Shadowing Practice: How To Speak SO Clearly, You Never Need A Script - Learn English Speaking with Video

if you've been listening to any of the youtube gurus recently they will have you believe that

you have two options when it comes to speaking to camera the first one is

that you write everything out on a script

and you hook your audience in as if they're goldfish

and you have every single line being a hook retention maxing is the name of the game

and the result is you have to spend

hours and hours and hours writing scripts and you don't enjoy recording because

you're sat there in your studio with the teleprompter feeling like a robot the other option

that they will say and you you'd have heard this as well the path

that they will have you believe is that you need to just be raw

and authentic like you hear them say like youtube is about being raw

and authentic ai you know it's it's making everyone into robots

so you got to be raw and authentic

and it's like all right what does that actually mean though

because the end result of telling somebody who's starting out on YouTube to be raw

and authentic is then making a 10 -minute video

or a 20 -minute video which is just rambling

and it's not going to get any views

because you're not explaining anything clearly you're not helping anyone you're just rambling

and so in that example the script is almost a better option

but you're kind of choosing between a rock

and a hard place there i had a client who was on 100 000 subscribers he came to me

and he said i now hate youtube i've been doing this for almost a decade

and i just spend all my time writing scripts

and reading out stuff from a teleprompter to a camera

and i hate it i now hate the process and this is

because he listened to a youtube guru who told him

that he needed to script all of his videos to do well

and i was so stoked when he got his result because it wasn't

a result that just said my youtube views are higher

which they ended up being higher it was a result of

hey man i couldn't be happier right now i am now speaking to youtube

or to my youtube audience without a script

and i can film videos in different locations

or i can just film them in my office but i feel

so much more authentic

and i'm loving it i'm getting better at speaking rather than just getting better at typing away

and that was an amazing thing to hear and i want the same for you.

So there is a path in the middle that gets you best of both worlds, which is speaking authentically and clearly.

It's not compromising in the middle, and I call it the anti -script method.

But to be able to do this, you have to change three very limiting beliefs that are holding you back from actually doing it, because they will have you going down the wrong road.

Now, the first one is trying to perfect your sentences and your words.

So thinking that speaking clearly and coherently is about the words

that you use the structure of your sentences and expanding your vocabulary

and being really articulate this will just hold you back from making good youtube videos

and the reason is is

because you have to see making clear youtube videos speaking clearly on youtube like giving directions

so if you are in a city

and you have somebody come up to you

and they say hey buddy hey pal do you know where

the pub is you think I know the city more

or less and I know where this pub is kind of and

so it doesn't matter in this situation how articulate you are

how perfect your sentence structure is the the use of your the use of eloquent words does not matter

if you don't really know where the pub is right you're to give them some directions

that aren't very clear and you're going to probably get tangled in your own chain of thought

which means that you will make a rambling video in this case

let's imagine scenario number two same guy comes up to you hey pal do you know where the pub is

and in this example you know the territory like the back of your hand you know the city extremely well

and so the directions you give them are extremely clear precise

and even kind of entertaining because you just know it so well you can have fun along the way.

And the difference here is that in the second example, you know your territory.

You know the map of the city like the back of your hand.

And this is what we need to do in our points when we're making YouTube videos.

You need to know your point clearly.

And the way that you do that is up to you, but something that works for me is mapping out visually.

So before making this video, I am writing out these points and drawing between them with arrows

and lines to know exactly the territory of what I'm explaining

right now now you can know the territory very well

which is great but

if you ignore the second thing you can be recording for two hours to make a five minute video

because for one hour

and 55 minutes you are just stumbling over your mistakes i've been there it sucks i know the way

that you get around that is by avoiding this so imagine

that you're in that same example somebody's come up to you and they're asking for directions this time.

you're in Australia and they're looking for the beach

and they say hi mate do you know where the beach is oh I've been wanting to surf

and in this example many people have come up to you before

and asked you in this location where the beach is and

so you decided that you need to memorize a very specific way of saying

and giving directions for them to go to the beach and

so what happens is you start explaining this guy using this sort of memorized script in your mind

and after the second point you stop and you think oh I didn't say

that sentence quite right there I need to go back and

so you go back to the beginning and you start again

and you get to the third sentence and you kind of mess

that up because you think I didn't I didn't say

that in the way that I had written it and

so now I'm kind of lost as to where I am and so you go back to the beginning again

this is the number one killer of on -camera fluency right so instead what you need to do

is forget about all that stuff and just know the specific milestones.

