Shadowing Practice: Taylor Swift's BEST inspirational speeches - Learn English Speaking with Video

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That you don't always get all the things in the bag

that you selected from the menu in the delivery surface that is life.

You get what you get.

There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success

or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.

But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, Someday when you get where you're going,

you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there.

You know, someone who felt like they had a lot of potential in their life.

I think there are a lot of mechanisms for us in our school days, in high school or college, to excel and to be patted on the back for something.

And then I think a lot of people get out of school

and there are less abilities for them to get gold stars.

Yeah.

And then you have to make all these decisions

and you have to pave your own way and there's no set class course you can take and there's

and I think a lot of people feel really swept up in

that and so I was thinking about this person who is really lost in life and then starts drinking and

Every second is trying not to.

Life can be heavy

Especially if you try to carry it all at once

Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release.

What I mean by that is knowing what things to keep and what things to release.

You can't carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex.

Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go.

Oftentimes, the good things in your life are lighter anyway, so there's more room for them.

One toxic relationship can outweigh so many wonderful, simple joys.

You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning.

But I really, really want everyone to know,

especially young people, that the hundreds or thousands of dumb ideas that I've had are what led me to my good ideas.

You have to give yourself permission to fail.

I try as hard as I can not to fail because it's embarrassing but I do give myself permission to, and you should too.

So go easy on yourselves and just make the right choices that feel right for you.

And someday someone might think that you've been innovative.

I've been thinking about addiction and I've been thinking about people who, if they're either suffering through mental illness or they're suffering through addiction or they have an everyday struggle,

no one pats them on the back every day, but every day they are actively fighting something but there are

so many days that nobody gives them credit for that yeah

and so how often must somebody who's in

that sort of internal struggle must want to say to everyone

in the room you have no idea how close I am to going back to a dark place

or you have no idea there's so many things all the time

and I know it can be really overwhelming figuring out who to be and when,

who you are now and how to act in order to get where you want to go.

I have some good news.

It's totally up to you.

I have some terrifying news.

It's totally up to you.

You know, people go on and on about like you have to forgive and forget to move past something.

No, you don't.

You don't have to forgive and you don't have to forget to move on.

You can move on without any of those things happening.

You just become indifferent and then you move on.

I think that, you know, if something's toxic and it's only ever really been that, what are you gonna do?

Just move on.

It's fine.

That there is no career path that comes free of negativity.

If you're being met with resistance,

that probably means that you're doing something new If you're experiencing turbulence or pressure that that probably means you're rising

And there might be times

when you put your whole heart and soul into something and it is met with

cynicism or skepticism You cannot let

that crush you you have to let it fuel you because we live in a world

where anyone has the right to say anything that they want about you at any time.

But just please remember that you have the right to prove them wrong.

Being embarrassed when you mess up is part of the human experience.

Getting back up, dusting yourself off, and seeing who still wants to hang out with you afterward and laugh about it, that's a gift.

The times I was told no, or wasn't included, wasn't chosen, didn't win, didn't make the cut,

But looking back, it really feels like those moments were as important, if not more crucial, than the moments I was told yes.

So this might be hard for you to hear.

In your life, you will inevitably misspeak, trust the wrong person, underreact,

overreact, hurt the people who didn't deserve it, overthink, not think at all.

Self -sabotage, create a reality where only your experience exists, ruin perfectly good moments for yourself and others,

deny any wrongdoing, not take the steps to make it right, feel very guilty, let the guilt eat at you,

hit rock bottom, finally address the pain you cause, try to do better next time, rinse, repeat.

I don't know about you that wasn't true.

You're seeing all these angles of your own life, and then you compare it to other people's lives when you don't see what they're going through.

You just see the good parts of what they're going through.

Am I right?

And so, I say to you, when you start to compare yourself to other people,

please change the channel in your mind to something else.

Because I think that when it comes to how we see ourselves, other people are really mean,

but we're really mean to ourselves.

And when you do get confused, and you start feeling like you're not special, or you're not different, or you have nothing important to say,

we all feel like that sometimes.

But I want you to do right now, if there's one thing you remember from tonight, remember what I'm about to say.

