Shadowing Practice: How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking | Danish Dhamani | TEDxKids@SMU - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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My name is Danish, and my full-time job is to count people's ums and uhs and like.
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My name is Danish, and my full-time job is to count people's ums and uhs and like.
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It all started at my first day of school,
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after my family moved from Pakistan to Tanzania.
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I was busy sketching my dream cars in my notebook,
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and all of a sudden I hear a voice in my direction, the teacher.
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Danish, can you please rise up and introduce yourself?
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She had put me on the spot.
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I was in this foreign land,
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30 pairs of eyes staring at me.
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How would you feel when a teacher puts you on the spot in this kind of situation?
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My mind went blank.
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My heart started racing.
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I kept quiet.
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I started hearing giggles in the classroom.
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And then tears ran down my cheek.
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That was the first time I felt the fear of speaking in front of others.
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The first time I felt the fear of public speaking.
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Fast forward a few years,
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I was at college here in America.
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That fear still stuck with me.
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It was as though it was part of my soul.
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Now, when I was little,
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I had many other fears.
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I was afraid of the dark,
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the monsters under my bed,
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the cockroaches, and I don't mean the tiny cockroaches here,
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but the big flying cockroaches I had back home in Pakistan and Tanzania.
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But I outgrew these fears.
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I overcame them as I grew older.
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But public speaking?
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No way.
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I was still afraid of it.
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But I decided enough was enough.
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I decided to do something about about it,
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to take that step and find a solution.
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And so I went to the one place on the Internet where we all look for problems to our solution,
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to our problems, Google.
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I searched on Google how to overcome the fear of public speaking.
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The first link told me about the great things I could be if I overcame this fear.
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Sound like a leader.
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Get a great job.
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Share your ideas.
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Give a TED talk.
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Change the world.
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The second link showed me all the different ways I could overcome this fear.
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Hire a speech coach.
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Talk in front of the mirror.
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do online courses, attend public speaking clubs like Toastmasters.
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That's when I realized that I had it wrong all this time.
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I thought you were either born a public speaker or you're not.
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I was wrong.
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I realized that public speaking is actually a teachable skill.
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That means that if any one of you here wants to speak powerfully,
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like any of your famous public speakers, yes, you can.
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We all can.
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Now, some of these solutions work for me, others not so much.
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Like hiring a speech coach,
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that was outside of my student budget.
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But online courses, that's where I learned how to vary my tone up and down.
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How to talk really, really fast so that I could get someone's excited.
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Or to slow right down to get someone's attention.
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And I practiced.
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I practiced in front of the mirror.
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At least that's where I had one friend who thought I was good.
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As for the public speaking club, Toastmasters, that was fantastic.
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I got to go in front of others and I got feedback on what I did good and what I did bad.
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So I did all these things and I realized that first I was trapped in this cold,
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dark hole where the fear of public speaking haunted at me.
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It pulled me down.
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And over here was this promise of sunshine,
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of green pastures, no anxiety.
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But the path from here to here was all over the place.
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I had to do all these things.
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And I thought to myself,
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there had to be one simpler way.
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There had to be one way that I could go from here and leap to here.
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So, I went back to Google,
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the source of all wisdom,
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did some research, and I started learning and reading a lot about artificial intelligence,
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about these personal assistants we have in our pocket,
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like Siri, Alexa, who understand what we're saying.
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Hey, Siri, what's the next meeting I have?
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Okay, here's your meeting.
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They understand what we say.
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What if they could also understand how you're saying something and analyze your voice?
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What if they could be your speech coaches?
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What if every single person in the world,
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anywhere, had their own personal on-demand speech coach?
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Can you imagine a world where anyone has this help to help them overcome this fear of public speaking,
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to help them speak powerfully,
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to help them share their ideas.
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That's the idea that got us started.
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That's the idea that helped us create ORI,
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OroAI, a mobile app that counts your ums and uhs,
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a mobile app that gives you personalized lessons,
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a place to practice them quietly in privacy,
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and an app that gives you instant feedback using artificial intelligence.
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Now, a year and a half ago,
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when my roommate and I started building this, we were no experts.
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All we knew is that we want to build something.
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We want to create a solution.
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We were no speech coaches.
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We were no public speakers.
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We were no data scientists.
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But we had the power of the internet.
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So we read a bunch of research papers on computational linguistics.
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We spoke with hundreds of speech coaches,
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trying to understand how they give feedback on their speech.
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We watched videos on machine learning and artificial intelligence so
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that we could codify all these things and create this app because we believe that we can use technology
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to help people become better versions of ourselves
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and the reason i'm sharing my story with you guys today is not to tell you guys go out
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and build apps or be entrepreneurs i'm saying go out
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and face your fears don't bury them deep inside if you have a problem look for a solution if nothing exists,
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create that solution.
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If you don't have the skills, go to Google.
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Find how you can improve your knowledge and create something.
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For me, it all started when I was little.
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That first time I felt the fear of public speaking.
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That's what empowered me to act.
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That's what empowered me to go on this journey of becoming a better speaker.
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And this journey is never ending.
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You will never see the finish line.
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In fact, there is no finish line in public speaking.
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You can always get better.
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Remember that.
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You can always become a better speaker.
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You only stop if you tell yourself you're good enough.
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Thank you.
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.
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By the way, I was recording my speech.
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Let's see what feedback AuraI gives.
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Okay.
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So, I had a few filler words like, you know, and I'm.
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My pace, okay, 107 words per minute.
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too bad, good energy, and then some feedback where I was giving.
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Almost perfect.
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I think I need to practice a little bit more,
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and it's saying, looks like you'll be hosting a TED talk at no time.
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And my speech clarity A plus,
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and my transcript, and I can even play back my audio and listen to itself.
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My name is Danish, and my full-time job is to come.
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AARON MATÉSZAKISIJSKI.
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Check it out.
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Context & Background
Danish Dhamani shares his journey of overcoming the fear of public speaking, a common challenge faced by many learners, especially those learning English as a second language. Growing up in a new environment, he recalls a poignant moment in school when he was put on the spot, leaving him paralyzed by fear. This personal experience resonates with anyone who has ever felt anxious about speaking publicly. Danish’s story illustrates that the fear of public speaking is not innate but can be addressed through determination and practice.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "Can you please rise up and introduce yourself?" - A typical prompt in social and professional settings.
- "How would you feel?" - A useful phrase for engaging others in conversation or asking for opinions.
- "I felt the fear of speaking." - A useful expression to describe anxiety related to public speaking.
- "I decided to do something about it." - A powerful phrase that conveys action and determination.
- "I thought you were either born a public speaker or you're not." - A common belief that can be challenged through practice.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
If you find public speaking daunting, employing a shadowing technique can significantly enhance your confidence and fluency. Here’s a simple guide on effectively shadowing Danish's talk:
- Choose the Right Tools: Utilize a shadowing app or online shadowing site that allows you to listen to the audio at your own pace.
- Listen Actively: Play the video and focus on Danish’s intonation, pronunciation, and pacing. Pay attention to the phrases outlined above.
- Repeat & Imitate: Pause the video after a sentence and repeat what you hear. Try to mimic not just Danish’s words but also his emotions and delivery style.
- Record Yourself: Use your phone or a computer to record your speech as you shadow. Listening to your recordings can help you identify areas for improvement.
- Practice Regularly: Make shadowing a daily habit. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become in speaking situations.
Remember, the journey to overcoming fear begins with persistent practice. By incorporating shadow speak techniques into your routine, you can transform your anxiety into confidence and speak eloquently in public.
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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