Shadowing Practice: What 1 year in a call center actually does to you - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Working at a call center gets a lot of bad, bad rap.

We all know the brutal night shifts, the ungodly amounts of caffeine, dealing with rude, and sometimes completely unhinged customers.

People think of it as a thankless job where you just sit in a cubicle, read a script, get yelled at, and drain your soul.

And it kinda is.

And if you're a fresh graduate or don't know how to proceed career -wise, you might be thinking, uh,

pass, I'd rather wait for my dream job than work in a call center

but honestly the hardest parts of this job are the exact things

that build you what doesn't kill you makes you stronger i totally believe

that and i'm not saying this so

that i can convince you to work as a call center agent for the rest of your life

and that it should be your dream job i'm an advocate for using call centers as a stepping stone

and this video is just

that today i'll talk about why one year in a call center changes you forever

if you come into this job shy hesitant and unsure of yourself, I promise you that 12 months on the phone will completely reshape you.

By month 12, you will walk out as a sharp, confident professional who knows exactly how to speak up and present your views with total confidence.

So let's talk about month one because this is when training happens.

If you're a fresh graduate, month one is wild because you're looking at everything with completely fresh eyes.

For the first time in your life, you're stepping out of the school bubble

and into the real world you get your id badge you see the office

and you get a little amazed it's exciting

but at the same time you're terrified oh

and one of the biggest adjustments the dreaded eop it's just

so disorienting like what do you mean

i should translate to english your nose is always on the verge of bleeding

but you'll get used to it you're also not surrounded by classmates anymore instead

you're surrounded by people from all walks of life licensed teachers, nurses, professionals who stepped away from their respective fields to wear the headset.

Because let's face it, it pays better.

There are also 50 year old veterans who have been there since God knows when.

Working moms, working dads, college dropouts, and even high school graduates.

It's this massive melting pot where everyone is so different yet on the same level.

So what do you actually learn during this whole month one of craziness?

First, you learn how to survive information overload back in the day you could at least take notes during training

but now call centers are so strict about data security

that they don't even allow agents to write anything down anymore no papers no pants no apps

so you just have to sit there stare at a screen

and try to absorb weeks of complex tools

and procedures purely through memory as a 33 year old individual i don't think i can take

that anymore but you're at an advantage you're probably still young

and your brain is still highly plastic and

if you survive this stage it'll teach you how to actively listen on a whole different level

and filter out what's important

and what's not overall though you'll feel this overwhelming sense of incoherence

and chaos that is totally normal and your co -trainees will attest to

that second you learn linguistic survival you realize

that communication isn't about being perfect or using fancy words

or sounding like a textbook

but about getting your point across in the simplest most practical way possible

you learn to push through awkwardness it's very handy

if you're an introvert and you start building a thick skin real quick

and finally you realize that the industry doesn't care

so much about your college degree

or what school you went to you learn how to match the energy of people completely different from you

and find common ground.

Basically, month one teaches you that you're way more resilient than you think.

It proves that even when you're overwhelmed, your brain can adapt.

You'll learn how to just vibe with the chaos.

Enter month two.

This is the real make or break phase.

This is when you find out if you're actually passing training or if you're getting terminated.

And it all happens during nesting.

Nesting is scary because the doubts hit you hard.

You're going to constantly ask yourself can i really do this you're gonna feel desperate incompetent

but that desperation will force you to learn another survival skill how to ask for help this is

when you really learn how to get close with your batch mates especially the experienced ones

because you you're gonna need all the help you can get

you can't afford to be an island will your batch mates help though based on experience most probably yes

or at least most of the time when i was already an experienced agent, undergoing training with other newbies,

I would help them not necessarily out of altruism mainly, but because I needed to retain the information.

So I had to simulate calls with my co -trainees.

It's a win -win for both of us.

So we both remember the company policies and they learned some call handling skills.