You need to look into the mirror in the morning and not tell yourself that you're not special, or you're not good enough, you're not pretty, or you're not awesome.

I'm going to tell you right now the things you actually are not, okay?

These are the things you really are not.

You are not the opinion of somebody who doesn't know you.

You are not damaged goods just because you've made mistakes in your life.

You are not going nowhere just because you haven't gotten where you want to go yet.

Those are the things you actually are not.

Now, I want to tell you what you are.

You are your own definition of beautiful and worthwhile.

That's what you are.

You are someone who is wiser because you made mistakes.

Not damaged.

Wiser.

You know it's not about perfection

It's about just getting on with things sometimes Sometimes you just get credit for getting up

100

and going on with things And you don't have to do it perfectly

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And I think that we mistake our mistakes for damage And we think other people will judge us for them

102

But I want you to know that the way I see mistakes They don't make you damaged.

103

They make you clean.

104

And I'm not going to lie.

105

These mistakes will cause you to lose things.

106

I'm trying to tell you that losing things doesn't just mean losing.

107

A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.

108

Like, everybody feels like they have to be on for certain people.

109

You have to be different versions of yourself for different people, different versions at work, different versions around friends, different versions of yourself around different friends,

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different version of yourself around family, around, you know, you just, everybody has to be duplicitous or feels that they have to, in some ways, be duplicitous.

111

And that's part of the human experience, but it's also exhausting.

112

Every choice you make leads to the next choice, which leads to the next.

113

And I know it's hard to know which path to take.

114

There will be times in life where you need to stand up for yourself.

115

Times when the right thing is actually to back down and apologize.

116

Times when the right thing is to fight.

117

Times when the right thing is to.. turn and run.

118

Times to hold on with all you have.

119

Times to let go with grace.

120

Sometimes the right thing to do is to throw out the old schools of thought in the name of progress and reform.

121

Sometimes the right thing to do is to sit and listen to the wisdom of those who have come before us.

122

How will you know what the right choice is in these crucial moments?

123

You won't.

124

How do I give advice to this many people about their life choices?

125

I won't.

126

The scary news is, you're on your own now.

127

But the cool news is, you're on your own now.

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Who Will Benefit from This Video?

This video is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners looking to boost their english speaking practice with authentic, engaging content. Taylor Swift’s speeches blend conversational flow with thoughtful storytelling, making them ideal for those aiming to sound natural while expanding their expressive vocabulary. Whether you’re working on shadow speech (repeating phrases in real time) or refining your ability to discuss complex ideas, her words offer relatable themes and varied sentence structures to practice.

Words & Idioms Worth Stealing

The video is packed with standout phrases to add to your toolkit. Here are a few:

"Undercut your success": To weaken or diminish someone’s achievements. Example: "Don’t let critics undercut your progress."
"Catch and release": The act of choosing what to keep and what to let go. Example: "Life requires catch and release—holding onto too much weighs you down."
"Go easy on yourselves": To be kind or lenient toward oneself. Example: "After a tough day, go easy on yourselves."

These idioms add color to everyday speech and are great for shadowing site practice, as they’re spoken with natural rhythm.

How to Get the Accent Right

Taylor Swift’s pronunciation is clear and melodic, with a focus on stress and intonation to emphasize key points. To mimic her style, pay attention to:

Stress on content words: Words like "potential," "innovative," and "overwhelming" are emphasized to convey importance. Practice stressing these in your shadowspeaks sessions.
Conversational pauses: She uses pauses to let ideas sink in (e.g., "I have some good news. It's totally up to you."). Copying these pauses will make your speech sound more natural.
Rising intonation in questions: Even in statements, she sometimes uses a slight rise to invite connection (e.g., "You know what I mean?"). This is a great trick for improve english pronunciation and sounding approachable.

Use a shadowing site to replay short clips, pausing and repeating until you match her pace and tone. Over time, you’ll notice your speech becoming more fluid and expressive.

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	be patted · is really lost · being met
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	people who love · someone who felt · person who is
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've had · you've been · you've made

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: Taylor Swift's BEST inspirational speeches - Learn English Speaking with Video

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