Shadowing Practice: Stop Overthinking What to Post on Social Media - Learn English Speaking with Video
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accounts are changing right in front of our eyes.
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I'm gonna show you something right now.
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I have 15 million followers on TikTok, right?
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My latest post on TikTok right there has 25 ,000 views, right, you see it?
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Now, I'm starting a new account where I'm just going around TikTok and I'm replying to people, okay?
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It's called Gary Vee Replies.
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Everybody can follow it now.
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There's 461 followers, right?
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This video, the one that I just posted, has 32 ,000 and I only have 461 followers.
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It doesn't matter what account you're posting on more and more every day.
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The quality of the content is what's going to matter.
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Followers are diminishing in your guaranteed to get views and awareness.
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The content now is finding their audience.
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Let me give you a for instance.
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If I make a video right now about spades, okay?
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Like I love spades like I know how to sneak it in.
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You're never gonna catch me.
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I know what to do.
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I've got hand signals with my partner.
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Like we know what to do.
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If I did that in 2017 to the audience I had, it would be a low performing piece of content because people are like,
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yeah, occasionally they want a little randomness for me, but they want their business stuff, their motivation stuff.
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Today, if I posted that on TikTok, especially, but more and more every other platform too,
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that is literally going to show up in the feeds of people who don't even know who I am
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that fuck with spades.
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Now, it's going to show up to 12 or 15 people.
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And if none of them react, that it'll probably die pretty quickly.
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And it will low perform.
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But I made a video years ago
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that still gets brought up all the time of me talking about how much I love blueberries
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and that I can eat blueberries better than anyone.
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And that video got 5 million views at the time when most of my stuff was getting 500 ,000.
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And so that one just hit.
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And that goes back to you are the niche, that goes back to talk about what you love or you know.
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You should make a video today talking about music and vinyl inning while you make a salad.
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Okay.
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Now, I know I'm confusing you with that, but the reason I'm doing that for you
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and this entire audience is I'm trying to teach you that different pieces of content in different contexts
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in different environments with different ideas can lead to breakthroughs and insights and new audiences.
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Okay.
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Do not think about where do I post it.
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Think about how do I make content that's different and interesting and brings value to the audience.
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You need to not overthink what your niche is.
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You need to post about a lot of different things.
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You could post about real estate, you could post about fashion, you could post about food, You could post about football.
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You could post about makeup.
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You could post about travel.
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You need to post everything.
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The problem is all of you are trying to figure out what to do.
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I'm telling you do everything and let the information tell you what you should do.
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99 % of people are not good enough for us to give a fuck about what they're posting.
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And by the way, that was a very nice number that I just put out.
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The number's higher than that.
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And the reason they're not good enough is they're worried about them.
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The best way to be a creator that pops is to be 100 % focused on the audience.
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People think they have to be an expert or a charismatic supernova.
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I actually think most people really enjoy watching people go through their journey more than people realize.
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So like there's somebody right now who's watching whose breakthrough is actually them learning surfing.
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Ah, you surf.
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Yes.
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I do not.
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Yes.
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If I believe that if I started making a ton of content of my journey of trying to learn to surf,
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it'd probably be the best content I'm making currently right now.
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People like a good journey if it's authentic.
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There's so many fucking posers out here acting like marketing experts
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because they literally watch my video and then go make a video regurgitating what I said.
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I get it.
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And it's clever or slimy, depending on how one wants to look at it, but it's not gonna work because you're gonna get exposed.
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It has to be you and it's either what you're really into or what journey you're going through.
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The reason a video would not do well is the thumbnail's not good enough, the first three seconds are not good enough,
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the format you chose, is it reels, is it a regular post, the copy that you wrote to support the video.
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there's so much science
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that goes into the art i need
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you to start putting in 10 20 hours of studying to get good at
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that then it will be consistency once you're good at the craft
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now again don't get discouraged let's say someone got excited about what i just said
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and they made a post tomorrow about stratego the board game
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and the following day about lasagna and the next day about Run DMC.
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And all three did way worse than the stuff they normally do.
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I don't need a DM from y 'all saying, Gary Vee, you're wrong, you lost it, you're the worst.
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You just did three.
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If you do 100 of them, then I'm about that life.
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Then you can come and yell at me.
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But I have a funny feeling on your road to 100, something good's about to happen.
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It's just more.
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Like, I keep telling people building a brand on social media is like going to the gym.
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It's fucking more reps.
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That's it, brother.
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Yeah, more reps.
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More reps.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Stop Overthinking What to Post on Social Media”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: content, audience, Tiktok, followers, journey. This video has 91 sentences and 979 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:34. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| follower noun | /ˈfɒləʊə(ɹ)/ | One who follows, comes after another. |
| rep noun | /ɹɛp/ | A fabric made of silk or wool, or of silk and wool, and having a transversely corded or ribbed surface. |
| surf verb | /sɝf/ | To ride a wave on a surfboard; to pursue or take part in the sport of surfing. |
| niche noun | /nɪt͡ʃ/ | A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. |
| breakthrough noun | /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/ | An advance through and past enemy lines. |
| format noun | /ˈfɔːɹ.mæt/ | The layout of a publication or document. |
| awareness noun | /əˈwɛɹ.nəs/ | The state or level of consciousness where sense data can be confirmed by an observer. |
| guarantee noun | /ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/ | Anything that assures a certain outcome. |
| occasionally adverb | /əˈkeɪʒənəli/ | On occasion: at relatively infrequent intervals, from time to time, sometimes. |
| craft noun | /ˈkɹæft/ | Ability, skillfulness, especially skill in making plans and carrying them into execution; dexterity in managing affairs, adroitness, practical cunning… |
| motivation noun | /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/ | Willingness of action especially in behavior. |
| clever adjective | /ˈklɛv.ɚ/ | Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept. |
| creator noun | /kɹiːˈeɪ̯təː/ | Something or someone which creates or makes something. |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| insight noun | /ˈɪnsaɪ̯t/ | A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; frequently used with into. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| bring up verb | To mention. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| go around verb | To move or spread from person to person. |
| put out verb | To blind (eyes). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I'm gonna show you something right now.
- You're never gonna catch me.
- I've got hand signals with my partner.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | My latest · The best · the worst |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | enjoy watching · started making · start putting |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | better than · higher than · worse than |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should make · should do |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 32 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breakthrough /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, diminish /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/, charismatic /ˌkɛɹəzˈmætək/, supernova /ˌsuː.pə(ɹ)ˈnəʊ.və/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like follower, rep, surf.
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.