So don't be scared to ask for help people are usually

more helpful than you realize another thing is don't let your

pride get in the way everyone needs a helping hand

and help is usually available also from your trainer

but the biggest thing you learn is how to filter your questions in school

you probably just ask every little thing without thinking

but in this job you learn how to validate your questions first

you learn to check the tools first you learn how to stand on your own two feet

so when you do ask your trainer for help it's for a genuinely hard question not something

that you can check in two minutes

because trust me your trainer is also stressed during nesting

and there's probably only one or two trainer

and they need you to at least try to figure it out first month two is basically

when you stop acting like a helpless trainee

and start acting more like an agent welcome to month three

this is where the training wheels are officially ripped off in month two

if you mess up people will give you leeway

because oh they're just a newbie but in month three

that excuse is dead you're treated like a real agent now

and if you screw up you're getting a good talking to from your tl

but here's a pro tip to survive take note of the most common issues

because those same five to ten problems are going to happen 80 of the time

if you memorize the policies for just those common issues you'll suddenly feel competent

that you're on top of everything that feeling is

so rewarding there are actually two types of pleasure in psychology hedonic

and eudaimonic hedonic is that easy instant pleasure you feel

when you're eating ice cream or getting a massage you will definitely not find

that here month three is pure stress but what you will find is eudaimonic pleasure

100

That is the deeper satisfaction you get from growth or learning a hard skill and realizing,

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holy crap, I just handled a back -to -back you without crying.

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It is the pride of knowing that you conquered something highly challenging.

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You feel proud of yourself.

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Don't get me wrong though, this feeling is not permanent, but you'll get it from time to time.

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So what do you actually learn from this stage?

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You learn pattern recognition.

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In the beginning, every single call feels like a brand new emergency.

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but by month three you'll realize that humans are predictable

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and systems repeat themselves you're no longer just blindly following a script you actually understand the entirety of the problem

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so you can also freestyle quite a lot as long as you follow the policy month three teaches

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you how to look at a chaotic situation instantly spot the pattern

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and solve it in short this is when you start getting more confident

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and a lot less like a newbie

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and then you hit months four to six

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but this time you're pretty confident with the usual day -to -day stuff

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but those really hard angry calls

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you're still hesitating your instinct is to still pass them off to your team lead

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but this is also the time

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when your team lead will force you to handle them yourself this is

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when you start figuring out how to actually connect with people calm down angry customers

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and control your own emotions you learn how to fake confidence

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when you're terrified and how to stay professional even when you're completely pissed.

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It's a massive lesson in emotional regulation.

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A lot of this depends on your personality though.

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In psychology, there is a trait called agreeableness which is all about how you handle conflict and cooperation.

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If you're high on agreeableness, you're a natural peacemaker.

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You hate conflict and you want everyone to just get along.

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So your challenge is on how to grow a backbone

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and handle pushback from unreasonable customers but

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if you're low in agreeableness you're competitive blunt

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and you have absolutely no problem pushing back

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or arguing your points rude customers are going to trigger you instantly this is

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when you're forced to learn patience and restraint

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that is also going to be your challenge

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if you're somewhere in the middle though congratulations you are in the sweet spot you can empathize with your customer

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and not cringe and you can stand at your ground when you did.

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What you ultimately learned during this phase is how to build a mask,

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a persona that is totally separate from who you actually are in real life.

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I know of an agent who developed a signature laugh just for when a customer made a joke because, well, as it turns out,

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laughing at someone else's joke, whether it's funny or not, is an insanely effective way to build rapport.

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The things we do for survival.

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If you reach this point, congratulate yourself.

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Even if you eventually leave the call center for greener pastures,

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this is when you'll see some call center skills start bleeding into your personal and professional life.

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Then you hit month 7 to 11.

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By this time, things are finally becoming a routine and you definitely have more confidence.

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But here's the thing.

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You never actually stop dreading those difficult customers.

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You just start developing some coping mechanisms.

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And this is exactly when the monotony starts seeping in.

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And if you're not careful, it's just very easy to pick up some bad vices.

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The stress is constant, so the temptation to smoke, drink, or worse is always there.

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It is a slippery slope that gets very hard to recover from.

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You have to try your absolute best to develop healthy habits instead, like working out, eating healthy, and actually getting enough sleep.

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And I know it's easier said than done, but you really don't want to ruin your health over this job.

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This is also the phase where a pretty harsh reality sinks in.

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You realize how many of the company's processes are completely out of your control.

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Heck, you don't even control if you get a one -star or a five -star review.

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It seems like even if you try your hardest, a one -star rating is sometimes just inevitable and part of the process.

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The customer might be furious at the previous agent or they might just hate the company itself.

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They might even say it's not you but the company.

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But the truth is the system just doesn't really care.

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If you were the last point of contact that one star is going to hit your stats and performance bonus.

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So what do you actually get out of this that's useful in the real world?

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Honestly it just gives you a reality check.

