Shadowing Practice: This Forces You To Speak Coherently On YouTube - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Not being able to speak coherently on YouTube is the number one problem that people come to me for help with
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because it is the number one skill on YouTube that makes a difference.
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They might be saying, Thomas, what are you talking about?
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I could just use a script and a teleprompter and then my speaking problems go away.
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Yeah, that's true.
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It's true.
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But a lot of us don't want to do that, myself included.
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I really hate reading from a teleprompter.
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It makes me feel super robotic, inauthentic, and thousands of my followers agree with me.
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It's also a matter of fact that AI right now is flooding our feeds with professional, polished, scripted looking videos.
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So making yourself as distinguishable from that as possible is great.
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And YouTube is trending right now with raw, authentic and natural content.
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So by leaning into this trend, we can become more human.
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We can speak with more freedom.
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We can get more engagement and get better retention as well.
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And it's all about learning the skill of speaking coherently.
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So in this video, I want to show you exactly how to do that.
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And not only just do that for yourself to speak better and feel better whilst making content, but also make videos that get hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, like these ones I'm putting on screen.
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They will follow the exact method that I'm about to show you.
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So let's crack into it.
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The first thing you're going to want to do is ditch the script and make a plan.
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And the perfect plan isn't a very complicated plan.
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In fact, it should look something like this.
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A three-year-old could make it.
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That's the idea.
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To clarify your thoughts, first up, you might want to do some writing.
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Writing is great for clarifying thoughts.
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So you can go away, you can get some books, you can collect stories from your inexperience, all of the knowledge that you need to synthesize in your brain.
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Writing out your thoughts on a topic can be an amazing thing to do.
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but only to clarify your own thinking.
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You don't actually want to then use what you've written as a script
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or as a plan for a video because you're going to be jumbling over your own words.
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Once you've written everything out you're going to want to say it exactly how you've written it
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and then you may as well just buy a teleprompter at that point.
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So instead what you want to do is
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if you have written something you then want to transfer
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that into a video plan like this and you want to have only one
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or two words written for each point and one
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or two words written for each sub bullet point
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which is going to trigger your memory to then know
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that all right I'm going to talk about that exact thing right now.
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Now one of you guys asked me the question very recently
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how do I keep myself reined in whilst speaking through bullet points and this is exactly how you do that.
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Most people
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when they go unscripted they think right I'm going to just
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like jot out three points you're going to have like three main tips
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or steps in this video I'm going to jot out those points
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and then I'm just going to speak off the cuff around those things.
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And then they go down a thousand rabbit holes and the whole thing starts taking a lot longer than they thought.
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And the video is not very engaging.
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This is where these three sub bullet points comes in.
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And under each each sub-bullet point you're going to want to write something very specific.
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Underneath the first bullet point we're going to write pull, and then a couple of words.
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So like this, pull.
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Under the next one we're going to write paint, and then a couple of other words that I'll fill in in just a second.
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And then under the fourth one the third one sorry we're
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going to write point we've got pull paint point now what
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each of these things refer to is a specific psychological storytelling
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or communication device that we are using within our points
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that are going to hook our viewers
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and allow all of our videos to make people understand things in a way
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that they haven't heard before make your information feel new compelling
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and engaging this is the secret source behind making unscripted videos that actually perform well.
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It's using the same psychological principles that people put in scripted videos
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that are trying to hook viewers with every sentence that they're saying.
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And instead, just taking the gas off that a little bit, but making sure that you have them throughout your video, right?
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So before each point, you wanna simply explain in the pull section why this point matters to your viewer.
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And so you put a couple of views.
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Let's say this point was about building muscle in the gym.
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And we're gonna call this point overload, right?
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You can see that.
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that's all I'm literally going to write for this point.
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Overload.
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That's the name of the point.
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Now that might not mean much to you, but it means something to me.
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And that is the important thing because you're not showing your view as your plan.
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You're just triggering thoughts and bite-sized nuggets of information from within your own brain.
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So in the pool, I might say, right, overload.
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Why is progressive overload in the gym important?
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And that means, by the way, getting stronger every time you work out.
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And so the pool is something like, if you don't follow this, you won't make any progress, right?
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You'd just be spinning your wheels.
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So let's say spinning wheels.
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You won't be able to read this, but you get the idea.
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That's literally what I've written for that sub bullet point.
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In the next one, we've got paint, right?
