Shadowing Practice: Ida Liu Honored as 2026 AWE Game Changer - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Now we are going to open tonight with our very first honoree of the evening, the AWE Game Changer Award.
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AWE stands for Asian Women Empowered and it was launched in 2021
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and brings together an influential network of Asian women committed to inspiring and opening doors for the next generation of leaders.
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This year's recipient has shattered barriers at every level and she didn't stopped to admire the view.
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She kept going and she kept pulling others up with her.
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As the chief executive officer at HSBC Private Bank, a pioneering leader who has consistently used her platform,
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her voice, and her seat at the table to make room for others, this is Ida Lu.
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Joining me now in Iconoclast is Ida Lu.
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Beginning in 2019 and every year since then, Ida was named Barron's 100 most influential women in U.S finance.
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I'm an extraordinarily proud Chinese American executive.
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I'm really proud of my bicultural upbringing, hard work, focus, determination, that can-do attitude, ambition.
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I'm all drive and are a big part of my leadership today.
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So I wanted to do something a little bit different
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and out of college I ended up working for a world class fashion designer, women's wear designer, Vivian Tam.
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So I pitched the concept to Citi Private Bank 16 years ago to launch and lead the fashion, retail and entertainment practice.
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And the rest is history.
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Since joining Citi in 2007, she's held a variety of leadership roles at Citi and her career also includes work in both finance and fashion.
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I think that it is so important as there are more women business entrepreneurs,
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more women CEOs, more women founding companies around the world, that they form a network to connect with one another and share best practices.
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And that's what we've tried to do very hard in our
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organization is to bring together this extraordinary group of female clients around the world to really provide support,
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education, empowerment, and a wonderful network to help each other thrive.
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To introduce Ida is a legendary figure in the world of fashion and design, the one and only Vivian Tam.
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Hello everyone.
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Today is my very special night tonight.
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and I'm so glad to be here.
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It is my greatest honor to introduce my dearest friend, an incredible leader, so powerful role model, Ida Liu.
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Where's Ida?
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Ida, CEO of HSBC Global Private Banking.
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I'm so proud of you, Ida.
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I'm so touched to be here.
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Many of you know Ida as a visionary leader in global finance, But to me, she's also a fashion Easter.
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Look at how fashionable she is.
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She's my supermodel.
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I want her to walk in my one way.
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She's my supermodel, my shero.
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She has hero.
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The first time I met Ida was in my New York showroom.
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I asked my receptionist, who's that beautiful girl wearing my clothes?
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And so fashionable.
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I honestly thought she was a supermodel coming for a casting.
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But my receptionist told me that she was coming for an interview.
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The moment when I spoke to her, I immediately fell in love with her.
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And she knew my brand so well.
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I was like, wow, that woman is incredible.
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She spoke with so much confidence about my brand and she carried herself so well.
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I was so impressed by her presentation and her presence.
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I hired her immediately on the spot.
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She was so exceptional.
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Even better than me at engaging customers, explaining my designs, my concepts, so much love and passion.
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I love her so much.
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She made people believe in the brand, made them feel part of something very unique and special.
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She was so impressive.
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They trusted her.
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And she's a great connector.
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Ida has built an impressive career in banking and leadership.
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Yet every day she dressed so beautifully.
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and acts with grace.
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How she cares for herself reflects how she cares for others her works
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and her team I used to joke about you know wanted her to be my CEO for one day
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but I don't think it's possible it's not gonna happen yeah
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my brand has always been about women's empowerment I just one
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of my greatest shiro we also She also share the same purpose and mission in life, and East-West cultural breaching vision.
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We want to use our best effort and skills to bring the world together, to help the world.
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She gives hopes and opportunity, a pathway to the next generation, show them that it's possible.
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She always brings happiness and prosperity to everyone around her.
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She's like golden rings from heaven, beautiful rings from heaven.
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Her powers are her inner strength.
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Her beauty is inside and out.
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I'm so proud of the woman and leader she has become.
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Aida, you inspire so many people around the world to dream bigger, to reach higher, and stay true to themselves.
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Please join me in welcoming the beautiful, incredible Aida Liu.
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Thank you so much,
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Vivian, for those beautiful, beautiful remarks.
