Shadowing Practice: How to Deal with Embarrassing Situations - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello lovelies, welcome back to my channel.
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Today I'm going to be talking about how to deal with embarrassing situations.
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So everyone always has something embarrassing happen to them at some point in their lives, right?
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It's just the way that we handle it that makes it something
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that we're going to remember forever or if it's something that just happens to us because we're human.
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So today I'm going to be talking about one of my embarrassing situations recently
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and how someone can go about making it seem very smooth
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and just kind of accepting the fact that it's an embarrassing situation and moving on with your life.
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So keep watching.
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So one of the first things to do
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when you have something embarrassing happen to you is just kind of roll with it.
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Don't freeze and let it freak you out and cause a scene
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because that will make everyone look at you and that will make you even more embarrassed.
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So do what you can to just kind of play it off.
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Sometimes my heel will slip when I'm walking in heels.
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That happens if you're in the grocery store and it's on a slippery tile.
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If that stuff happens, just kind of say, and keep walking.
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Not a big deal.
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If you do have one of those bigger situations when it's something that you can't really avoid,
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like when I was in Las Vegas a couple weekends ago, I was having so much fun in the Inglot store
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and I knocked over an entire tray of lipsticks like all over the floor
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and it was super embarrassing and the best way
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that I handled it was just apologizing profusely to the team or to the employees there.
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I helped clean up when I could because there were seriously lipsticks everywhere and then just kind of apologizing and walking away.
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They asked me if I was okay
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and I just kind of touched my face because I was blushing
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and I was like yes I'm just embarrassed and of course everyone laughed
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and everything was just fine after that and I think just accepting
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that an embarrassing situation happened is the best way to handle it especially
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if it's something that you can't just kind of blow off or roll
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roll off of so I think the best way to handle it is just to accept
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that it happened admit that you're embarrassed because everyone understands
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that no one's going to be like I wonder what that's
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like doing something embarrassing no everyone has embarrassing situations happen to them
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and just accepting the fact that it was embarrassing will give you a little bit of empathy from the others around you.
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When you are helping to fix an embarrassing situation, don't try to overly help.
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I tried when that happened to me in the Inglot store, I tried to help clean up but I wasn't out there,
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you know, like, oh just show me the mop, where is it at?
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I'll totally clean all of this up.
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You do what you can, let the employees take care of it.
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These things happen, but don't make such a big deal out of trying to mend the embarrassing situation
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that it becomes a bigger ordeal than it has to be.
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And in the end, just forget that it ever happened.
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Whenever, when I dropped that stuff at the Inglot store, I was so excited to be there.
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I was just, I had too many bags in my hand and everything fell over.
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Those things happen.
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Apologize, but you don't have to feel like you have to run away from the situation.
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I stayed there and I shopped and I got lots of fun Inglot stuff, but I didn't let it affect my day.
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And once we kind of laughed about it because I admitted I was embarrassed,
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you know, we were all able to kind of lighten the situation and I could continue with my day.
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Don't let embarrassing situations make or ruin your day.
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They happen to everyone, so just accept them as that.
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If you see someone having an embarrassing circumstance, or if you see someone in an embarrassing situation, do what you can to help,
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even if that means changing the subject and getting the attention off of that person.
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We all know that when we do something embarrassing, it feels like everyone's eyes are on us.
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And if you can help by changing the subject or getting the attention off of that person,
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that will be so helpful to them and they will appreciate it.
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That's just another way of showing, you know, we all have those embarrassing situations
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and we can help one another by kind of lessening the pain of that embarrassing situation.
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In those situations too, when you're seeing someone else having an embarrassing moment, help them if they need it,
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but not so much that you make a big ordeal of it either.
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The helpfulness is appreciated, but when you are over the top with it...
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Then it can even draw more attention to that individual
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so do the best you can in keeping it discreet and
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That will help the person to save face and to keep from feeling as embarrassed as you know
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As they would have had it been a lot larger situation again if you notice someone has had an embarrassing situation
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Try not to tease them about it.
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That is unkind and and teasing people about those situations can make them feel even more embarrassed and it's more scarring.
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So, do what you can to kind of lessen the situation.
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If it's possible to lighten the mood or if that person's, you know, they're very fun and lighthearted for the most part,
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then they might be able to appreciate some teasing, but don't do it at their expense.
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Do it to kind of lighten the mood.
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These things happen to everyone and we just have to move on and try to make it as easy as possible.
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Just keep in mind that these happen to everyone,
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that if it happens to someone else and you can help them lessen the impact of that embarrassing moment, do it.
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So distract someone's attention or help them clean up the mess.
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That's the best way to help those individuals save face.
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You would want that to be done for you.
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And really, in terms of etiquette, that is really the most appropriate thing to do.
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You want to help others save face as much as possible.
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I hope this is helpful, guys.
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Remember, being embarrassed is okay.
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I used to get embarrassed all the time in high school my face would just blow up red.
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I would get so hot and embarrassed and I just kind of grew out of it.
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Like I said, when you are embarrassed, it's okay to be embarrassed.
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Everyone understands that.
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What I do is just kind of apologize profusely, help if I can, and just kind of accept the fact that I'm embarrassed.
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I usually feel the temperature of my face and then just kind of say,
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you know, I'm embarrassed and then kind of move on from there.
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Remember don't let it take over your day.
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Help others.
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All in all that's the end of it.
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I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope this is helpful to you especially if you get embarrassed all the time.
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So let me know your thoughts and your embarrassing moments and how you were able to get out of them really smoothly.
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So like, comment, follow, Instagram.
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I'm at wrist .canned at Instagram.
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I'm at wristcanned on Twitter, and wristcanned on Snapchat, and all of those things.
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So thank you for coming back, guys.
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I hope to see you soon.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Deal with Embarrassing Situations”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: embarrassing, situation, embarrassed, happen. This video has 99 sentences and 1306 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:40. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| embarrassed adjective | /ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/ | Having a feeling of shameful discomfort. |
| apologize verb | /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ | To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| tease verb | /tiːz/ | To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material). |
| mood noun | /muːd/ | A mental or emotional state, composure. |
| heel noun | /hil/ | The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg. |
| lipstick noun | /ˈlɪpˌstɪk/ | Makeup for the lips. |
| smooth adjective | /smuːð/ | Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough. |
| knock verb | /nɑk/ | To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood. |
| ruin noun | /ˈɹuː.ɪn/ | The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle. |
| slip verb | /ˈslɪp/ | To lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction. |
| expense noun | /ɪkˈspɛns/ | A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds. |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| grocery noun | /ˈɡɹəʊ.s(ə.)ɹi/ | Retail foodstuffs and other household supplies. |
| wrist noun | /ɹɪst/ | The complex joint between forearm bones, carpus, and metacarpals where the hand is attached to the arm; the carpus in a narrow sense. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. |
| blow off verb | To vent, usually, to reduce pressure in a container. |
| blow up verb | To explode or be destroyed by explosion. |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| fall over verb | To fall from an upright or standing position to a horizontal or prone position. |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| grow out of verb | To emerge from (something); to take a particular shape as a result of (something); to come to exist from (an origin). |
| knock over verb | To bump or strike something in such a way as to tip it. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I'll totally clean all of this up.
- Don't let embarrassing situations make or ruin your day.
- Remember don't let it take over your day.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is appreciated · be done |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · the most appropriate |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was having · was just apologizing · was blushing |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | keep watching · keep walking |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/, smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/
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 embarrassed, apologize, helpful.
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.