Shadowing Practice: Warren Buffett shares advice on becoming successful - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Warren, how would you define true success?
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Well, I've said many times that if you get to be 65 or 70 and later,
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and the people that you want to have love you actually do love you, you're a success.
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I've never seen anybody that reaches that age.
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I mean, I'm not talking about somebody that's in extreme poverty or pain or something, But I've never seen anybody that if they have a lot of people that love them, that is other than happy.
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And I've seen some very, very wealthy people that they give testimonial dinners to and name schools after and everything.
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Nobody loves them.
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Their own kids would say, he's in the attic.
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He's in the attic.
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But anybody ever came.
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What are, say, three pieces of advice you would give to people who are looking to succeed in business?
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Well, by far the best investment you can make is in yourself.
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For example, communication skills.
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I tell the students that come, they're going to graduate schools and business and they're learning all these complicated formulas and all that.
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If they just learn to communicate better, both in writing and in person, they increase their value at least 50%.
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If you can't communicate, somebody says, you know, it's like winking at a girl in the dark, nothing happens, you know, basically.
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And you have to be able to get forth your ideas, and that's relatively easy.
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I did it myself with a Dale Carnegie course.
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Some people wish I'd taken a shorter course now in terms of my talking later on, but it's just hugely important.
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And if you invest in yourself, nobody can take it away from you.
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I mean, the second thing, which I'll get a certain criticism for not living it,
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but I do tell those students, you know, that if I gave you a car and it'd be the only car you get the rest of your life, you'd take care of it like you can't believe it.
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Any scratch you'd fix that moment, you'd read the owner's manual, you'd keep a garage and do all these things, and you get exactly one mind and one body in this world,
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and you can't start taking care of it when you're 50.
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By that time you'll have rusted out if you I haven't done anything.
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So you should really make sure that you just remember
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that you just got one mind and body to get through life with and to do the most with it.
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What about life advice?
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Well, life advice is, you know,
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the most important thing aside from the things I've talked about already is really who you associate with.
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You want to associate with people that are better than you are.
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I mean basically you'll go in the direction of the people
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that you associate with and and you want to have the right heroes.
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You want people
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if you want to emulate somebody you better pick very carefully who you want to emulate
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and and when obviously you can't pick your parents they're gonna have an enormous influence on you
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but you don't get a choice on that
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but you get choices as you go down the line and you who you admire,
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who you you want to copy and the most important for most people in terms of that decision is their spouse.
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It's also important in terms of a partner in business, but the partner in life is the most important one.
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You want to pick a spouse that's a little better than you are
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and then he or she and hopefully you hope they don't figure it out too fast.
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Great.
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Biggest mistakes people make when investing?
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Well, they try to of it.
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They just don't realize
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that all you have to do is just buy across the history of America
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and then never listen to people like me or read the papers or do anything subsequently.
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They think that because you can trade you should trade.
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You buy a farm, you buy an apartment house, you can't resell it tomorrow and you know the cost of moving around.
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Now you get something handed to your liquidity, you know, which is instant.
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You can sell and the cost of doing it are pennies, you know, compared to other kinds of investment activity.
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So because they can so easily move around, they do move around and moving around is not smarter than investing.
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You have a pretty cool morning routine regarding what you have for breakfast and how prosperous you feel.
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What is that?
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Well, that was, and I'll actually send somebody over to McDonald's usually to get me something.
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Since the publicity I got from earlier describing my hammers at McDonald's, I now have somebody go in the office,
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but that was more for entertainment value.
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I actually eat exactly what I like to eat.
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If I liked it on my sixth birthday, at my sixth birthday party when we had hot dogs and hamburgers and coke and ice cream with chocolate.
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I still like it and I don't care about anything subsequently.
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I discovered it all by the time I was six.
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If somebody offered me a deal when I was 20 and said you're going to live one year longer, you know, instead of living to 88 you'll live to 89 or whatever it may be,
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if you eat nothing but broccoli and brussels sprouts and onions and all these things, you know, I just said I'll, you know, take the last year off, it probably won't be that good anyway, you know.
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So I I eat what I like to eat.
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I am not venturesome in that area.
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I like how you lumped in onions with broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
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I've never heard that one.
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I just don't happen to like onions.
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I don't put them in the same category.
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You and George H.W.
