Shadowing Practice: Every Laws of Power Explained in 7 Minutes - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
Never outshine the master.
142 sentences
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Never outshine the master.
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Make the people above you feel comfortably superior.
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When you outshine your masters and bosses, you will inspire fear and insecurity and they will want to punish you.
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Don't put too much trust in friends.
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Learn to use your enemies.
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Be wary of friends, they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy.
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They also become spoiled and tyrannical.
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But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend because he has more to prove.
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Conceal your intentions.
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Never let people know your true intentions.
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If they don't know what you are up to, they can't defend from it.
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Say less than necessary.
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Powerful people impress and intimidate by talking little.
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You don't learn anything new by talking and the more you speak, the higher the chances you'll say something foolish.
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So much depends on your reputation.
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Guard it with your life.
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Reputation is the cornerstone of power.
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Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win.
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Once it slips, however, you are vulnerable and will be attacked.
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Horde attention at all costs.
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Everything is judged by its appearance.
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What is unseen counts for nothing.
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Never let yourself get lost in the crowd then, or buried in oblivion.
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Let others do the work, but always take the credit.
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At work, task your underlings and present the results to your superiors as if they were yours.
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Make other people come to you.
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Use bait if necessary.
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When you make the others act, you're in control.
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Let them come to you.
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Let them abandon their own plans and then attack.
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Win through actions, never through argument.
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Actions speak louder than words.
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Infection.
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Avoid the unhappy and unlucky.
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Emotional states are contagious, be they positive or negative.
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Learn to keep people dependent on you.
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Be the only one who can do what you do or see yourself replaced in fear sooner or later.
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Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victims.
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Be generous and honest once and manipulate them once their guard is down.
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One good act of honesty can cover a dozen dishonest ones.
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Appeal to self-interest, never to mercy or gratitude.
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Don't get people to do things for you by reminding them of what you've done for them in the past.
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Pose as a friend, work as a spy.
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Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead.
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Crush your enemy totally, such as Candidate launches a propaganda campaign highlighting perceived weaknesses and scandals related to another candidate,
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damaging their reputation in the eyes of the public.
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Use absence to increase respect and honor.
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Too much of anything will decrease your value.
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Keep others in suspended terror.
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Cultivate an air of unpredictability.
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Your unpredictability will keep others off balance, and if you take it to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.
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Do not build fortresses.
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Isolation is dangerous.
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A fortress might seem the safest option, but the opposite is true.
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Know who you're dealing with.
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Do not offend the wrong person.
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Choose your victims and opponents carefully then and never offend or deceive the wrong one.
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Don't commit to anyone.
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By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others.
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Play a sucker to catch a sucker.
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Seem dumber than your mark.
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Make your victims feel like they are smarter than you are.
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They will feel better around you.
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They will never suspect you are up to mischief and they will keep their guard down.
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Use the surrender tactic.
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Transform weakness into power.
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Never fight just for honor's sake when you know you'll be beaten.
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Concentrate your forces.
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Focus on one goal.
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Too many goals cause conflict.
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Play the perfect courtier.
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The perfect courtier has mastered the art of indirection.
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He flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner.
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Recreate yourself.
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Don't accept the identity the people around you choose for you.
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Keep your hands clean.
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Maintain a spotless appearance and never allow yourself to be mired by mistakes or scandals.
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Play on people's need to create a cult-like following.
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People want to believe in something.
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Be that person who gives them something to believe in, offers them a cause, a new faith.
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Enter action with boldness.
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Everyone admires the bold, nobody likes the timid.
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Plan all the way to the end.
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The end is all that matters.
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Be sure to plan all the way until you reach your desired outcome.
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Make your accomplishments seem effortless.
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Act effortlessly as if you could do much more, and people will be in awe of your natural talent.
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Control the options, get others to play with the cards you deal.
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The best deception is in making people feel like it was their choice.
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Play to people's fantasies, the truth is often avoided, because it is ugly and unpleasant.
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Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment.
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Discover each man's thumbscrew.
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Everyone has a button and a hidden weakness that you can use to your advantage advantage.