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What's an analogy, story, metaphor, or example I can use in this point?
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Maybe I could tell a story about person A versus person B, right?
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I'm just going to write that.
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A versus B.
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So I could say something like, oh, Brian goes to the gym and he works out and he chases a pump.
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He feels good.
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He likes to get that feeling of blood in his muscles and he does that for a year.
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He doesn't make too much progress versus Jason who goes in
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and tracks his lifts and adds a tiny little plate to each lift every time that he works out.
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By the end of it, he's lifting way more weight and he gets great results, right?
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So that's just triggered an analogy in my mind to illustrate how this might work.
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And that's why I call it paint.
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Just to explain the I'm getting ahead of myself here.
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The pull is pulling your audience in, right?
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That first sub-bullet point.
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How can I pull you in?
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The second one is paint because you're illustrating, you're splashing paint on the canvas with a story analogy or metaphor.
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And then the point.
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So what is the actual point?
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Well, the actual point here is going to be something along the lines of progressive overload, right?
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So notice that in the pool and the paint, I haven't actually yet explained what I'm talking about.
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I'm just saying this is really important because if you don't do it, you're going to spin your wheels.
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And then I'm saying, here's an example of two people doing two different things.
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And then you drop the point.
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And the point would be something like add weight, right?
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That's all I'm going to add here.
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So this is the actual instructions.
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This is the actual action steps.
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Add a little bit of weight every time you work out.
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That's it.
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That's how I'd structure my point.
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And so this, using this structure and this formula, is exactly how I can speak off the cuff, sometimes just in one take with no edits,
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sometimes with just a few cuts throughout my video, and sometimes more cuts.
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And it doesn't matter.
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I'm still speaking off the cuff.
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I'm just starting and stopping fairly regularly.
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This is how I do that and make videos that get hundreds of thousands of views because I use this formula.
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It keeps everything feeling new and engaging for the audience.
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It boosts retention because people want to watch till the end
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and it makes it easy for me to remember the most important thing.
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I'm not following a script and trying to look at something I've already pre-written out
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and then say it in my own words again.
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I'm just using little points here to trigger my memory as each of these one
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or two words just trigger something in my brain where I know cool now I'm going to talk about spinning wheels.
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Cool now I'm going to talk about A versus B.
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Cool, now I'm going to talk about adding weight in the actual action step.
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If you have three points in your video, just copy that structure for each one of your points, and that's how you stay on track when you speak.
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Okay, that's all great, but we have a problem now, which is, all right, Thomas, this structure sounds great.
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I've got my one-page plan.
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This is all good in theory, but I still can't really say these points coherently.
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My sentences are full of filler words.
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I feel a bit unconfident.
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I don't know how to just keep my train of thought whilst looking at the camera.
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I'm going to tell you a secret to overcome all of that and help you massively with it in just a sec.
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But first, if you actually want help planning out these points in your videos, I've got a custom GPT called Pull Paint Point, and it's going to help you with all of this.
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All you need to do is grab your phone.
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Let's pretend this glasses case is my phone.
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And you just press the button, which says dictate into ChatGPT, into this custom GPT.
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And you say, right, I've got this point idea about this, this, this, this, this.
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I kind of think I want to talk about this and this is kind of like an example idea I had.
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Be super lazy, take like a couple of minutes, give it a lot of detail but be lazy with it, don't structure it.
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Press enter and the GPT will spit you out a pull paint point structure
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that will light your brain on fire and you'll be like, you'll select from a few different options and it will just craft your point for you.
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The key here to using this custom GPT is give it a lot of information.
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The more information you give your AI helper, the more it's going to help you craft your own voice
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and retain your tone of voice and your image
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and your sound rather than starting to sound like something that you wouldn't actually say.
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Okay, cool.
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So how do we actually solve this coherence problem?
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What we want to do is point practice reps.
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And what that means is for every point,
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let's say point one, what you're going to do is set a two minute timer on your phone and record yourself.
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This is before you record your actual YouTube video and do a practice rep.
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So this is gonna look like setting up your phone beside you, press on record, and you have your points in front of you.
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And all you're gonna do is memorize the order of the points.
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See if you can memorize this with me.
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This is what you're gonna be doing.
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Pull, spinning your wheels.
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Paint, A versus B.
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Pull, progressive overload.
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And then you're gonna talk for two minutes.
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And I'm not very fresh on this, So I'm going to be practicing as well.
