118
And that switch, yeah, I think it causes a lot of pain.
119
Emma, something that you told me when we were speaking on the phone was
120
that you've been working with the young people on helping them with some of the challenges
121
that you've faced in your own career, in your own life.
122
Yeah.
123
And I remember being so touched by that.
124
I wanted to learn more and for you to share it because I just think it's really special.
125
And I was sharing it with some of my team before you arrived and everyone was quite drawn to it.
126
So...
127
As a young person, as I basically shared over however long it's been that we've been speaking,
128
I just really needed to be having more conversations with people my own age and people that were older than me.
129
I feel like I tried to navigate so many problems on my own
130
and I just didn't know who to really speak to.
131
And I was speaking to such a narrow group of people about what I was trying to navigate
132
and I think that working with young people and giving them each other and also the space,
133
the reason, the excuses to talk about the things
134
that we don't talk about or create spaces for has been the most gratifying,
135
the most purposeful and of service I've felt in a long time
136
because it turns out pretty often that a lot of the things that we're struggling with,
137
other people are struggling with as well.
138
And so in a way,
139
going back around and trying to put out into the world a lot of the things
140
that I knew I needed as a young person and didn't get,
141
it's been the best, most,
142
the best, most gratifying thing.
143
And I feel really lucky to be in a position and in a place where I can say a no,
144
Like I've kind of done this treacherous journey and I think
145
that I might have some ideas about what might be needed for someone to come out the other side of that safely.
146
So it feels good to be of use.
147
Yeah, I love that.
148
Fifth question we ask is to every guest who's ever been on the show.
149
If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow,
150
what would it be?
151
Oh, wow.
152
One law.
153
Okay, there's a couple of contenders.
154
I'm gonna run you through one.
155
One is gonna be- We'll vote on them.
156
Okay, great.
157
Perfect.
158
One would be around the importance of telling the truth
159
or like speaking your truth or just because I feel like
160
so much chaos is caused by people not being sure whether or not they should or it's a good idea to or...
161
I think that would be a pretty amazing one.
162
Another contender, I mean, the obvious one is treat other people as you would like to be treated.
163
That would obviously solve a lot of problems as well.
164
I like that one you gave.
165
The last one?
166
Yeah, the first one.
167
Oh, the first one.
168
Yeah, the truth.
169
Yeah.
170
I guess it took me a long time and probably through doing my yoga teacher training,
171
speaking truth with kindness is one of the first Niyamas, right?
172
Mm-hmm.
173
Very disappointed.
174
I can't remember what the word is in… Not sattva?
175
Maybe, yeah.
176
Speaking the truth with kindness.
177
Yeah, trying to think of the sattva.
178
There's an amazing quote, which actually is given to me recently by a friend,
179
which is like, the truth without kindness is brutality,
180
and kindness without truth is manipulation.
181
Say that again.
182
Truth without kindness is brutality,
183
and kindness without truth is manipulation.
184
And so when I say,
185
tell your truth, I don't mean going around like,
186
just being awful to everyone.
187
I mean, like, telling the microscopic truth and,
188
like, having those, being willing to have a tolerance for those conversations.
189
One of my favorite metaphors,
190
I actually wrote about this recently for being in a relationship with anyone,
191
is, like, you're in, it's,
192
in a way, it's a dance, it's a fight.
193
Like, I think about boxing in the sense of,
194
like, who is going to go down to the mat with you and,
195
like, not tap out?
196
Because being honest about what's really going on is uncomfortable and it's risky.
197
As we talked about earlier,
198
you risk every time you tell the truth of maybe losing someone
199
that you love because you don't know how they're going to respond to whatever your truth is.
200
But I think to live that way creates the intimacy
201
and connection that I think we long for and also sets people free in a way,
202
you and them.
203
Truth, yeah, truth with kindness.
204
I think that's going to have to be my choice,
205
my factor of deduction.
206
Yeah, the Bhagavad Gita gives four principles for truth and kindness.
207
The first is what you speak should be truthful.
208
Yes.
209
The second is it should be beneficial to all.
210
The third is it shouldn't agitate the minds of others.
211
Wow.
212
And the fourth is it should be aligned with eternal wisdom and timeless wisdom.
