Shadowing Practice: Message Market Fit: Turning Great Ideas Into Communication That Lands - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
350 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Each of us has our own unique communication signature.
2
What is your signature saying about you?
3
My name is Matt Abrahams, and I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
4
Welcome to Think Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast.
5
Today, I am excited to talk with Oliver Oust.
6
Oliver is founder of Speak Like a CEO Academy, where he coaches executives and founders how to refine and strategize about their communication.
7
He's written several books, including Unignorable and Message Machine, and he hosts the popular podcast, Speak Like a CEO.
8
Welcome, Oliver.
9
I am really excited to be chatting with you, and it's great to be here in person.
10
We've done a lot of chatting over the years, and I really appreciate your work.
11
Thanks for joining.
12
Thank you for having me.
13
It's so great to be face -to -face after usually chatting online.
14
Normally, 6 ,000 miles and nine time zones separate us, so it's great to be in person.
15
Excellent.
16
Shall we get started?
17
Lovely.
18
Excellent.
19
Here at Stanford, we teach our MBAs a lot about product market fit to increase the likelihood
20
that their offerings will hit the target and they'll be able to be productive.
21
You talk about message market fit.
22
What is this, and how can all of us benefit by maximizing it?
23
Every company that wants to be successful needs both product market fit, well there's a market for your product, and message market fit, which means that you find the right words,
24
the right story to convince top talent, customers and investors to work with you, buy from you, invest in you.
25
And if you do that, then you can achieve message market fit and you need both.
26
In my most recent book, Message Machine, we looked at why 90 % of startups fail, plus established companies, their lifespan gets shorter and shorter as well.
27
And more often than not, it's the lack of message market fit, right?
28
You have a product, it works, but there are just so many products out there, it's just very hard to get traction.
29
Because let's face it, no one cares about us, our company, our products.
30
We have to make them care.
31
And for that, we need the right words.
32
Have you found in your research certain words that work or certain ways of determining which words work?
33
Yeah, a common mistake I see is that companies like to talk about the product, what they do and why it's great and why they're
34
so excited about this
35
that doesn't work you want to talk about the outcome what's
36
in it for them what's in it for your customer you
37
probably heard the phrase people don't want a quarter inch drill they want a quarter inch hole
38
but i think that's even you know falling short
39
because who wants a hole in the wall people want a picture nicely hung on the wall
40
so show them the picture don't just describe the picture show them the picture Make them see it, make them feel it and believe it.
41
Make them believe what's possible if you work together, especially, of course, in the B2B space.
42
So that's what I would aim for, the outcome, what's in it for them.
43
Absolutely.
44
So the stories you're telling, to help your message fit the market is to make sure that it's relevant.
45
And you're explaining the value, not what it is, but the value it provides.
46
That's right.
47
And it's, you know, you and I could probably develop an app this weekend on helping people how to communicate better, right?
48
We could just do it.
49
But would it be a commercially viable operation?
50
Would it be a thriving company?
51
Well, it depends, right?
52
It's so easy to produce new services and products these days, but it's harder to find an audience and find customers for it.
53
So you can see how message market fit is even more important than it used to be.
54
Oh, absolutely.
55
And in fact, I would argue that as you're developing your product, as you're identifying your market, you need to be thinking about the message and the messaging around it.
56
Yes, do it in parallel.
57
Don't create a product and then think about how you want to sell it and find investors, etc. Do it in parallel or the Amazon way.
58
You create the press release first, right?
59
And then see if there are actually words that describe it.
60
But it's not easy, especially in the innovative spaces in the startup world.
61
Because you're by definition creating something that probably doesn't exist.
62
So finding the right words to describe it that people understand isn't easy.
63
And talk to your customers, right?
64
It's sometimes as simple as that.
65
You need to go out, founders leave the building, talk to your customers.
66
Right, and iterate as you go.
67
Just like you iterate on the product, you need to be iterating on the message.
68
Yeah.
