Shadowing Practice: We Need HUMAN SKILLS | Simon Sinek - Learn English Speaking with Video
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23 sentences
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Companies tend to do a very good job of teaching their employees the job they need to do.
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There's a lot of opportunity to do better in teaching people how to listen, how to have a difficult conversation.
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That's a hard one.
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These are human skills.
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How to have empathy.
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How to replace judgment with curiosity.
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And humans have to work really hard to be good at being human.
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We are not naturally good at it.
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And so starting with empathy is a great entry point.
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And I'll give you an example of empathy at work.
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Here's a pretty normal situation.
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Hey, your performance is down for the third week in a row.
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We've had this conversation before, if you don't pick up your performance, I don't know what's going to happen.
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Fairly normal?
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Let's replace that with empathy, right?
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Hey, your performance is down for the third week in a row.
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We've had this conversation before.
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Are you okay?
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I'm worried about you.
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What's going on?
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You may not get an answer immediately, especially if something's vulnerable, they may not want to share immediately.
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But that feeling that somebody actually cares about me as a human being, not just as a performance machine, goes a long way.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “We Need HUMAN SKILLS”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: empathy, performance, conversation. This video has 23 sentences and 209 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:00. The speaker talks fast, about 211 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 4 of its 23 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| empathy noun | /ˈɛmpəθi/ | Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| judgment noun | /ˈd͡ʒʌd͡ʒ.mənt/ | The act of judging. |
| vulnerable adjective | /ˈvʌln(ə)ɹəbl̩/ | More or most likely to be exposed to the chance of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. |
| curiosity noun | /ˌkjʊɹ.iˈɑ.sə.ti/ | Inquisitiveness; the tendency to ask and learn about things by asking questions, investigating, or exploring. |
| teach verb | /ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ | To pass on knowledge to. |
| replace verb | /ɹɪˈpleɪs/ | To restore to a former place, position, condition, etc.; to put back. |
| entry noun | /ˈɛntɹi/ | The act of entering. |
| tend verb | /ˈtɛnd/ | To look after (e.g. an ill person.) |
| employee noun | /ˌɛm.plɔɪˈiː/ | A person who provides labor to a company or another person. |
| fairly adverb | /ˈfeɹ.li/ | In a fair manner; fair; not biased or skewed or favouring a certain party |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, we've, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, curiosity /ˌkjʊɹ.iˈɑ.sə.ti/
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 empathy, naturally, skill.
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.