213
that's beautiful and perfect because yeah i think there's truths
214
which are if they're not beneficial that do just agitate i think that's
215
and it's not about not saying it it's the idea
216
that you've thought so much about how you say it yes it's not
217
that you've sanitized it
218
because that's the modern day version the gita is not telling you to sanitize
219
or be silent right it's telling you to filter your thought to make sure
220
that the way you say it is digestible for everyone who's going to hear it.
221
And therefore it actually has transformative power.
222
It's not that it's not provocative or that it doesn't.
223
It's just that you're not saying it in a way to trigger or get a reaction.
224
You're saying it in a way that hits someone like an arrow of truth.
225
It goes, I have to change because that person has been so mindful of how they spoke.
226
Oh my God, that's incredible that's like that's everything i've just been trying to say about yeah
227
if if we god if everyone was mindful enough about how they spoke their truth
228
that it could just go straight to the heart
229
oh yeah um rather than hit the ego along the way yeah that's why we can't talk
230
because everything we say triggers someone's mind or their ego
231
and then everything we say does it back and
232
so now we're having a mind and ego debate
233
which isn't the one that goes all the way to tap you know in your we're
234
so focused on defending whatever the thing is that we feel
235
that we need to defend
236
that we just can't can't let no you can't hit the heart um
237
so good yeah
238
so good emma thank you for thank you the longest recorded
239
conversation in on purpose history we had to change the cards
240
the cameras we had to like and we haven't paused just
241
so everyone knows just everyone knows me and emma have not moved
242
so we didn't take a break there was no bathroom break
243
no there was no break of whatever kind there was no
244
coffee break we have sat in these seats for the entire duration
245
that you watch this show or listen to it and
246
so emma you have the uh you know to your competitive
247
and winning spirit you have the uh award for longest ever
248
podcast recording i i i don't know whether to be mortified
249
or like seriously embarrassed or uh
250
or like think feel like this is some kind of victory
251
of some kind i guess you sat here for like
252
and not moved for more than three hours really yeah surely
253
it's amazing um that's amazing well thank you for thank you so much this has been such an amazing conversation
Download App
AI scoring for every sentence you speak
TRENDING
Popular
Context & Background
In this enlightening episode, actress and activist Emma Watson shares profound insights from her life experiences. She discusses the journey that led her to redefine personal success and the value of community in activism. Watson emphasizes the importance of integrating joy and pleasure into hard work, moving away from a mindset that equates heroism with individual sacrifice. This perspective allows for a more sustainable approach to pursuing justice and making a positive impact. Her reflections can inspire learners not only in English but also in their approach to collaboration and personal well-being.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “I think that…” - A phrase useful for expressing opinions.
- “If I could go back…” - This phrase helps when discussing regrets or changes one would make.
- “I wouldn’t go in the way I did…” - Use this structure to convey how you might approach situations differently.
- “Part of my burnout was…” - Effective for discussing personal challenges or obstacles.
- “I have friends who can give me feedback…” - A great way to highlight the importance of social support.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively improve your English pronunciation and speaking skills through shadowing, follow this structured approach using content from Emma Watson's dialogue:
- Listen Carefully: Begin by watching the video. Pay close attention to Emma’s intonation and rhythm as she speaks.
- Repeat Out Loud: Play sections of the video and repeat what Emma says. Focus on mimicking her pronunciation and emotion. Tools like shadowspeak can be beneficial here.
- Pause and Practice: Use the pause feature to break down complex phrases. Repeat each phrase multiple times before moving on.
- Notice the Context: Understand the meaning behind the phrases. This will help you use them effectively in real-life conversations.
- Record Yourself: Speak along with the video and record your voice. Compare your pronunciation with Emma’s to identify areas for improvement.
- Incorporate Feedback: Share your recordings with friends or language partners who can provide constructive feedback.
By utilizing resources such as learn English with YouTube and engaging in targeted shadowing exercises, you can significantly enhance your spoken English. This innovative approach allows you not only to practice speaking but also to gain insights and wisdom from influential figures like Emma Watson.
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.
☕ Buy us a coffee
ShadowingEnglish remains 100% free thanks to your support. Server and AI costs are high — your coffee keeps us going! 🙏