Shadowing Practice: Simon Sinek: Golden Circle Speech - TED Talk - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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- I call it the golden circle.
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Thank you.
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- Why, how, what?
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This little idea explains why some organizations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren't.
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Let me define the terms really quickly.
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Every single person, every single organization on the planet knows what they do 100%.
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Some know how they do it, whether you call it your differentiating value proposition, or your proprietary process, or your USP.
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But very, very few people or organizations know why they do what they do.
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And by why, I don't mean to make a profit.
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That's a result.
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It's always a result.
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By why I mean what's your purpose?
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What's your cause?
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What's your belief?
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Why does your organization exist?
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Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
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And why should anyone care?
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Well, as a result, the way we think, the way we act, the way we communicate, is from the outside in.
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It's obvious.
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We go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing.
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But the inspired leaders and the inspired organizations regardless of their size, regardless of their industry, all think,
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act and communicate from the inside out.
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Let me give you an example.
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I use Apple because they're easy to understand and everybody gets it.
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If Apple were like everyone else, A marketing message from them might sound like this: We make great computers.
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They're beautifully designed.
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Simple to use and user friendly.
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Want to buy one?
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Meh.
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And that's how most of us communicate.
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That's how most marketing is done, that's how most sales is done, and that's how most of us communicate interpersonally.
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We say what we do, we say how we're different or how we're better, and we expect some sort of behavior, a purchase of votes, something like that.
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Here's our new law firm.
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We have the best lawyers with the biggest clients.
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We always perform for our clients, do business with us.
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Here's our new car.
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It gets great gas mileage, it has leather seats.
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by our car but it's uninspiring.
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Here's how Apple actually communicates.
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Everything we do We believe in challenging the status quo, We believe in thinking differently.
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The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly.
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We just happened to make great computers.
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Want to buy one?
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Totally different, right?
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You ready to buy a computer from me?
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All I did was reverse the order of the information.
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What it proves to us is that people don't buy what you do, people buy why you do it.
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People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
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This explains why every single person in this room is perfectly comfortable buying a computer from Apple.
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But we're also perfectly comfortable buying an MP3 player from Apple, or a phone from Apple, or a DVR from Apple.
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But as I said before, Apple's just a computer company.
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There's nothing that distinguishes them structurally from any of their competitors.
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Their competitors are all equally qualified to make all of these products.
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In fact, they tried.
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A few years ago, Gateway came out with flat -screen TVs.
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They're eminently qualified to make flat -screen TVs.
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They've been making flat -screen monitors for years.
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Nobody bought one.
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and Dell Dell came out with MP3 players and PDAs.
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And they make great quality products and they can make perfectly well designed products.
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and nobody bought one.
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In fact, talking about it now, we can't even imagine buying an MP3 player from Dell.
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Why would you buy an MP3 player from a computer company?
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but we do it every day.
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People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
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When we communicate from the outside in, yes, people can understand vast amounts of complicated information, like features and benefits and facts and figures.
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It just doesn't drive behavior.
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When we communicate from the inside out, we're talking directly to the part of the brain
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that controls behavior and then we allow people to rationalize it with the tangible things we say and do.
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This is where gut decisions come from.
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You know, sometimes you can give somebody all the facts and your figures and they say, "I know what all the facts and details say, but it just doesn't feel right." Why would we use that verb?
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It doesn't feel right.
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Because the part of the brain that controls decision making doesn't control language.
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And the best we can muster up is, "I don't know, it just doesn't feel right."
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Or sometimes you say you're leading with your heart or you're leading with your soul.
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Well, I hate to break it to you, those aren't other body parts controlling your behavior.
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It's all happening here in your limbic brain.
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The part of the brain that controls decision making and not language.
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But if you don't know why you do what you do, and people respond to why you do what you do,
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then how will anybody How will you ever get people to vote for you or buy something from you, or more importantly, be loyal?

Why practice speaking with this video?

Practicing speaking through Simon Sinek's "Golden Circle" TED Talk provides a unique opportunity to enhance your communication skills in English. The context of the talk revolves around inspiring leadership and effective messaging, which are essential skills in both personal and professional environments. By using this video, you can learn how to articulate ideas with clarity and passion. The speaking benefits are manifold:

  • Inspiration and Motivation: Sinek's compelling delivery encourages you to speak with conviction, essential for engaging your audience.
  • Structured Messaging: The concept of the "Golden Circle" illustrates how organizing your thoughts from the 'why' leads to more effective communication.
  • Emotive Language: The use of emotive expressions can help you learn to evoke responses from your listeners.

Utilizing a shadowing app can greatly assist you in mimicking the speaker's tone and rhythm, enhancing your speaking capabilities through the shadowing technique.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Through this video, several key structures and expressions can be analyzed:

  • “I call it the golden circle.” - This phrase illustrates how to introduce concepts effectively. Using direct language engages your listeners.
  • “The way we think, the way we act...” - This repetition emphasizes a point, reinforcing meaning and improving retention.
  • “By why, I mean what's your purpose?” - This structure invites reflection and critical thinking, useful in both personal narratives and business pitches.
  • “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” - A powerful statement that shows the importance of purpose over product. It’s a great example of a concise, impactful expression that resonates with listeners.

Incorporating these structures into your speech will allow you to communicate more effectively, especially when using techniques like shadow speech.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Several tricky words and phrases in Sinek's talk may pose challenges for English learners:

  • “Differentiating” - This word can be difficult due to its length and multiple syllables. Breaking it down into “dif-fer-en-ti-at-ing” can aid in pronunciation.
  • “Inspire” - The soft 's' sound followed by 'pire' can be challenging; practicing it within the context of a full sentence can be beneficial.
  • “Status quo” - This phrase often trips up speakers due to the combination of sounds. Emphasizing the 's' in 'status' and practicing the flow into 'quo' will improve clarity.

Using a shadowspeak approach to practice these words can help you master their pronunciation, making your speech smoother and more natural.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →