Shadowing Practice: How to Finish Speaking in English Without an Awkward Silence - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Have you ever finished telling a story or sharing an idea in English?
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And then it's just silence.
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No one starts to speak.
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You wait, they wait.
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There's this long pause, and everyone just keeps looking at you.
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So after a few uncomfortable seconds, you quietly add, and that's it.
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Now, everyone knows you've finished speaking, but that awkward moment has already happened.
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If you've experienced that, in this lesson,
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you're going to learn exactly how to make it clear that you have finished speaking in English before those awkward silences begin,
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no matter whether you're telling a story, sharing an opinion, or giving an update.
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we're going to look at how to complete your final thought how to use your voice to signal the ending
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and when needed invite someone else to speak
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so to avoid those awkward uncomfortable silences the first thing your listener needs is an ending
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that sounds complete sometimes you may know exactly how you want to finish for example you might say
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and after the market we went home that was the end of our day
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or so i think we should wait till friday the endings are clear they're complete
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but we don't always get that luxury sometimes you lose your train of thought
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while you're speaking maybe you forget a detail you want to share
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or you just can't find the right word
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and everything gets lost in those moments that's when someone might say
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and then we went to the market
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and yeah that's not really a complete thought so in
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that moment your listener may not know whether the story's finished
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or whether you're still trying to continue trying to find the right words
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and when that kind of statement happens those awkward silences begin
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But if you ever lose your train of thought or get lost trying to find the right word, you don't need to force yourself to remember every detail.
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Instead, you can briefly acknowledge the problem and then finish with the main point.
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For example, let's say that I'm telling a story and I kind of lose my focus.
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So I might say, and then we went to the market and, well, shoot, I just lost my train of thought.
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I can't remember what I was going to say.
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But the important thing is we made it home.
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The truth is conversations don't always go exactly as we planned.
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The goal is to simply give your listener a clear final thought instead of letting your words kind of disappear.
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Now, along with that complete thought to show that you're finished speaking, your voice can also help to make the ending clearer.
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And this is where our intonation is important.
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We can use our voice to show a finished thought by using falling intonation.
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This means that your voice moves lower as you reach the end of your sentence.
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Listen to that again.
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This means that your voice moves lower as you reach the end of your sentence.
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For example, if we go back to the story I was telling before, I might say, and after the market, we went home.
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That fall helps the sentence sound complete.
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It helps your listener hear that you have reached the end and that they can respond.
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On top of that, you can also slightly slow down on those final words.
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For example, but what's important is, we made it home.
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Here, that combination of a complete thought, the falling intonation, and the slower pace,
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all of these work together to make it clear that you are ending.
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You're finished speaking, and it helps to avoid those uncomfortable or awkward silences.
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As a result, when you stop speaking, you give your listener the signal that it's their time to respond.
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Now, when I say that your voice falls
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and maybe your pace gets slower i want to be very clear here we're not talking about
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simply allowing your voice to become quieter we don't want it
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to disappear for example we don't want to finish a sentence with
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and then we made it home
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and yeah do you notice how quiet it sounded in fact maybe you couldn't even hear it in this video
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and the first response when something goes really quiet is either that awkward silence or a quick, what was that?
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And I don't know about you, but hearing those questions like, what was that?
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Or say that again, can get really discouraging.
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One of the reasons we hear them so often is our voice is too soft and quiet.
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So we still want to allow for proper volume and enunciation.
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We just want to make sure that that intonation falls at the end of the sentence.
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Now, if you want more detail on this, I have another lesson where I share more detail on how rising
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and falling intonation can help you hold your turn while speaking, avoid interruptions, and show when you're finished.
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So if that's something you'd like to take a look at, I'll leave a link to that lesson in the notes below.
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But for now, I want you to remember this.
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Let your voice fall clearly on the final words,
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and then allow another person to respond now sometimes especially
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if you've been speaking for a longer period it can help
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to add a few clear words at the end for example
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if you're finishing a story you might say
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and anyway that's what happened in the end or
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if a story doesn't have an ending yet you might say so we'll see what happens next.
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And if you're sharing an opinion, you might end your opinion with, well, that's how I see it.
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Or I'm interested in what others think.
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And of course, you can also make it exceptionally clear who should speak next by adding a question.
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You could directly ask, and what do you think?
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Does anyone want to add anything?
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Or Priya, over to you.
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Each of these phrases does more than simply show that you're finished.
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They also help your listener know exactly what should happen next, whether to respond, ask a question, or take the next turn.
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Of course, you don't need to use all of these every time you speak.
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But when you have been speaking for several minutes, and when several people are involved or you're on a video call,
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a clear closing phrase can prevent those awkward silences.
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So now that we have these strategies in place, let's take a look at how these signals often work together.
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For this, I want you to imagine
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that you're giving an update in a meeting
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and you might finish by saying the design is finished and now we're waiting to hear from the vendor.
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Priya, over to you.
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Your final thought is complete.
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Your voice falls so everyone can hear that you've finished.
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And that final statement, Priya, over to you, makes it clear who should speak next.
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And if you're not handing the conversation to one person, you can say, the design is finished, and now we're waiting to hear from the vendor.
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Does anyone have any questions?
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When you bring these pieces together, You don't need to wait through an awkward silence and add something like, that's it, or I'm done.
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Instead, your listener already knows that you finished and they know exactly what should happen next.
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So now I want you to practice.
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Take a moment to think about a situation where you need to speak for a period of time in English, like when you're telling a story,
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sharing an opinion, or giving an update practice those in advance
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and choose a sentence
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that you want your listener to hear at the end practice it out loud make sure
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that the thought is complete
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and then say it again this time slowing down with the final few words
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and letting your voice fall at the end for example
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so I think we should wait until Friday and
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if the situation requires it you could add a clear question as a handoff.
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For example, what do you think?
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Or over to you.
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Try that multiple times.
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Practice saying it out loud so you really get comfortable with these strategies and you can hear yourself using them.
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When your final thought is complete, when your voice clearly reaches the end with falling intonation,
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and if, when appropriate, you add a question or provide a direct handoff,
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your listener knows that you've finished and you can avoid those awkward silences.
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Now, as always, if you found this lesson helpful to you, don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you're watching or listening from today.
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Thank you so much for joining me and I look forward to next time.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 113 sentences and 1464 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:46. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 90% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| silence noun | /ˈsaɪ̯ləns/ | The absence of any sound. |
| awkward adjective | /ˈɔk.wɚd/ | Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments. |
| listener noun | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| uncomfortable adjective | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | Not comfortable; causing discomfort. |
| pace noun | /peɪs/ | A step taken with the foot. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| disappear verb | /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ | To vanish. |
| vendor noun | /ˈvɛn.dɚ/ | A person or a company that vends or sells. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| luxury noun | /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/ | Very wealthy and comfortable surroundings; the state of being that they create. |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
| wherever | /(h)wɛɹˈɛvɚ/ | Regardless of the place in, at or to which. |
| briefly adverb | /ˈbɹiːfli/ | In a brief manner, summarily. |
| acknowledge verb | /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/ | To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
| work together verb | To be coworkers with someone; to share a workspace with someone. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've been speaking · have been speaking |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | Have you ever finished · you've finished · you've experienced |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are involved · is finished |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 44 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/, exceptionally /ɪkˈsɛp(t)ʃənəli/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, enunciation /ɪˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, interruption /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, exceptionally /ɪkˈsɛp(t)ʃənəli/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, enunciation /ɪˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, interruption /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/
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 silence, awkward, listener.
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.