Shadowing Practice: Pitching Your Start-Up to Investors - Learn English Speaking with Video
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36 sentences
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1
Thank you for coming in, Daniel.
2
You've got ten minutes, so do make them count.
3
Thank you. I'll get straight to the point.
4
We've built an app that helps small shops manage their stock.
5
Most shop owners still rely on pen and paper.
6
As a result, they lose money on unsold goods.
7
And how exactly does your app solve that?
8
It predicts what will sell, based on past sales.
9
Interesting. How many customers have you got so far?
10
Just over three hundred, all paying a monthly fee.
11
We launched eighteen months ago with only twelve.
12
That's healthy growth. What's your monthly revenue?
13
Currently around fifteen thousand pounds.
14
We expect that to double within a year.
15
That's quite a bold forecast.
16
What is it based on?
17
We've recently signed a deal with a national wholesaler.
18
They'll recommend us to four thousand shops.
19
Impressive. Are you making a profit yet?
20
Not yet, but we expect to break even by spring.
21
So how much are you hoping to raise?
22
Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
23
In return, we're offering a ten percent share.
24
That values the company at two and a half million.
25
It seems rather high for a business that isn't profitable.
26
I understand your concern.
27
However, our customers hardly ever leave us.
28
Ninety-five percent renew their subscription every year.
29
What would the money actually be spent on?
30
Mostly on hiring two more developers.
31
The rest would go towards marketing.
32
And what happens if a bigger competitor copies you?
33
They'd struggle, because our data has taken years to collect.
34
Well, you've clearly done your homework.
35
We'll need to look at your accounts in detail.
36
But I think it's fair to say we're interested.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 36 sentences and 282 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:12. The speaker talks at a steady 128 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pound noun | /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ | A unit of weight in various measurement systems. |
| impressive adjective | /ɪmˈpɹɛsɪv/ | Making, or tending to make, a positive impression; having power to impress. |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| hire verb | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. |
| collect verb | /ˈkɑlɪkt/ | To gather together; amass. |
| twelve noun | /twɛlv/ | A group of twelve items. |
| fifty noun | /ˈfɪfti/ | A banknote or coin with a denomination of 50. |
| rely verb | /ɹɪˈlaɪ/ | To trust; to have confidence in; to depend. |
| bold adjective | /ˈbəʊld/ | Courageous, daring. |
| developer noun | /dɪˈvɛləpɚ/ | A person or entity engaged in the creation or improvement of certain classes of products. |
| fifteen noun | /ˈfɪf.tiːn/ | An Irish traybake made with crushed digestive biscuits, marshmallows and glacé cherries combined with condensed milk and desiccated coconut. |
| homework noun | /ˈhoʊmˌwɝk/ | Exercises assigned by a teacher to a student which review concepts studied in class. |
| forecast noun | /ˈfɔːkɑːst/ | An estimation of a future condition. |
| predict verb | /pɹɪˈdɪkt/ | To make a prediction: to forecast, foretell, or estimate a future event on the basis of knowledge and reasoning; to prophesy a future event on the basis of… |
| subscription noun | /səbˈskɹɪpʃən/ | Access to a resource for a period of time, generally for payment. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 11 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we've, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: developer /dɪˈvɛləpɚ/, competitor /kəmˈpɛt.ɪ.tɚ/
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 pound, impressive, solve.
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.