69
In your book, Unignorable, you discuss the necessity of standing out in a crowded landscape, and it is getting more and more crowded every day.
70
For founders and leaders trying to build their brand in today's fast -paced digital creator -first world,
71
what is the first step to shifting from being overlooked to becoming truly unignorable?
72
The word unignorable is actually wordplay on a Steve Martin quote.
73
Steve Martin was asked, what makes someone successful?
74
And he said, be so good, they can't ignore you.
75
Of course, that's great if we can be that good, but it's only part of the story.
76
Because in this day and age, as you said, we have to also talk about the work.
77
So unignorable means you do good work, but you also talk about it.
78
In the same way you talk about your work, we're here to give, not to get, right?
79
And there's nothing icky about this.
80
So shifting your mindset from, oh, I let the work speak for itself, to I do good work and talk about it, that's the first step.
81
Then we need the right message, right?
82
Our words need to resonate.
83
We need to find an audience, customers, et cetera.
84
So we need the message and we also need a method.
85
We need to find a way that increases our reach and our reputation.
86
So that's where I would start with the mindset, the message and the method.
87
Anybody listening and you know this about me, I love mnemonics that help us.
88
Me too.
89
I love the three Ms. Can you break those down for us?
90
So the mindset is being comfortable, being out front with the value you bring.
91
That's right.
92
Other parts of that mindset piece? in 2018 when I started building my brand and start to write books, starting to podcast, I was hesitant.
93
And my team told me, Oliver, you need to be out there.
94
You need to be seen.
95
And I said, well, but it's about the team.
96
It's not about me.
97
It's like, yeah, we hear you, but it helps all of us.
98
So I think there is this mindset shift that we all go through.
99
Many of us have been brought up not to toot our own horns, to be humble.
100
And those are wonderful qualities and embrace them.
101
However, no one will know about us.
102
And that in this day and age where, you know let's face it it's hard out there the labor market's tough we need to be seen
103
so in a way our personal brand is our moat in
104
the age of ai well i got another m to be thinking about so finding
105
that level of comfort with being out there espousing what it
106
is you're representing your your brand your idea your product it is hard it was hard for me too uh
107
but but if you remind yourself that the work adds value to other people
108
and and being a mouthpiece for that can help in In terms of messaging, and I know this is a huge question, I don't mean it to be unfair,
109
but what have you found most helpful when people are trying to present their brand in terms of messaging?
110
I would focus on what you bring to the other person
111
and also who you are for and who you're not for and what you're not.
112
Oh, interesting.
113
Our brains are very good at understanding contrast.
114
I'm this, not that.
115
We're not good at understanding better.
116
What does that even mean?
117
Who's better than what?
118
Whose offer is better than what?
119
But if I'm saying, you know, I'm for leaders, I'm helping leaders communicate better with my speak like a CEO method.
120
First of all, I said who I am for.
121
And then I said there's something specific about the way I do it.
122
I have my own method.
123
And everything, as you know, you know, my academy and my books, etc., everything is called speak like a CEO.
124
So there's something distinctive about it.
125
And it's different.
126
If you say I need a workshop for 200 employees, it's probably not me.
127
I work with leaders.
128
So try to be distinctive and try to be clear who you're for and what you're not and who you're not for.
129
That idea of contrast, who you're for, who you're not for, what you do, what you don't do, very important.
130
It helps you define for yourself who your target audience is, but it helps your target audience figure out if you are appropriate for them.
131
So taking the time to do that thoughtful messaging is important.
132
That's right.
133
And we have three C's here that can help us.
134
So there's the contrast, there's the compression.
135
So we want to make it short, right?
136
We don't want to spend 30 seconds, two minutes to explain who we are and what we do.
137
And then there's cadence.
138
It should sound right.
139
And if we have something short, compressed, something that has good cadence, and something that contrasts, then we're on the right path for very strong, very succinct messaging.
140
Three Ms that lead to three Cs.
141
I really like that.
142
So the three Cs, again, are contrast, cadence, and compressed, being concise and clear.