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I have to tell you that since I was a young girl, I always looked up to Vivian.
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She was my favorite designer because every time I wore her clothes, she made me feel confident.
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She made me feel super beautiful, and she is the first most successful East meets West Asian designer to make it in the United States.
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So to have her as a mentor, as a friend, as someone I so admire here tonight to present me the award, it means more than you'll know, Vivian.
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I love you very much.
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Thank you for being here.
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I'm so grateful to see you here.
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Also, as I'm standing here looking across the room, I'm so grateful to see so many familiar faces, so many friends in the audience,
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my colleagues from HSBC that are here to support me.
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Kevin, I'm so happy you're back.
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Second time's a charm here at Asia Society.
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I'm so thrilled to see you here tonight as well.
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You know, I am an ABC, an American-born Chinese.
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I grew up in a small city called Orinda, California, where I was the only Chinese family growing up.
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My parents are first-generation immigrants from Taiwan, and they came to this country with very little.
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But I saw the hard work, the resilience, the determination.
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And I learned leadership and hard work, ambition and optimism from my dad.
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And I learned the importance of EQ and kindness and just being great to everybody around you from my mother.
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and I carry that with me every single day because they paved the way for my brother and I.
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And as I've been in corporate finance now for the last 15 years, I come from a very interesting vantage point,
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which many of you in the room can relate to.
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On the one hand, I have the glass ceiling, and on the other hand, I have the bamboo ceiling.
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And in most board meetings that I walk into, I'm either the only woman, the only Asian, or the only Asian women.
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And I think it is so important for us as leaders not only to focus on financial progress and performance.
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Of course, that's important.
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But equally important to me is making sure that we as leaders are paying it forward to the future generation,
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that we're pulling up as many seats as possible to the table, that we're throwing the ladder down,
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because what's important to me is that my children and the future generation of Asian leaders can look up and say, it is possible.
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And ladies and gentlemen, we all know that seeing is believing.
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Thank you for celebrating with me tonight.
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Thank you, Vivian.
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Thank you, Asia Society.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 106 sentences and 1288 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:25. The speaker talks at a steady 137 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- designer /dɪˈzaɪnɚ/ (noun) — A person who designs something, or who designs things as a profession.
- impressive /ɪmˈpɹɛsɪv/ (adjective) — Making, or tending to make, a positive impression; having power to impress.
- introduce /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ (verb) — To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else).
- grateful /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ (adjective) — Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.
- ceiling /ˈsilɪŋ/ (noun) — The overhead closure of a room.
- determination /dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən/ (noun) — The act, process, or result of any accurate measurement, as of length, volume, weight, intensity, etc.
- influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/ (adjective) — Having or exerting influence.
- cloth /klɒθ/ (noun) — A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes…
- inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ (verb) — To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by…
- admire /ədˈmaɪɹ/ (verb) — To regard with wonder and delight.
- ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/ (noun) — Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or fame; desire to distinguish one's…
- fashionable /ˈfæʃənəbl̩/ (adjective) — Characteristic of or influenced by a current popular trend or style; in fashion; in vogue.
- empowerment /ɪmˈpaʊ.əɹ.mənt/ (noun) — The achievement of political, social or economic power by an individual or group.
- happiness /ˈhæpinɪs/ (noun) — The emotion of being happy; joy; elation.
- passion /ˈpæʃən/ (noun) — A true desire sustained or prolonged.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- bring together (verb) — To cause people to do something together; to bring about togetherness.
- care for (verb) — To attend to the needs of, especially in the manner of a nurse or personal aide.
- come for (verb) — To search for someone with the intent to apprehend or cause harm.
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- end up (verb) — To bring to a conclusion.
- fall in (verb) — To collapse inwards.
- grow up (verb) — To mature and become an adult.
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 22 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: cloth /klɒθ/, pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/, thrive /θɹajv/, thrill /θɹɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: determination /dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/, ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, fashionable /ˈfæʃənəbl̩/, passion /ˈpæʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: determination /dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/, empowerment /ɪmˈpaʊ.əɹ.mənt/, extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like designer, impressive, introduce.
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 shattered · we've tried · has built |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was launched · was named |
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.