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So let's pretend you're the phone.
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So pull spinning wheels.
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This first point is the difference between spinning your wheels in the gym
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and not actually making any progress and building any muscle versus being completely unrecognizable in one year.
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And it's something that almost 99% of people don't do, which is only why the top 1% of people actually get results.
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So imagine this, we've got Brian over here and Jason over here.
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Brian goes to the gym and he chases a pump.
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He goes around doing bicep curls because they feel good, picking a random weight each time.
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He also does some overhead press because it feels good in his shoulders.
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And he just sort of swings the weights around and just starts like chasing a pump.
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And in the mirror, he looks great because he's got that little pump.
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But over a year, he takes an after photo of himself compared to the before and he doesn't look any different.
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Jason, on the other hand, goes to the gym and he writes down every single weight
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that he's lifted for the amount of reps that he's lifted that as well.
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The first set, he does eight reps with 30 kilograms on bench press.
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Yeah, not very strong starting out.
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Then the next week he comes back and he realizes he can do nine and he writes that down.
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Then the next week he thinks, right, I'm going to go to 35 kilos.
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He goes back to seven reps, but he's writing down every time.
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By the end of the year, he's now benching 80 kilograms rather than 30 and his body looks completely unrecognizable.
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Now I've lost my train of thought, which is fine because it's a practice rep.
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So what did Jason do that Rob didn't?
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Well, Jason used a concept called progressive overload, meaning that every single day he tracked his weight and he got stronger every single time.
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You see adding strength is the number one predictor of actually transforming your body.
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If you get stronger it's almost impossible for your body not to start looking different.
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So when you go to the gym make sure that you write down your lifts.
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Cool stop recording the phone that was a practice point rep.
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I got one rep in I'm not talking about fitness anymore.
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I got one rep in of practicing that point.
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Great.
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I'm already ahead of most people.
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Most people never practice their points.
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They just press record and start rambling.
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What if I did that two more times?
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It's not that much effort and it literally takes one or two minutes every time you do it.
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But if I did that two more times, you'd bet by the time I actually recorded that YouTube video, I'd be speaking pretty damn coherently.
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This concept of speaking reps is built into the 30-day talking to camera challenge.
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We've got thousands of members on the inside, practicing their speaking every single day, transforming themselves from feeling awkward to speaking confidently on camera.
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If you want to join us, the link is in the description below.
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And if you want to eliminate um and filler words forever from your videos, check out this video next.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 208 sentences and 2555 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:51. The speaker talks fast, about 216 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| spin verb | /spɪn/ | To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction. |
| bullet noun | /ˈbʊlɪt/ | A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed. |
| script noun | /skɹɪpt/ | A writing; a written document. |
| versus | /ˈvɝsəs/ | Against; in opposition to. |
| rep noun | /ɹɛp/ | A fabric made of silk or wool, or of silk and wool, and having a transversely corded or ribbed surface. |
| trigger noun | /ˈtɹɪɡɚ/ | A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun. |
| progressive noun | /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/ | One with liberal or progressive political beliefs. |
| pump noun | /pʌmp/ | A device for moving or compressing a liquid or gas. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| muscle noun | /ˈmʌs.əl/ | A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement. |
| custom noun | /ˈkʌstəm/ | Frequent repetition of the same behavior; way of behavior common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; method of doing, living or behaving. |
| whilst adverb | /waɪlst/ | Often preceded by the: During the time; meanwhile. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| clarify verb | /ˈklæɹ.ɪ.faɪ/ | To make or become clear or bright by freeing from impurities or turbidity. |
| viewer noun | /ˈvju.ɚ/ | Someone who views a spectacle; an onlooker or spectator. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| write down verb | To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something. | |
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| get ahead of verb | To take preemptive action before a potential development becomes reality. | |
| go around verb | To move or spread from person to person. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 90 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, inauthentic /ˌɪnɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, synthesize /ˈsɪnθəsaɪz/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: retention /ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/, polish /ˈpɑ.lɪʃ/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/, splash /splæʃ/, distinguishable [dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪ.ʃə.bl̩]
- Long words — get the stress right: analogy /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/, psychological /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/, teleprompter /ˈtɛləˌpɹɑmptəɹ/
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 spin, bullet, script.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you don't follow this, you won't make |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've written · have written · haven't heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is set · is built |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | now, which is · thought, which is |
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.