So in this example, in this analogy, you know the specific locations where they need to turn left

and right and specific visual things where they need to use to get to where they want to go.

And so in your explanations, you need to have specific milestones in your points.

And for example, these could be a specific way of setting up a point.

It could be a specific analogy or story that you want to tell within your point.

And it could be a specific epiphany that you want to deliver.

and the most important milestone to remember is your conclusion it's

the mic drop moment at the end of your point where you deliver the goods

100

and if you have that mic drop moment specifically

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in your mind as the destination

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that you want to go to all of your points are just going to feel like they are going somewhere

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and when they do land there it's going to feel like a nice payoff conclusion

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and learning point for your audience which will get them commenting engaging and and wanting to learn more from you.

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Now, if you'd like to use this method to plan out your own videos and speak clearly on camera, then I have a anti -script planning document in the description of this video.

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You can get that completely for free and it will help you plan out videos where you don't need a script.

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So you can ditch the script in the teleprompter, plan out videos using that template and give it a go.

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That's already helped thousands of people ditch the script and you could be next.

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There is a big problem here though, which leads us onto the third thing, which is you can have a clear map of the territory in your head you know the milestones

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that you want to hit but you can still be presenting like somebody who isn't you

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which is going to kill connection with your audience

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because they feel like they're watching somebody who isn't really being

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themself now this is where the gurus lean into oh you need to be super authentic

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and raw on youtube and this is where that point becomes valid

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but only if you've done these first two things

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so you can actually speak eloquently on camera and this is the difference between sounding like this

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hey guys

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so in this video i'm going to be sharing the three tips to speaking more coherently on camera

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and this hey guys in this video i'm going to be

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showing you three tips to speak more clearly on camera right

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the difference is very clear the second one is more authentic it's more myself

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and the way that you get there because and I figured this out

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because I had a long journey of stopping being like

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that first example I just showed you the way

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that you get there is learning how to speak to camera

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like you're in a coffee shop talking to your best friend and so

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when you're talking to camera you might start putting on this presenter voice feeling like you're not quite being yourself

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and what usually happens is you sort of inflate imagine yourself like a balloon

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and you sort of inflate yourself all right okay in this video we're talking like this

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and what you need to do is just deflate any effort

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that you're putting into this try and put less effort

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and what that will help you do is just come down to

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that tone imagine you're in a coffee shop talking to your friend

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and you might do that a little bit more

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and you're talking like you're in a coffee shop

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and this is feeling great and then at some point you're inflating again

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and you're feeling like you're putting in a lot of effort and

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so you just ground yourself a little bit more deflate friend

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coffee shop it's called the coffee shop test the coffee shop

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check am i talking to a friend in a coffee shop

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yes okay i'll keep going sweet now a really key indicator here of

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if you're talking is if you're in a coffee shop

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or not is if when you press stop on the record button suddenly you sort of relax

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and deflate like oh okay i've done

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that now now i can be myself again if

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that is happening to you you are probably not following the coffee shop rule

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and so you want have

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that feeling of oh now i can relax now before you record

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and then be like that throughout your video that's going to help you build way more connection

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and trust with your youtube audience and help you build an audience of watches

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and also buyers people who trust you people who think yeah this person is a real human being

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and i can put my trust in them rather than some kind of online robotic personality potentially ai looking person

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that i'm never going to buy from in my life the result here

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that i want for you is to be able to make videos

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wherever you want in a way that feels authentic to you.