143
Excellent.
144
And I think those are three criteria you can use to assess and measure any message as you craft them.
145
Let's talk about methods.
146
So there are lots of channels through which we can communicate information.
147
What advice and guidance do you have for finding the appropriate method for the message that you have?
148
Of course, think about where your audience is.
149
And for many of us, that may be LinkedIn.
150
You are very active on LinkedIn.
151
I'm very active on LinkedIn.
152
And on LinkedIn, I'd say it's all about your pace.
153
Pace is your profile, your audience, your content, and the engagement.
154
Profile is actually so important these days for a number of reasons.
155
I'd say it's your digital first impression, right?
156
So you want to get that right.
157
And yet I see a lot of profiles of professionals that are a little, let's say, unloved.
158
They could use a little TLC.
159
And I think it's just professional self -care to spend a little time on your profile.
160
So that's where I would start.
161
Make sure it really represents you well.
162
It used to be said that, oh, don't dress for the job you have.
163
Dress for the job you want to have right i'd say
164
today it's don't create a linkedin profile for the job you
165
have create one for the job you want to have that's
166
really good advice little tlc is probably in order there
167
so that's the profile and then the a
168
and pace is your audience think about who you want to reach
169
because they're a billion people
170
if you don't have the clarity you're not going to reach
171
anyone maybe you need a hundred thousand followers Maybe you just need a thousand strong connections.
172
So reach out to people in your industries.
173
Who are the decision makers in your industry that should know you?
174
Engage with their content, reach out to them, connect with them.
175
So think about this with intention.
176
Then content.
177
You probably think that LinkedIn is pretty busy, right?
178
Lots of people posting content.
179
But actually of the billion plus people on the platform, only 1 % of them post regularly, like a couple of times per week.
180
So if you post two times a week, you're in the top 1 % on LinkedIn.
181
You're top 1 % in your industry on LinkedIn.
182
And let's say you post good quality content, you probably need 0 .1 % in your industry just by posting a few solid posts per week, not AI slop.
183
And then E, engagement and pace.
184
That is, you need to engage with other people's content so they engage with you.
185
It's give and take, right?
186
It's not, oh, please come and engage with my content if you're not willing to engage with other people's content.
187
I love a good acronym.
188
And I think for any online posting, pace makes a lot of sense.
189
Think about your profile.
190
Think about your audience.
191
Really focus on your content and then engage.
192
Engage not just with your content, but content of other people.
193
If you do that, not only will you keep up the pace, you'll set the pace.
194
That's right.
195
I appreciate that.
196
So for people who do what we do, Oliver, anxiety looms large for those that we try to help.
197
Share with me a little bit about how you help people feel more comfortable confident and calm
198
when they communicate maybe i can you know contribute one little framework i'm i'm i'm developed this for myself
199
because like everyone you know if the stage is big enough
200
and the stakes are high enough i think we can all feel it oh absolutely
201
so it's bmw body mind and words
202
and it starts with your body in the order matters because
203
if we're nervous as you know it's a physiological signal
204
and we can do sighing we can do breathing exercises i'm a big fan of movement
205
because if we stand in the same place or sit in the same place the body can feel trapped.
206
So a little movement, light movement, walking around the block is much better than checking our emails before we go on stage
207
or give a presentation because that probably gets our blood racing
208
and something is in there that really excites us in a negative way.
209
So, you know, be body, breathing, sighing, movement.
210
Then mindset.
211
It helps to reframe, as you know, and there's good Harvard research and you had Alison Woodbrooks on here as well, to reframe the nervousness as excitement.
212
On top of that, I'm a big fan of power memories, meaning we think back to similar situations that we aced, right?
213
If I'm going to present to the board and my mind goes, and all the things that could go wrong.
214
No, bring your memories back to the presentations that you did really well.
215
So that's a power memory and it helps us sort of
216
when we drift off into all the negative territory to bring it back.
217
And then the W is the words.
