Shadowing Practice: How He 100X’d His YouTube Views Without Quitting His Job - Learn English Speaking with Video
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One of my clients is a lovely chap from Ireland called Kian,
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and he went from getting 100 to 200 views average on his videos to now getting regularly over 20,000 views per video.
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So he's more than 100x'd his views.
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He did this without quitting his job.
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He did this without going all in on YouTube.
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In fact, he does this all within four hours a week.
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So when he was getting 200 views, he was spending four hours a week on his channel.
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And now, with 20,000 views, he's also spending four hours a week on his channel.
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And so within those four hours, something has changed.
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He's either got better at something or he's doing something different.
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And I want to share with you exactly what that is and exactly what his routine is, as well as how he's grown as a creator to start hitting those awesome numbers.
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So first up, let's hear exactly what Kian was doing wrong whilst he was hitting 200 views per video.
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First few videos, yeah, I just sort of had the script all written down up on the left hand side
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and then my phone just recording so i was just looking i'd be like yeah
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and then they'd be looking at this way
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and then you look up at the end of each sentence
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and i was like yeah no nobody's gonna notice that are they
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and then after a few videos people were saying yeah it's kind of obvious the fact
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that you're reading makes it more robotic and less authentic less personal
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and then each thumbnail was the same just kept using the same picture
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and different different thumbnail texts and even they were too long and then the editing was a disaster.
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It was just frustrating.
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I'd do editing for a couple of hours and then I'd be like, oh I'm tired of this.
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And then also the scripting was challenging.
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I was trying to just think of it from an academic point of view
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or the actual facts and getting too much into the details and less about what people actually want to hear.
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And so Kian was in a pretty typical position at this point.
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He had a lot of things that he was doing wrong on his channel
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but as a you don't know what you are doing wrong.
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You can't really see the forest from the trees.
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And you might think that something's good when it's not.
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And you might be focusing on completely the wrong thing.
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And I designed the program that Kian joined in a way that eliminates this overwhelm by just being relentlessly step by step.
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And so the first thing he worked on was his speaking.
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And so through the speaking exercises he was given, he was able to learn to maintain eye contact with the camera, to speak more coherently and fluently, to be more engaging in his camera presence.
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And his speaking came a long way.
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The next thing was to improve his ideas and his packaging, the actual videos he was going to make.
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We saw on his channel that his thumbnails were pretty poorly designed, as well as his titles were often listicles, five ways to do this, five other things to do that.
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And what we found on his channel was that when he made videos that were about one singular thing,
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this thing or this decision or if I had this much money I would do this, his videos started performing a lot better.
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His channel was a niche within a niche so it was personal finance
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but for people in Ireland which is a pretty small country
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and so we looked to maximize the appeal to Irish people
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and Kian did something pretty genius
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which was just putting the Irish flag in his thumbnails as well as having Ireland in almost every single title.
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This helped him fully occupy a gap
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and become a big fish in a small pond rather than being a small fish in a gigantic pond.
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And he quickly realized that it was a lot more attainable
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and achievable to be the best personal finance creator in Ireland rather than the best personal finance creator in the world, at least at this stage.
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Finally, Kian made the time that he was spending scripting
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and planning his videos much more effectively by implementing proven frameworks making the intros sharper
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so you've got your confirmation context curiosity and credibility
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so yeah get them out in the first 30 seconds
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and instead of just talking about facts about mortgages i'll be
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like oh this is peter he applied for a mortgage he had these challenges he did this better
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and then the final solution was he got a mortgage
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so that's something people could identify with more like i have the knowledge
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but that's not really why i'm getting more views it's about the story
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and about the personal impact of it and when I bring myself into it as well, like some personal stories about myself, they land quite well as well.
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So by combining these things of having a psychologically proven intro, using stories and characters throughout as well as analogies and metaphors,
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Kian is able to hook his audience in and get them watching every video.
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So Kian's still having a full-time job, I asked him how does he actually fit this into his week?
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Where do these these four hours exist?
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Start at like Sunday evening, that's when I start thinking about the next video.
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So typically I have maybe 10 or 12 different video ideas
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that I just collect and some of them drop off and some new ones I bring in.
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And then Monday, try and think of some general points and then yeah, just let them sit there.
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And then Tuesday and Wednesday, other ideas just come into my head, kind of like I could be out walking
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And then I gradually build the script over those few days and try to get three to five good points.
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And then, yeah, I suppose when it comes to Thursday, you want to get the script in good order.
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So I follow a lot of the points you have in your system.
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So you have the hook, then epiphany stage, then three to five points.