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YouTube can be fun.

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You know, you can come to random fields and rivers like this one and make videos that you feel passionate about,

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where you can share amazing insights with your audience and build a business doing it, right?

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It's incredible to me to think that right now, I'm making this video and it's growing my business, right?

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It's building trust with more people.

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It is getting more eyeballs on my stuff it's allowing people to learn things it's changing people's lives

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because it empowers them to communicate better empowers them to build

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a YouTube channel grow their coaching business grow their income build a life

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that they actually really enjoy because the problem with YouTube is

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that if you rely on scripts and you have a teleprompter

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and you're stuck in your office talking to that teleprompter

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and that's your job that can be cool like if you enjoy that that's fine.

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If you enjoy it, like there's no worries.

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This video probably isn't for you.

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This video is for the people who don't want to do that.

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They want a YouTube channel and business that feels like it gives them freedom, that they can make videos from anywhere.

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And having come from a travel videography background myself in my early 20s, traveling around the world, making travel films,

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I could not imagine just being stuck in my office and needing a script to actually make a YouTube video.

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That idea is crazy to me, which is why when I see people doing it, I just want to tell you there is another way.

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There is a better way, and I hope this video has served you to start moving in that direction.

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Again, that anti -script template is your first step to start doing this.

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Enter your email and I'll send that over to you.

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And if you want a complete step -by -step roadmap to be able to speak off the cuff, to be able to ditch that script and telepompter forever, then this is the video that you want to watch next.

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It is my step -by -step roadmap to becoming a magnetic expert to use your speaking to build an audience

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and a business that you are passionate about.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How To Speak SO Clearly, You Never Need A Script”. This video has 180 sentences and 2422 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:47. The speaker talks fast, about 205 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
authentic adjective	/ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/	Of the same origin as claimed; genuine.
teleprompter noun	/ˈtɛləˌpɹɑmptəɹ/	A device placed near or on a television camera that displays scrolling text, allowing a person to read a script while appearing to speak spontaneously to the…
milestone noun	/ˈmaɪlˌstoʊn/	A stone milepost (or by extension in other materials), one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of…
deflate verb	/diːˈfleɪt/	To remove air or some other gas from within an elastic container, e.g. a balloon or tyre.
inflate verb	/ɪnˈfleɪt/	To enlarge an object by pushing air (or a gas) into it; to raise or expand abnormally
ramble verb	/ˈɹæmbəl/	To move about aimlessly, or on a winding course.
guru noun	/ˈɡʊɹ(ˌ)u/	In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
ditch noun	/dɪt͡ʃ/	A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage.
coherently adverb		In a coherent manner.
memorize verb	/ˈmɛm.əˌɹaɪ̯z/	To fully learn so as to have entirely available to the memory; to learn by heart, commit to memory.
empower verb	/ɪmˈpaʊ.ə/	To give permission, power, or the legal right to do something.
articulate verb	/ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/	To make clear or effective.
template noun	/ˈtɛm.plɪt/	A physical object whose shape is used as a guide to make other objects.
analogy noun	/əˈnæləd͡ʒi/	A relationship of resemblance or equivalence between two situations, people, or objects, especially when used as a basis for explanation or extrapolation.
passionate adjective	/ˈpæʃənɪt/	Fired with intense feeling.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
come up to verb	To approach.
plan out verb	to plan, organize, make a plan for something
go back to verb	To stem from; to originate in.
come down to verb	To reach by moving down or reducing.
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
get around verb	To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path.
go back verb	To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time.
go down verb	To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.

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 listening · i've been doing · I've been wanting
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	video which is · worlds, which is · audience which will
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have heard · i've been · have come

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 60 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, themself /ðɛmˈsɛlf/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/, goldfish /ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ/, retention /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: teleprompter /ˈtɛləˌpɹɑmptəɹ/, articulate /ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/, analogy /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/, epiphany /ɪˈpɪfəni/, visually /ˈvɪzju.əli/

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 authentic, teleprompter, milestone.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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