Shadowing Practice: Phrasal Verbs For Meetings - Business English - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hi everybody!
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Hope you're all doing well.
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In this short lesson I'm going to show you eight useful phrasal verbs that are often used in business meetings.
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Welcome back to English for Professionals.
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I'm Derek and I'm here with another short lesson for you busy people.
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Before we get started just a quick reminder to subscribe to my channel, hit the red button and don't forget to click on the little bell.
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That way you'll be notified every time I upload a new lesson.
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And join my email list.
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Every two weeks I send out my free vocabulary email with additional business English, words from the news and everyday English for you to learn.
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The link is in the description below.
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And now let's get started.
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For each phrasal verb, you'll see two example sentences.
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To practice your speaking and pronunciation skills, repeat each example sentence with me after you hear 1, 2, 3.
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And our first phrasal verb is get through.
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Get through.
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If you get through a task or an amount of work, you complete it.
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The first example sentence is something that you would hear at the start of a meeting.
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We have a lot to get through today, so let's begin.
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One, two, three.
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We have a lot to get through today, so let's begin.
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And the second example is something you would hear at the end of a meeting.
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Thanks for a great meeting, everybody.
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We got through a lot of important business today.
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One, two, three.
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Thanks for a great meeting everybody we got through a lot
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of important business today one two three thanks for a great
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meeting everybody we got through a lot of important business today
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and the second phrasal verb is knuckle down knuckle down
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and this means to focus and work hard on the task or job to be done
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we'll have to really knuckle down if we want to finish the project on schedule 1, 2, 3.
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We'll have to really knuckle down if we want to finish the project on schedule.
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The start of the month was hard, but we knuckled down and hit our sales targets in the end.
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1, 2, 3.
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The start of the month was hard, but we knuckled down and hit our sales targets in the end.
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Up next we have go over.
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Go over which means to carefully check or review something.
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This proposal is very important so let's go over it one more time.
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One two three.
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This proposal is very important so let's go over it one more time.
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Alex please go over the report and make sure there are no mistakes.
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One, two, three.
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Alex, please go over the report and make sure there are no mistakes.
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The next phrasal verb is bring up.
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Bring up, which means to start discussing a topic.
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That's a very interesting point.
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I'm glad you brought it up.
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One, two, three.
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That's a very interesting point.
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I'm glad you brought it up.
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I'm sorry, but I don't think we have time for that.
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Maybe you should bring it up at the next meeting.
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One, two, three.
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I'm sorry, but I don't think we have time for that.
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Maybe you should bring it up at the next meeting.
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Up next, we have go on.
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Go on.
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And this means to start talking again after a pause or interruption.
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Please go on.
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I'm sorry for interrupting.
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One, two, three.
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Please go on.
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I'm sorry for interrupting.
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And the second example is a little more formal.
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You would use this after you've been interrupted in a formal meeting.
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May I go on?
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One, two, three.
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May I go on?
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Up next we have break something down.
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break something down and this means to separate something into smaller parts
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so that it's easier to do
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or understand the process sounds quite complex could you break it
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down for us please one two three the process sounds quite
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complex could you break it down for us please there's a lot involved in this task
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so it might be better to break it down into smaller tasks.
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One, two, three.
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There's a lot involved in this task so it might be better to break it down into smaller tasks.
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And the next phrasal verb is point something out.
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Point something out.
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Which means to tell someone something that they did not already know or had not thought about that's completely new to me.
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Thanks for pointing it out.
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One, two, three.
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That's completely new to me.
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Thanks for pointing it out.
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I'd just like to point out that these results are from last year, not this year.
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One, two, three.
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I'd just like to point out
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that these results are from last year not this year
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and our last phrasal verb is to think something through think something through
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which means to carefully think about the possible result of doing something I'm afraid
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that wasn't our best decision we just didn't think it through one two three I'm afraid
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that wasn't our best decision we just didn't think it through I'm sorry
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but I don't think this plan will work you
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and your team need to think it through again one two three I'm sorry
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but I don't think this plan will work you
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and your team need to think it through again so
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that brings us to the end of another short lesson I hope you found it helpful and
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if you'd like to learn more phrasal verbs for business check
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out my other lesson on phrasal verbs you should see the link somewhere here
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if you like this lesson hit the like button
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and share with your friends and colleagues subscribe to my channel
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if you haven't done that already
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and don't forget to join my email list every two weeks
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i send out my free vocabulary email with additional business english words from the news
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and everyday english for you to learn the link is in the description below thanks a lot for watching
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and see you soon

Why This Video Is Perfect for Speaking Practice

This clip is a goldmine for business English learners—its clear, conversational tone mirrors real meeting dynamics, making it ideal for shadowing practice. The phrasal verbs are practical, and the example sentences are short enough to mimic easily, helping you build fluency in high-stakes contexts like work meetings or even IELTS speaking practice. Plus, the repetition of key phrases trains your ear to catch natural rhythm, a must for sounding confident.

Breaking Down Natural Speech: 3 Phrases That Work

  • “We have a lot to get through today, so let's begin.” This starts a meeting smoothly—using “get through” instead of “finish” sounds casual yet professional. The pause before “so let's begin” creates a natural flow, avoiding the robotic tone of over-rehearsed speech.
  • “That's a very interesting point. I'm glad you brought it up.” The phrase “brought it up” is a common way to acknowledge a topic in discussions, and the short, connected sentences mimic how native speakers respond quickly. Notice the stress on “glad”—it adds warmth, which is key in collaborative settings.
  • “Let's go over it one more time.” “Go over” is a phrasal verb that feels less formal than “review,” making it perfect for everyday meetings. The repetition of “one more time” softens the request, showing politeness without losing clarity.

A Simple Shadowing Routine to Try Today

Grab your phone or a shadowing app and try this: Play a 5-second clip of the video, pause, then repeat the sentence out loud, matching the intonation and speed. Record yourself, then compare. Focus on phrases like “knuckle down” or “bring up”—pay attention to how the speaker shortens “we'll” to “we'll” (not “we will”) for a natural sound. For extra practice, use shadowspeaks techniques: mimic the speaker's mouth movements to nail pronunciation. Do this for 10 minutes daily, and you'll notice your speech sounding more fluid in no time. Remember, the goal isn't perfection—it's progress. Keep at it, and you'll master these meeting phrases before you know it!

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.