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So each point has to have a re-hook, then an illustration by way of example, story, metaphor, analogy, then make the point.
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So pull, paint, point, something like that over the course of three or four days.
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The ideas accumulate over the course of the week.
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Every Friday morning is just record.
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It's just the habit I'm in.
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10 a.m., just get on it.
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And then Saturday, I send it to my editor or Friday lunchtime, probably send it to the editor and then Sunday morning is
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when I post and then it comes back to the Sunday evening again for next week's video.
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Now to keep improving his content consistently within these set hours, Kian's mindset here was absolutely key.
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And when I asked him about that, he dropped some gold
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that I think is going to be super valuable for anyone looking to grow their YouTube channel and business right now.
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Comparing myself to the best is what showed me how far I need to improve.
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If you were really, really zooming in, yeah you're sort of rambling there that those 10 seconds is
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that really adding to the point you're doing ums
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and ahs there you're not really engaging with the camera here could you put in a little anecdote here
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if you really zoom in on every little bit you're just the overall quality just improves
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and that improves your retention which improves your your audience then like but You have to get into the details.
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You can't just oh that
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that felt really good oh I don't know why it's not getting views you have to get into the details
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and compare yourself with the best because the best are there because they get into all these details
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oh that's gold yeah that's
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so good I think a lot of people are scared of comparing themselves to top creators
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because it can also get you down right
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and that's why it's such a mindset thing of if that does get you down, then you won't do it.
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And you're just kind of going to do your own thing.
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It's always a habit that I've had as well, which is to, it's to reference, it's to use other creators who are doing really well as like a quality reference.
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And so to compare your videos to them with exactly what you're saying, a critical lens, but not a self-critical lens, a critical of your work lens,
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which is nothing to do with beating yourself up.
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It's just, oh let me just put my thumbnail side by side
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and is it as good as this like graphically is it
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as good idea wise is it as good message wise is
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it as good probably not how can I improve what are the differences
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and then view like intro wise okay what am I saying
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in my first minute am I just kind of rambling
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and going off topic let's compare
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that to a top creator whoa they're doing all of these things
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that maybe I don't understand yet but I can start maybe matching
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that rhythm and pace I can start matching some of
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that psychology and that's going to be the thing
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that i mean that's the thing that
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that brought you up to the level where you're at now
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it's sort of a a tweaking of all those things
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which create makes the whole tide rise i'm enjoying it
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and yeah i'm getting a building a profile for myself
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and yeah looking forward to the future
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and yeah what the next steps could hold for me like
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and try and build this into a company and hopefully this the sky's the limit maybe Thank you.
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Thank you.
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If you want to grow your YouTube channel and business, I'm opening up something very special and very exciting very soon.
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So join the waitlist in the description below.
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I won't say any more about that for now, but you're going to want to keep your eyes peeled.
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And if you want to sit alongside me and see my own three hour YouTube video creation routine, then you can watch this video next.
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I'll go through everything
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and show you how I make a YouTube video live from the ideation to the planning to the filming and the edit.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 126 sentences and 1774 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:45. The speaker talks fast, about 203 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| creator noun | /kɹiːˈeɪ̯təː/ | Something or someone which creates or makes something. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| script noun | /skɹɪpt/ | A writing; a written document. |
| mortgage noun | /ˈmoɹ.ɡɪd͡ʒ/ | A legal agreement in which a borrower pledges real property as collateral for a loan used to purchase or refinance that property. |
| hook noun | /hʊk/ | A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment. |
| edit verb | /ˈɛdɪt/ | To change a text, or a document. |
| lens noun | /lɛnz/ | An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it. |
| intro noun | /ˈɪntɹoʊ/ | An introduction. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| habit noun | /ˈhæb.ɪt/ | An action performed on a regular basis. |
| pond noun | /pɑnd/ | An inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is smaller than a lake. |
| mindset noun | /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ | A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one. |
| niche noun | /nɪt͡ʃ/ | A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. |
| zoom verb | /zuːm/ | To move fast with a humming noise. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| drop off verb | To fall asleep. |
| go off verb | To explode. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
| open up verb | To open. |
| zoom in on verb | To quickly focus on a particular subject or object. |
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 | has changed · I've had |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Ireland which is · well, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 33 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, thumbnail /ˈθʌm.neɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sharp /ʃɑɹp/, confirmation /ˌkɑn.fəɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/, illustration /ˌɪləsˈtɹeɪ̯ʃən/, retention /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/, ideation /ˌaɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: analogy /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/, psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/, confirmation /ˌkɑn.fəɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/
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 creator, compare, script.
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.