Shadowing Practice: It’s been a rough couple of days… this helps a little - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Shadowing Controls
0% completed (0/377 sentences)
Okay, I want you to be Daryl and ask me for a raise because I need to try out some of these negotiation tactics on you.
⏸ Paused
Speed:
Repeat Count:
Wait Mode:
Sub Sync:0ms
All Sentences
377 sentences
1
Okay, I want you to be Daryl and ask me for a raise because I need to try out some of these negotiation tactics on you.
2
Where'd you get that?
3
Wikipedia.
4
Wikipedia is the best thing ever.
5
Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject.
6
So you know you are getting the best possible information.
7
Actually, I also got some interesting stuff on Cheryl Teegs.
8
Did you know that she has her own line of wigs for Revlon?
9
Did not.
10
Did not.
11
And her last husband's name was Striker.
12
Striker.
13
Okay, Daryl, ask me for a raise.
14
Hey, Mike, since Roy left, I've been doing a lot more work and I need a raise.
15
Hmm, well, that's interesting, Daryl.
16
I think...
17
Can't hear you.
18
What I'm saying is that...
19
Still nothing.
20
Okay.
21
See what I did?
22
No.
23
By leaning back and by whispering, I established a dominant physical position.
24
Nice.
25
Okay, let's try another one.
26
Okay.
27
Walking out of the room unexpectedly.
28
And what happens in this one?
29
It's a surprise.
30
Okay.
31
Go ahead.
32
Ask me for a raise.
33
Can I have a raise?
34
It's ex-Steve Martin, Terry Hadrian.
35
What?
36
What?
37
What?
38
What did you say?
39
I didn't say anything.
40
I was waiting to see what happened.
41
You're not...
42
You sounded interesting.
43
What you were getting there.
44
Yeah?
45
You ready for me?
46
Yes.
47
Yeah, absolutely.
48
Have a seat.
49
You know what?
50
Actually, let's go into the conference room.
51
Okay.
52
No, you know what.
53
Let's stay here.
54
Let's go.
55
Yeah, let's go.
56
Tactic number six.
57
Change the location of the meeting at the last second.
58
Totally throws them off.
59
Number 14.
60
Declining to speak first.
61
Makes them feel uncomfortable, puts you in control.
62
I am declining to speak first.
63
Okay, I'll start.
64
It's pretty simple, really.
65
I think I deserve a raise.
66
I'm scheduled to get one in six months, but I'd like that to be moved up to now.
67
Hmm.
68
Daryl, you are a good worker and a good man.
69
I just, you know, times are tight.
70
And I just don't think corporate's going to go for this right now.
71
Are you wearing lady clothes?
72
What?
73
Are you wearing lady clothes?
74
Those look like lady pants.
75
No.
76
This is a power suit.
77
That there's a woman's suit.
78
I do not buy women's clothes.
79
Would not make that mistake again.
80
I'm gonna call Roy, man.
81
Okay.
82
This is gonna make me feel better.
83
This is too good.
84
You know what?
85
Pam, would you please tell Daryl that this is not a woman's suit?
86
Would you please tell Daryl that this is not a woman's suit?
87
Oh, my God, that's a woman's suit.
88
You're wearing a woman's suit?
89
No, I do.
90
I wear men's suits, okay?
91
I got this out of a bin.
92
There were these huge bins of clothes, and everybody was rifling through them like crazy, and I grabbed one.
93
And it fit.
94
So I don't think that this is totally just a woman's suit.
95
At the very least, it's bisexual.
96
Who makes it?
97
Um, mysterious.
98
And it is mysterious because the buttons are on the wrong side.
99
That's the mystery.
100
It's got shoulder pads.
101
Did you see that line?
102
Okay.
103
Would you stop it, please?
104
For the record, Michael also uses secret deodorant.
105
Because as he puts it, if it is strong enough for a man, who cares who it's made for?
106
So none of that tipped you off.
107
It's European, okay?
108
It's a European cut.
109
Michael, the pants don't have any pockets.
110
No, they don't.
111
See?
112
Italians don't wear pockets.
113
It's been a really rough couple of days.
114
This helps a little.
115
Hey, maybe you want to come over and read my closet.
116
No, I don't want to do that, because I'm twice your size anyway.
117
Yeah, you look like Hillary Clinton.
118
Um, let's just do this in 15 minutes, okay?
119
Okay, can you stand right there for one second?
120
I gotta send some emails.
121
Negotiations are all about controlling things, about being in the driver's seat.
122
And you make one tiny mistake, you're dead.
123
I made one tiny mistake.
124
I wore woman's clothes.
125
It's 4.30 in the morning.
126
Do you know where your kids are?
127
If you are Ryan's parents or Pam's parents or my parents, you do.
128
They're gonna be in this van with me.
129
Who am I?
130
Nothing to fear.
131
I am just a 44-year-old guy with a paper route.
132
Time to make the donuts!
133
Come on!
134
Whoa!
135
No, I promise I won't do it again.
136
Come on.
137
I lied!
138
We've been making 5am deliveries for a couple weeks now.
139
Ever since I've gotten clean there's something about fresh morning air that just really makes me sick.
140
Hello!
141
Time to make the donuts!
142
Oh, Halbert!
143
Wow!
144
Border Patrol!
145
Arrest that man!
146
Your donuts make me go nuts!
147
Hey, Pam.
148
We got the van at a used car lot.
149
We think it says, Alleluia Church of Scranton in Korean.
150
It was either this or an old school bus with an owl living in it.
151
You didn't happen to bring any coffee, did you, Michael?
152
Milk and sugar.
153
Oh, awesome.
154
You're a lifesaver.
155
Wait, is this just milk and sugar?
156
That's what I said.
157
That's what I said.
158
Do you drink this every day?
159
Every morning.
160
We're doing okay.
161
Couple weeks in and we're having fun.
162
Uh, yep, we have 20 of those.
163
Oh, oh, excuse me.
164
Sorry.
165
Sorry, no, it's a paper company now.
166
It's not for the church.
167
How much can we afford to pay a delivery guy?
168
Well, if these numbers you gave me are correct.
169
They are correct, sir.
170
Then you can't afford to pay him anything.
171
Okay.
172
A lame attempt at humor, swing and a miss.
173
Your prices are too low.
174
Lowest in town.
175
Why do you think Staples and Dunder Mifflin can't match your prices?
176
Corporate greed.
177
Look, our pricing model is fine.
178
I reviewed the numbers myself.
179
Over time, with enough volume, we've become profitable.
180
Yeah, with a fixed-cost pricing model, that's correct.
181
Yeah.
182
But you need to use a variable cost price and model.
183
Okay, sure.
184
Right.
185
So, why don't you explain what that is so they can under...
