Shadowing Practice: Steve Jobs Insult Response - Highest Quality - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Yes.

Mr. Jobs, you're a bright and influential man.

Here it comes.

It's sad and clear that on several accounts you've discussed, you don't know what you're talking about.

I would like, for example, for you to express in clear terms how, say, Java, in any of its incarnations,

addresses the ideas embodied in OpenDuck.

And when you're finished with that, perhaps you could tell us what you personally have been doing for the last seven years.

You know,

you can please some of the people some of the time.

One of the hardest things when you're trying to effect change is that people like this gentleman are right in some areas.

I'm sure that there are some things OpenDoc does, probably even more that I'm not familiar with, that nothing else out there does.

And I'm sure that you can make some demos, maybe a small commercial app that demonstrates those things.

The hardest thing is, how does that fit in to a cohesive,

larger vision that's going to allow you to sell $8 billion, $10 billion of product a year.

And one of the things I've always found is

that you've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.

You can't start with the technology and try to figure out where you're going to try to sell it.

this mistake probably more than anybody else in this room.

And I've got the scar tissue to prove it.

And I know that it's the case.

And as we have tried to come up with a strategy and a vision for Apple,

it started with what incredible benefits can we give to the customer?

Where can we take the customer?

Not starting with, let's sit down with the engineers and figure out what awesome technology we have,

and then how are we going to market that.

And I think that's the right path to take.

I remember with the laser writer, we built the world's first small laser printers, you know.

And there was awesome technology in that box.

We had the first Canon cheap laser printing engine in the world, in the United States here, at Apple.

We had a very wonderful printer controller that we designed.

We had Adobe's PostScript software in there.

We had AppleTalk in there.

Just awesome technology in the box.

And I remember seeing the first printout come out of it and just picking it up and looking at it and thinking,

you know, we can sell this.

Because you don't have to know anything about what's in that box.

All we have to do is hold this up and go, do you want this?

And if you can remember back to 1984 before laser printers, it was pretty startling to see that.

People went, whoa, yes.

And that's where Apple's got to get back to.

And I'm sorry that Open Doc's a casualty along the way.

And I readily admit there are many things in life that I don't have the faintest idea what I'm talking about.

So I apologize for that, too.

But there's a whole lot of people working super, super hard right now at Apple.

You know, Avi, John, Garino, Fred.

I mean, the whole team is working, burning the midnight oil, trying to, and hundreds of people below them,

to execute on some of these things, and they're doing their best.

And I think that what we need to do, and some mistakes will be made, by the way.

Some mistakes will be made along the way.

That's good, because at least some decisions are being made along the way.

And we'll find the mistakes, we'll fix them.

And I think what we need to do is support that team

going through this very important stage as they work their butts off.

They're all getting calls, being offered three times as much money to go do this, the valley's hot, and none of them are leaving.

And I think we need to support them and see them through this and write some damn good applications

to support Apple out in the market.

That's my own point of view.

Mistakes will be made.

Some people will be pissed off.

Some people will not know what they're talking about.

But I think it is so much better than where things were not very long ago.

And I think we're going to get there.

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93 sentences

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (with intro by President John Hennessy)

Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 62 sentences and 734 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:13. The speaker talks at a steady 141 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

laser /ˈleɪzɚ/ (noun) — A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.
printer /ˈpɹɪntɚ/ (noun) — One who makes prints.
tissue /ˈtɪʃ.(j)u/ (noun) — Thin, woven, gauzelike fabric.
midnight /ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/ (noun) — The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise.
butt /bʌt/ (noun) — The buttocks or anus (used as a minced oath in idiomatic expressions; less objectionable than arse/ass).
demonstrate /ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/ (verb) — To show how to use (something).
apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ (verb) — To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends
gentleman /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/ (noun) — Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
controller /kənˈtɹoʊlɚ/ (noun) — One who controls something.
influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/ (adjective) — Having or exerting influence.
demo /ˈdɛm.oʊ/ (noun) — A demonstration or visual explanation.
execute /ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/ (verb) — To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
readily /ˈɹɛdɪli/ (adverb) — Without unwillingness or hesitation; showing readiness.
whoa /woʊ/ — Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
faint /feɪnt/ (adjective) — Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness

Phrasal verbs you will hear

talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
figure out (verb) — To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
come up with (verb) — To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
do for (verb) — To doom; to bring about the demise of someone; to injure or harm someone.
finish with (verb) — To put aside, break all relations with, or reject finally.
get back to (verb) — Return to (an activity)
go through (verb) — To travel from one end of something to the other.
look at (verb) — To observe or watch.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 24 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: tissue /ˈtɪʃ.(j)u/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/, casualty /ˈkæʒu.əlti/, incarnation /ˌɪŋ.kɑɹˈneɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, influential /ɪnflʊˈɛnʃəl/, casualty /ˈkæʒu.əlti/, incarnation /ˌɪŋ.kɑɹˈneɪ.ʃən/

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 laser, printer, tissue.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	will be made · being made · being offered
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've discussed · I've always found · have tried

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 →

Shadowing Practice: Steve Jobs Insult Response - Highest Quality - Learn English Speaking with Video

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