218
people get nervous because of their words, because either they haven't prepared enough, solution is simple, or they have prepared in the wrong way,
219
which means they have usually tried to remember script, right?
220
And as, you know, you're a big proponent of structure, you want to use structure, not a script.
221
You know, a script is very time consuming, it's hard.
222
We are not professional actors, I can't remember a script.
223
We want to use structure, we want to memorize our key messages, our points, not remember a script.
224
So BMW, we reset our nervous system, we reframe the situation in our minds and then we prepare with structure to organize our words.
225
Well put.
226
You've redefined the CEO role.
227
You argue that the CEO really should be the storyteller in chief.
228
Tell me more about that and how do we help CEOs, and it doesn't have to be CEO, leaders of any type, to really understand the importance of storytelling in their job?
229
Stories is how we think, how we make sense of the world, right?
230
A two -year -old can understand a story, but it takes 20 years of education, Stanford, for instance, to be a good finance professional or to be a doctor or something.
231
You can see why storytelling beats fact -telling every day of the week.
232
What does it mean for CEOs?
233
I think especially in this day and age where the world is changing so fast, no company can be sure that it's going to be around in a few years.
234
Many employees worry about what AI will do to their jobs, their roles.
235
I think especially now a CEO has a duty to make sense of the world for employees
236
but also for other stakeholders, right?
237
Whether it's investors, regulators, the public.
238
I think it's their duty.
239
And I think that storytelling is the right vehicle to do this.
240
How?
241
To me, there are three levels of speakers.
242
The bottom level is sort of the rambler, right?
243
The rambler starts somewhere and ends somewhere and thinks while they speak, but they lose the audience in the process.
244
Level two is the robot.
245
And the robot is, you know, scripting it out, rehearsing it 20 times.
246
It's going to be on message, but it's going to be stiff and unnatural.
247
So it's not going to be very engaging is not going to be a great storyteller.
248
So level three is the raconteur, the storyteller.
249
And the storyteller uses story structure, doesn't use scripts, and just has that mindset of I need to tell a story, I need to explain what our vision is,
250
where are we going, what so what now what is one of your favorite structures.
251
There are some others like excite, disturb, assure or goal problem solution
252
so i can ramble i can talk about the things we want to achieve as a business
253
or i say here's the goal now here's the challenge we face
254
and here's the solution right and
255
if i do this then i start becoming a stronger storyteller
256
and it's not actually rocket science right it comes
257
so naturally to us once we overcome this inhibition of oh i need to tell facts
258
and you know this is what we do here i think
259
that belongs to the industrial age i think today we We live in an age of visionaries
260
and storytellers because none of us knows where we are going, what happens to the world.
261
So the more inspirational, the more educational a leader can be, the better for everyone.
262
Well put.
263
Having the ability to tell a story, to focus on the importance of storytelling really makes a difference.
264
And it makes a difference in all of our lives, regardless of if we're leaders or not.
265
Oliver, I knew this was going to be fantastic.
266
I knew it was because we've had several conversations
267
and I always learn something
268
and really enjoy it before we end you well know I asked three questions
269
when I make up just for you
270
and the others I've been asking people for a long time are you up for
271
that absolutely excellent well as somebody who studies communication is really invested your life in not only developing your own
272
but helping others I'm curious if there's one area
273
that you find yourself coming back to
274
that you yourself are working on I constantly have to work on my listening skills
275
and I feel that I can always get better in all communication but particularly listening.
276
Curious if there's something that you're working on and how are you working on it?
277
I'm trying to work on my humor and trying to be more interesting
278
or entertaining because as you know the brain doesn't pay attention to boring things
279
and yet a lot of business communication is boring
280
so the bar is very low to be a little more entertaining than the next guy who's presenting
281
so that's definitely an area I'm working on
282
and I learned this from Drew Tarvin who wrote a great book called Humor at Work, he's a fantastic guy and we spent some time together last year
283
and said well it's not really about telling jokes or scrotting jokes about being that conversational humor, that levity you bring in and just trying to think, how can this be a little more fun?