186
Just explain what that is.
187
Explain what you think that is.
188
Okay.
189
Just explain that.
190
As you sell more paper and your company grows, so will your costs.
191
For example, delivery man, healthcare, business expansion.
192
Whatever.
193
Yeah, so...
194
At these prices, the more paper you sell, the less money you'll make.
195
Our prices are the only thing keeping us in business.
196
They're actually putting you out of business.
197
Okay, okay.
198
Hold on, hold on.
199
Ty, I would like you to crunch those numbers again.
200
It's programmed.
201
There's no such thing as...
202
Just crunch them.
203
Just crunch them, please.
204
Crunch.
205
Did it help?
206
Hey, can I talk to you guys for a second?
207
We're not hiring you.
208
I'm actually here for something else.
209
Listen, I can't make you laugh right now.
210
You know I love a good guessing game, but why don't I just tell you what I'm here for?
211
Turns out, you guys have made a pretty big dent in the Dundam-Mifflin sales.
212
Well, that's nice.
213
David Wallace has asked me to come down here and see if you would be interested in Dunder Mifflin buying you out.
214
Seriously?
215
Are you being serious?
216
Keep bluffing, Pam.
217
Jim, what you don't understand is that this company's worse.
218
Oh!
219
No.
220
We don't have any...
221
Oh!
222
See, I'm here to learn as little information as possible.
223
All I really need to hear is if your incredibly successful company would be receptive to a buy-up.
224
Yes.
225
Yes.
226
Maybe.
227
Three yeses.
228
I will see you titans of industry upstairs.
229
Yes.
230
Well, we're not only tight ends, we are also quarterbacks.
231
I missed the last part.
232
That's a pun.
233
Got it.
234
Yep.
235
Oh.
236
Wow.
237
Okay, so you're not going to reveal in any way that we're broke.
238
Of course not.
239
that we have any problems at all.
240
Right.
241
Just to reiterate, none of us is going to say anything that might indicate we are going broke.
242
Right, right.
243
There is no way in hell that I am going to say that we're broke.
244
Oh, I'm really worried I'm going to say it.
245
No, Michael.
246
No, man.
247
You're fine.
248
We have to come from a position of strength.
249
I'm good.
250
Just put it out of your mind.
251
It is.
252
I'm good.
253
You have a good plan?
254
It's a great plan.
255
Saves the company a fortune.
256
It's like a paid decrease.
257
Michael, he made huge cuts.
258
Cuts?
259
What?
260
Wow.
261
Dwight, did you make cuts?
262
Yeah, you said to go ahead and trim.
263
No, no, no, no, no, no.
264
You know what?
265
I said nothing specific because I was so busy.
266
Why don't you go in there, Dwight, and find these people a plan that'll work for them, okay?
267
I can handle it.
268
Okay.
269
All right.
270
We feel good?
271
All right.
272
Good.
273
Plus, there's some other good news.
274
Today, at the end of the day, I will have, for all of you, a big surprise.
275
Okay?
276
So hang in there, and I will see you at the end of the day.
277
Do I know what the surprise is?
278
Hell no.
279
It doesn't matter.
280
The point is, they're not unhappy anymore.
281
They're out there thinking, wow, my boss really cares about me.
282
He has a surprise.
283
He's cool.
284
What a great guy.
285
I love him.
286
I love him.
287
So basically, I want to do something nice for my employees.
288
We've got 16 people, and I was thinking weekend getaway, party bus, entertainment, hotel, you know, the works.
289
Hit me.
290
What you got?
291
We have a really nice package from Montreal right now.
292
You can do the whole thing tax out the door four hundred ninety nine dollars a person leave Or 99 when we just don't go to Paris and back Let me throw something back at you Atlantic City Okay, they have this thing where they send a bus right for free picks everybody up you head down there Get to the hotel room is comped they give you a big pile of chips and your food everything just kind of all inclusive free Kind of weekend.
293
I don't know of anything like that, but you know what you might want to do is just call those casinos directly, maybe?
294
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
295
Well, I did, so.
296
Okay, okay, so I don't know what the surprise is.
297
Am I worried?
298
No.
299
No way.
300
See, I thrive on this.
301
This is my world.
302
This is improv.
303
This is whose line is it anyway?
304
All right, let's play a little game.
305
Throw me out at a location.
306
Office, okay?
307
How about a situation?
308
You promised your employees a surprise, and you don't have one.
309
Okay?
310
Ready?
311
Here we go.
312
And go!
313
So it'd be like that, you know?
314
And, you know, if I was up on a stage, it'd be...
315
It'd just be rolling, so...
316
Hey, hey, everybody!
317
Ice cream sandwiches!
318
Ah!
319
Here you go.
320
Take one, take one.
321
It's all good.
322
Phyllis, think fast!
323
Yeah, boom!
324
Oh, oh, I see Angela.
325
Right?
326
Angela!
327
Ah!
328
Oh!
329
Hey, Temp, why don't you take two?
330
Because you don't get health care and faster metabolism.
331
Do you get the kind with the cookies instead of the...
332
Why don't you just eat it?
333
Okay.
334
And here you go Stanley the Manly.
335
Oh, thanks.
336
There you go.
337
This isn't the big surprise, is it?
338
Because we've been having a pretty horrible day.
339
Uh, nope.
340
Nope.
341
This isn't the surprise.
342
It's surprising, uh, because you didn't expect it.
343
But you will...
344
you'll know it when you see it.
345
What about the surprise?
346
Oh, yes.
347
Exactly.
348
Thank you, Angela, for reminding me.
349
Terrific.
350
Before I tell everybody what the big surprise is, would you like to tell me what you think the big surprise is?
351
We all think you don't have a surprise.
352
All right, I have some news for you.
353
There is a big surprise.
354
And here it is.
355
Here we go.
356
And the big surprise is...
357
Drum roll!
358
Brrrrrrrrrrrrr.
359
Brrrrrrrr.
360
When I am backed into a corner, that is when I come alive.
361
See, I learned improv from the greats, like Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles.
362
Oh, yeah!
363
This...
364
Robin Williams.
365
Oh, man, would I love to go head-to-head with him.
366
Oh, that would be exciting.
367
I'm Mork from Mork.
368
Well, I'm...
369
I'm Bork from Smork.
370
Nanu-nanu!
371
Zubbidiblubblu!
372
Um, Carson, Letterman, you know.
373
Need I say more?
374
No.
375
Uh, Steve Martin.
376
We're all going bowling?
377
Thank you.