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You learn that the real world isn't perfect

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and no job is ever going to give you perfectly ideal working conditions tools will glitch systems will be broken

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and metrics will be unfair most companies will prioritize quantity over quality

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it doesn't mean you can't find anything better it just means

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you have to be realistic with your expectations months seven to eleven basically force

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you to stop waiting for everything to be perfect before

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you do your job you learn how to just push through the mess do your best anyway

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and not take it personally

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when things still go wrong once

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you figure out how to just get things done in a flawed environment without letting it ruin your day,

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you're pretty much set for any job out there.

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And finally, you hit month 12.

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This is the one year mark, and it's usually when you realize you've learned the majority of what actually matters.

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Being able to deal with almost every type of crisis imaginable.

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You realize you aren't a helpless newbie anymore.

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Your communication is sharp, your problem solving is quick, and you know how to handle high pressure situations.

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You stop looking at yourself as just an employee

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and start seeing yourself as a capable professional who can confidently pitch your skills.

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But the biggest thing you learn is when to walk away.

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Month 12 will teach you how to recognize the law of diminishing returns the moment a job stops growing you

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and just starts draining you.

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This is the perfect time to start looking at what else is out there

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and hopefully you'll have saved some money by this point so you can make your next move on your own terms.

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Do you want to stay in the call center industry but level up to a higher position?

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That is certainly an option.

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Or do you want to pivot entirely?

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Online freelancing is a huge option at this stage.

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Of course, you will have to upskill, but that is a whole other ballgame.

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Or maybe you just want to go back and pursue the actual field you originally graduated from.

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If you do, do not ever think you wasted your time in the call center industry you learned practical real world skills

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that you hardly get from just any generic internship think of

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it as a brutal high intensity paid internship on real world global communication

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but before you walk out

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that door there's one weird side effect

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you need to watch out for the culture rubs off on you you'll notice

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that after a year on the phone your tolerance for bad

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customer service anywhere else drops to zero little inconveniences will start annoying the heck out of you

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and you'll catch yourself wanting to snap

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you have to make a conscious constant effort not to become the exact same difficult customers

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you used to hate this is good too though this means

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that you finally understand what it takes to provide outstanding service on a global scale not just locally you've proven

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that you can handle international standards and

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that is the skill you take with you into absolutely anything you want to do next whether that's freelancing business

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or just leveling up your career well at the very least it means

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that you'll think twice before showing up on filipino time but

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if you can handle that you're officially a survivor you've got skills you've got the thick skin

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and you're ready for whatever comes next

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “What 1 year in a call center actually does to you”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: learn, month, customer, center. This video has 212 sentences and 2623 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:17. The speaker talks fast, about 184 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
trainer noun	/ˈtɹeɪnɚ/	A person who trains another; a coach.
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.
survival noun	/sɚˈvaɪ.vəl/	The fact or act of surviving; continued existence or life.
nest noun	/nɛst/	A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.
practical adjective	/ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/	Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
sharp adjective	/ʃɑɹp/	Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded.
thick adjective	/θɪk/	Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
solve verb	/sɒlv/	To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
script noun	/skɹɪpt/	A writing; a written document.
psychology noun	/saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/	The study of the human mind.
ruin noun	/ˈɹuː.ɪn/	The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
filter noun	/ˈfɪltɚ/	A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from…
chaos noun	/ˈkeɪˌɑs/	The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony.
rude adjective	/ɹuːd/	Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous.
instantly adverb	/ˈɪnstəntli/	At once; without delay.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
push through verb	To force (legislation or a plan) to be passed or agreed to or a decision to be reached.
walk out verb	To stage a walkout or strike.
calm down verb	To become less excited, intense, or angry.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
get along verb	To interact or coexist well, without argument or trouble.
get out of verb	To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
go back verb	To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Because let's face it, it pays better.
You'll learn how to just vibe with the chaos.
It's a win -win for both of us.
If you're high on agreeableness, you're a natural peacemaker.
You realize you aren't a helpless newbie anymore.

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 survive this stage it'll teach · if you mess up people will give
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have been · you've learned · you've proven
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are officially ripped · will be broken

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 77 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, you'll, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, empathize /ˈɛmpəˌθaɪz/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sharp /ʃɑɹp/, internship /ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/, recognition /ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, regulation /ˌɹɛɡjʊˈleɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, recognition /ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, regulation /ˌɹɛɡjʊˈleɪʃən/

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 trainer, skill, survival.

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: What 1 year in a call center actually does to you - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?