284
How can this presentation a little more fun?
285
Okay, maybe there's a meme, maybe there's a funny picture I can use.
286
How can we make this conversation more fun?
287
These little things, that's often enough.
288
It's not ha ha, laugh out loud.
289
It's really those little steps.
290
So humor is definitely an area.
291
I personally need to work on that too.
292
But this idea of bringing levity allows for connection and allows for energy.
293
And I appreciate you're working on it
294
and i've known you long enough to know you're pretty good
295
at it you're pretty funny thank you question number two who's a communicator that you admire and why in 2021
296
there was a new ceo of the hugo boss company that's a german apparel company called daniel reala and
297
he came in the company was in a you know slightly challenged position and in the first week he
298
assembled his top 100 leaders
299
and he said to them look we have a choice here
300
we can either spend the next year getting to know each other and building trust.
301
Or we decide right here that we trust each other.
302
Now, I know this is a great company, only great people work here.
303
That's why I'm telling you now, I'm trusting you.
304
And the team responded in kind and also trusted him.
305
And the result was the next few years were actually very strong from a business perspective and obviously made things easier.
306
So for me, the lesson is as a leader, as a communicator, Be trusting and be trustworthy.
307
That's how you build trust.
308
And that's why I admire him for this statement and this approach, because I think it's not easy.
309
You come into a new company that isn't doing so well, to be that trusting in the people who are already there, that's a move.
310
I appreciate you sharing that.
311
At the end of the day, trust underlies communication.
312
It's about connection and trust.
313
When we had Jamil Zaki on as a guest, he said, one of the things we can do to really build trust is to trust loudly.
314
In other words, state out loud your trust.
315
And you just gave a great example of that.
316
I hate to have to ask our final question, but we do have to bring this to an end.
317
What are the first three ingredients that go into a successful communication recipe?
318
I think we often jump to the question, oh, what am I going to say?
319
I would suggest let's take a step back and just strategize for a few seconds.
320
I always start with character.
321
Like, how do I want to show up?
322
Am I a coach, a mentor?
323
Do I want to inspire?
324
Do I want to inform?
325
Second is context.
326
And then I put myself in the shoes of the audience, right?
327
What are their worries, their fears, their hopes, desires?
328
What's their state of mind for this conversation?
329
And only thirdly, content, right?
330
What do I want to say?
331
Character, context, and content.
332
Those are three ingredients I would think about before any presentation, conversation, etc. Enough said.
333
You paraphrased it.
334
You gave an excellent tool to remember it.
335
Those three make for excellent communication, as does all your advice.
336
You have been very helpful in giving us actionable, clear, and memorable tips.
337
Oliver, you did not disappoint.
338
I knew you wouldn't.
339
Thank you so much for joining us.
340
Thank you, Matt.
341
I really appreciate all the work you're doing and love your book, as you know, so appreciate.
342
Thank you for listening to another episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast.
343
To learn more about how to be an effective communicator, please listen to episode 82.
344
with Nancy Duarte.
345
This episode was produced by Catherine Reed, Alex McCarthy, Ryan Campos, and me, Matt Abrahams.
346
Our music is from Floyd Wonder, with special thanks to the Podium Podcast Company.
347
Please find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
348
Be sure to subscribe and rate us.
349
Also, follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram.
350
And check out Fastersmarter .io for deep dive videos, English language learning content, and our newsletter.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
C11
Talk Back: Why Arguing With Yourself Can Help You Flourish
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
Quick Thinks: Network Smarter and Make Better Connections
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
Trust the Process: How to Design Teams That Actually Work
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
Want To Make Your Ideas Stick? Make It Into A Meme!