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Be royal in your own fashion.
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Act like a king to be treated like one.
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Act like you want to be treated and eventually people will come to treat you the way you want.
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Master the art of timing.
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Never seem in a hurry as it communicates you're at the mercy of events and forces outside of yourself.
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Disdain things you cannot have, ignoring is the best revenge.
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By acknowledging the problem, you make it stronger by giving it attention and credibility.
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Create compelling spectacles.
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Dashy imagery and symbolic gestures create an aura of power.
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Those around you will be drawn and distracted by your flashy spectacles and not notice what you're really up to.
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Think as you like but behave like others.
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If you flaunt your ways of going against the crowd, people will feel you look down on them and you're an attention seeker.
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They will punish you for trying to make them feel like sheep.
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Stir up waters to catch fish.
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Make your enemy angry and worked up as you always maintain your cool.
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It's easier to induce people into mistakes when they're angry and emotional.
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Despise the free lunch.
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What is offered for free is dangerous.
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It usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation.
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What has worth is worth paying for.
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By paying your own way, you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit.
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Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes.
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Don't follow in the footsteps of great leaders and don't follow their path.
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Build your name and identity by changing instead.
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Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.
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The source of your problems can often traced back to a single strong person.
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If you allow these people the freedom to move, they will keep stirring trouble and possibly rally the crowd against you.
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Do not let those people time pester, but strike them hard at once, the sheep will scatter after them.
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Work on the hearts and minds of others.
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Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you.
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You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction.
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A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn.
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Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect.
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Mirror your enemies, do what they do, and they won't be able to figure out your strategy.
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You can make them angry and make them overreact with the mirror effect, or you can dupe them into believing you share their values.
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Preach the need for change, but never reform it once.
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When you're new to power then, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things, and if change is needed, do it slowly.
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Make it feel like a gentle improvement over the past.
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Never appear too perfect.
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Appearing better than others is dangerous, and the most dangerous is appearing perfect.
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It creates envy that will create silent enemies.
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Don't go past the mark you aimed for.
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Learn when to stop.
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Learn when to stop.
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When we're riding the high wave of victory, arrogance, and overconfidence can easily push us past the goal we had settled for.
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And when you go too far, you make more enemies than you can defeat.
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Assume formlessness.
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Never bet on stability and lasting order.
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Everything changes.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video on the laws of power provides a dynamic context for English learners to practice their speaking skills. Engaging with the content allows you to improve English pronunciation while exploring powerful concepts in leadership and influence. These topics are not only fascinating but also relevant, making your language practice more engaging and effective. By mimicking the speaker's delivery, you utilize the shadowing technique, which helps internalize sentence rhythm and intonation. This method not only enhances your speaking abilities but also prepares you for situations like IELTS speaking practice, where clarity and confidence are crucial.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
As you practice with this video, pay attention to the following key structures that enhance your understanding of English grammar and expressions:
- Imperative Verbs: Many phrases include commands like "Never outshine the master" and "Say less than necessary." These structures teach you how to use imperatives effectively to convey strong advice or instructions.
- Conditional Statements: The speaker occasionally uses conditional phrases, such as “If they don’t know what you are up to, they can’t defend from it.” Recognizing these will help you discuss hypothetical situations in English.
- Parallel Structures: The repetition seen in phrases like "Let others do the work, but always take the credit" emphasizes clarity and underscores the speaker’s points. Practicing these examples can make your speech more impactful and structured.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While practicing your speaking skills, be mindful of specific pronunciation challenges highlighted in the video. Some tricky words and phrases include:
- “Conceal” and “intentions” – Be sure to focus on the vowel sounds, ensuring clarity when pronouncing these words.
- “Depend” – The final sound can be tricky; it often gets softened. Practice stressing the last syllable to enhance your articulation.
- “Emotional” – This word has multiple syllables that are easy to rush through. Practice isolating each syllable to ensure you pronounce it distinctly.
By using the shadowspeak method, you can effectively practice these challenging pronunciations while absorbing the overall message of the content. Embracing this approach will enrich your English learning journey and improve your speaking proficiency.
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.
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