Context & Background

The dialogue featured in the video revolves around a workplace scenario where one individual, Daryl, practices asking for a raise. This interaction serves as an engaging way to explore negotiation tactics and communicate effectively in English. Through playful exchanges and strategic body language, the speakers demonstrate how to command attention and express needs in a professional setting. This context is particularly valuable for English learners who aim to improve their overall communication skills, especially in high-stakes situations such as salary negotiations.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "Can I have a raise?" - A straightforward phrase for requesting a salary increase.
  • "I’ve been doing a lot more work." - Useful for justifying your request by highlighting increased responsibilities.
  • "Actually, let’s go into the conference room." - Indicates a shift to a more formal or private setting for discussions.
  • "What I'm saying is that..." - A phrase to clarify your point during conversations.
  • "See what I did?" - Engages the listener and prompts them to consider your methods or tactics.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively absorb and practice the speaking styles presented in this video, follow these steps:

  1. Watch and Listen: Begin by watching the video attentively, noting the tone and pace of the speakers. Pay special attention to how they use body language and vocal techniques to enhance their messages.
  2. Select Short Clips: Identify segments of the video where Daryl and Mike's dialogue is particularly effective. Focus on short phrases or exchanges that you can repeat easily.
  3. Practice Shadow Speaking: Utilize shadow speech exercises by pausing the video and repeating what you hear immediately after. Aim to mimic the intonation, pronunciation, and rhythm of the speakers.
  4. Record Yourself: To assess your progress, record your practice sessions. Listen to how closely you can match the original dialogue, focusing on clarity and expression.
  5. Engage in Role-Play: To solidify your negotiation vocabulary, practice role-playing with a partner. Use phrases like “Can I have a raise?” in simulated scenarios to build confidence in real-life situations.

By regularly incorporating these techniques into your study routine, whether you're preparing for the IELTS speaking practice or simply enhancing your everyday communication skills, you will become more proficient in engaging dialogues and negotiations.

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.

☕ Buy us a coffee

Donate via PayPal