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2What 300 Episodes Has Taught Us
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
Directness with Respect: How to Make the Hard Conversations Easy
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
Why Every Question Is A Gift
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C13
Shark Tank's Daniel Lubetzky: The Pitch Mistake That Loses Investors
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C11
A Matter of Meaning: What Other People Teach You About Your Communication
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
Don't Lose the Room: How to Make Ideas Stick
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C1Quick Thinks: A CLEAR Way Through Conflict
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C17
Your Voice Is a Wind Instrument | Matt Abrahams on Projecting Without Straining
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
The First 5 Seconds: How to Start a Speech the Moment All Eyes Suddenly Turn to You | AMA
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
The Devastating Note That Nearly Made Adam Grant Quit Teaching
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C14
The Respect Effect: What Stereotype Threat Teaches Us About Communication
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
Ask Matt Anything: Don’t Let Your Communication Fizzle at the Finish
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B27
3 Techniques for Managing Speaking Anxiety
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B22
REPLACED BY RETHINKS How to Pitch Anything: 10-20-30 Rule by Guy Kawasaki
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C16
Small Talk Tips From a Matchmaker: Start Your Story in the MIDDLE!
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B21
Quick Thinks: How to Have Better Conversations About Aging
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B21
77 sentences
How I Overcame Failure | Jack Ma | 馬雲/马云
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
155 sentences
4 Ways to Stop Self-Sabotaging Your Success | Conor Neill
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
74 sentences
PTE Retell Lecture July 2026 | Real Exam Questions With Answers | 4K Ultra HD Video
TOEFL PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
C1480 sentences
Everything Valuable from an MBA in 25 minutes
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
66 sentences
Want to Lead? Be Well Spoken and Well Dressed | Sylvia Ann Hewlett | Big Think
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B211
48 sentences
4 Fundamentals to Smart Speaking | Matt Abrahams (Key Points Talk)
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
205 sentences
DO THIS every day to become a magnetic communicator!
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
46 sentences
What We Get WRONG About Business | Simon Sinek
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
196 sentences
How To Market and Sell To ANYONE… | Josh Kaufman
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
128 sentences
Speaking Like This Makes Your YouTube Videos Impossible To Forget
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Who Will Benefit from This Video?
This video is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners looking to boost their english speaking practice skills, especially in professional or business contexts. If you want to craft clear, persuasive messages—whether for work, presentations, or even pitching ideas—this conversation between Matt Abrahams and Oliver Oust offers practical, real-world insights. It’s also great for those mastering the shadowing technique, as the natural, conversational flow makes it easy to mimic tone and rhythm.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
Here are standout phrases from the video to add to your toolkit:
- Communication signature: The unique way someone communicates, like a "verbal fingerprint."
- Hit the target: To succeed or meet a goal (e.g., "Your message needs to hit the target with your audience").
- Get traction: To gain momentum or attention (e.g., "New products struggle to get traction without a clear message").
- What's in it for them: A key question to focus on the audience's benefits (abbreviated as WIIFM in business).
How to Master the Accent & Flow
To practice with this video using the shadowing technique, focus on these pronunciation tips:
- Reduced speech: Notice how "what's in it for them" becomes a smooth "watsin it for them" in fast conversation. Mimic this to sound natural.
- Stress on key words: The speakers emphasize words like "outcome," "value," and "believe." Highlight these to make your message impactful, just like they do.
- Intonation in questions: Listen to how "Shall we get started?" rises at the end, and "Would it be a thriving company?" falls slightly—this subtlety keeps conversations engaging.
Repeat short segments, pausing and replaying to match their pace. This is how shadow speak works: by mirroring native speakers, you’ll build confidence and fluency.
Why This Video Works for Learning
Beyond vocabulary and pronunciation, the video teaches critical communication strategies—like focusing on audience needs over product features. Use it to practice learn english with videos in a way that’s both practical and engaging. Whether you’re preparing a pitch or just want to speak more persuasively, this conversation is a goldmine for real-world skills. Keep practicing, and remember: the best messages make people feel the value, not just hear it!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | We've done · Have you found · have been brought |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being overlooked · was asked · be seen |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | fit, which means · people who do · somebody who studies |
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.