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Bush, I think.
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Is business school worth it?
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Depends on the person.
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Much more than it depends on the school.
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I mean, I wouldn't worry.
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Some people are going to get a lot out of advanced education, and some people are going to get very little.
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And I don't even think it's important that every person go to college at all.
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I mean, we have all kinds of jobs at 70 or so thousand a year, 80,000 a year, that college training is not of use.
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And I actually was not keen on going to college myself.
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Yeah, my dad kind of jollied me into it.
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He could get me to do anything.
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But if they'd had an SAT test in those days, he would have taken the test for me.
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But because I just I was I knew I could have a good time
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and I liked investing and I didn't really feel like I could read the books.
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So I don't you know it's a big commitment to take four years
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and the cost involved and maybe the loans involved and everything.
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I think depending on what your interests are in life, I don't think it's for everybody.
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I think it's for a lot of people, but there ought to be a reason you're going.
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And I didn't really see much reason.
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All right, last question.
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So lightning round, so there's a few.
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Do you ever drink water?
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only under duress.
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What is your favorite all-time song, Warren?
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It's undoubtedly, it's My Way.
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What about movie?
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Favorite movie?
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Well, I like The Bridge on the River Kwai because of the, there were a lot of lessons in that, plus it was, you know, enormously fascinating.
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Catchy tune also.
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Catchy tune also.
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Yeah.
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The ending of that was sort of the story of life, you know.
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He created the railroad, and did he really want the enemy to come in and cross it, you know?
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Got it.
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Favorite book?
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Well, the favorite book from the best—the book
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that had the most impact on my life was The Intelligent Investor by Ben Graham.
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I knew you were gonna say that.
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Favorite TV show?
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It's probably going to be, it would be Nebraska in some huge bowl game and winning.
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And finally, what do you carry in your wallet and how much money do you tend to carry around?
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Well, I probably carry maybe $400.
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I actually, my wife likes to use cash, so I just take home a chunk of cash every now and then.
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And then she doles it out.
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She looks at my billfold and sees whether all the hundreds are gone, sticks a few in there.
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It's pretty simple.
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And credit cards?
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I've got an American Express card, which I got in 1964, but I pay cash 98% of the time.
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If I'm in a restaurant, I always pay cash.
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It's just easier.
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Warren Buffett, thanks very much.
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Why This Warren Buffett Clip Is Perfect for English Speaking Practice
This video isn’t just full of wisdom—it’s a goldmine for improving English pronunciation and fluency. Buffett’s conversational tone, clear pacing, and relatable examples make it ideal for shadowing practice. His speech balances casual phrases (“you know,” “basically”) with thoughtful insights, mirroring real-life conversations. Plus, the topics—success, health, relationships—are universal, so you’ll learn vocabulary you can use daily.
Breaking Down Natural English: 3 Key Phrases
Let’s look at how Buffett’s words sound natural and how you can mimic them:
- “It's like winking at a girl in the dark—nothing happens.” This metaphor uses simple, vivid language to explain a complex idea (poor communication). Notice the pause after the dash—this rhythm makes the phrase easy to follow. Practice saying it with the same emphasis to sound more conversational.
- “You want to pick a spouse that's a little better than you are—and hopefully they don't figure it out too fast.” The casual “and” and playful punchline show how native speakers mix seriousness with humor. Repeat this to master natural intonation shifts.
- “They think that because you can trade, you should trade.” This short, direct sentence uses contrast (“can” vs. “should”) to make a point. Focus on stressing “can” and “should” to highlight the difference—this is key for clear communication.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Try Today
Use a shadowing app or just your phone to practice with this clip. Here’s how: 1. Watch a 10-second segment and listen closely to Buffett’s tone and pauses. 2. Hit pause, then shadow speak—repeat the segment aloud, matching his speed and emphasis. 3. Record yourself and compare it to the original. Notice if you missed any pauses or stressed the wrong words. 4. Do this 5 times with the same segment, then move to a new one. This “repeat-and-record” loop trains your mouth to form English sounds naturally and builds confidence in real-time speaking. Remember, shadowspeaks isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting comfortable with the flow of English.
By practicing with Buffett’s advice, you’ll not only improve your language skills but also gain timeless life lessons. So hit play, start shadowing, and let your English (and success) grow!
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.