Shadowing Practice: What is Project Management? | Explained in 10 Minutes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Project management explained in less than 10 minutes.
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Let's get into it.
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This video is for those who are either looking to break into project management
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or for those who literally have no idea what project management is but are interested to learn more.
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So let's start with what is project management?
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So in one sentence, project management is the process of planning, organizing, and managing resources to accomplish a goal.
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So why is project management important?
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Well, per ChatGPT, project management is important because it helps organizations achieve their goals by ensuring projects are completed on time,
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within budget, and to the required quality standards.
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It also helps to manage risks and ensure that projects are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives.
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Wow, that was a mouthful.
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So that was a lot of information.
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Here's how I would explain it.
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Basically, when you work on a team and when you work for a company, you're likely to hired for a certain role, a certain task, right?
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And likely you are very good at doing your one thing that you were hired for.
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So for example, when it comes to a company that builds houses, oftentimes you'll have someone who just paints walls.
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You'll have someone who specializes in doing the roofing.
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You'll have someone that specializes in doing the plumbing.
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You have all these people that are doing various types of jobs,
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but the project manager's role is to make sure that all of these people that are really good at doing their job,
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they're doing it in the right order and
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that they're communicating with each other in order to get the project done in the most efficient way.
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Is a project manager 100% necessary for a company?
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You know, in some scenarios, maybe not, but in other scenarios, it's critical.
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By my definition, a project manager is someone who understands the business goal,
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who understands what needs to happen in order for the goal to be achieved, who understands the right people and the right order of operations to get the job done.
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So naturally you may ask, okay, well why is a project manager necessary then, right?
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Let me give you an example where you can really really see the value add that a project manager provides.
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So let's think about maybe a sub shop, right?
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Name your favorite, Jimmy John's, Subway, anyone out there.
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In order to create a sub sandwich, you need to have someone that creates the bread,
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someone that gives you the meat, someone that gets you all the vegetables, all the seasonings, all the dressings,
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you need someone to give you the equipment in order to toast the bread
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if that's what you're calling is
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and you need someone to assemble all at the end
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so that's a lot of different moving parts right so what happens
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if you know the baker bakes the bread
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and you know the sub shop hasn't opened yet well the baker loses money
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because the sub shop isn't able to purchase their bread to sell it what happens if
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there's a shortage on you know vegetables on the dressings well
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the sub shop probably can't be successful the customer really wants
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that dressing at that spot and i know i'm kind of going on tangent here
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but stay with me where a project manager comes into play
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is it's their job to finding the most efficient way to
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get all these different teams to get all these moving parts assembled
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and aligned to make sure it's a well-oiled machine so that you get to your end goal
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So one example of this is your project manager, you'll make sure that you align the bakery, you align the sub shop,
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you align all of your vendors and distributors to make sure that they are engaged at the right points in time.
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So that once the sub shop opens, you'll have all the materials and all the goods, your customers will be loving it.
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Again, probably a pretty weird example to use here, but I like to use these visual examples because they honestly help me with understanding and interpreting,
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you know, such an ambiguous role out there.
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So in conclusion, project management is useful
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because there's a lot of chaos in this world
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and project managers are skilled in building processes
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and making the chaos more understandable so that companies and that teams can be more efficient.
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As a result of that efficiency, companies can oftentimes generate more revenue, which is a direct value add to the company.
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So now that we've gone over what is a project manager and, you know, why should you care about project management,
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let's go over some of the key fundamentals that every project manager should know.
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So in general, there are five phases that a project manager follows from start to finish for a project.
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Phase one is the initiation phase.
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Phase two is the planning phase.
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Phase three is the executing phase.
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Phase four is the monitoring and controlling phase.
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And then phase five is the closing phase.
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So initiation phase.
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That basically means, you know, very start of a project, It's understanding who your teams are, understanding what the goals of the project are,
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understanding what resources, what limitations you have, and to just understand in general what needs to be accomplished.
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Phase two, planning phase.
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This is where the project manager creates a master plan to figure out, you know, how are we going to accomplish this?
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The master plan consists of many other smaller plans.
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You can think about like cost plan, resource plan, vendor plans, scheduling plans.
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All these different plans that project managers should think about in order to successfully reach the end goal.
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During the planning phase, the project manager is thinking about what things need to be in place in order for the project to be successful,
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and how to carry the project out very thoughtfully.
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Phase three, the executing phase.
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This is where all that preparation in the planning phase is being put to the test.
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So you're taking action on the plans that you've put into place.
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You're fully mobilizing your teams and getting them to work on the project.
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And you're tracking.
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You're making sure things are going smoothly.
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Phase four, monitor and controlling.
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So the project's now actively being worked on.
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You're making progress, hopefully.
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Monitoring and controlling phase is for the project manager to keep an eye on the project to make sure
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that things are progressing in the right direction and within the right time.
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So if there are any roadblocks, if there are any issues,
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the project manager's responsibility is to figure out the best way to resolve those issues to free up their teams
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and to allow their teams to focus on how to move forward.
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And then we reach phase five, the closing phase.
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This is honestly one of the most exciting parts of a project
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because all that hard work that your teams have put in, all the effort throughout those months or potentially years of you guys working on the project,
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finally comes to a close and you get to deliver the final product
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or project to you know whoever you've been working with.
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Closing phase is exciting because if things have gone well your client will be super static
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and it'll be a time of celebration.
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It can be super nerve-wracking if things do not go well
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and there are a lot of revisions there are a lot of things to be made then
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but in general those are the five phases that a project manager follows.
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It's a process that helps to organize how a project will be carried out regardless of what industry you work in.
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Okay, so we've gone over what is a project manager, why does it matter, why do you care, and what are the phases of project management.
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I'll leave you guys with one last piece before we get to the conclusion, and that is, you know, what do I find most enjoyable about project management.
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Personally, I would say it's the process improvement part.
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A lot of times when you work at a company, oftentimes there are inefficiencies.
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Especially as a company grows and scales, a lot of times things just aren't being done in a very strategic or efficient manner.
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Being able to provide order to a world full of chaos is super exciting.
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You get to ultimately see the benefits that manifest from that.
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So helping teams put process together to make things just better, seeing my teammates faces
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when you know some of the pains of their work have
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been alleviated I think that's one of the most exciting parts of being a project manager to add on to
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that as well I would say being able to just work
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on new things as a project manager you get assigned new projects
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and ultimately the exciting part is there is a start and there is a finish once a project is complete,
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you get the satisfaction of delivering something to your client, getting to see their reactions.
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And if you've done a good job, you've created a new business partner and things never get boring.
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When it comes to projects, every project is completely different.
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Even on paper, if it's the exact same, it's still not because you're working with different stakeholders, you're working with different types of people.
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Being successful at those projects is something that continues to move me forward.
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I hope you found this video informative and helpful.
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You know, for those beginners who are looking to break into project management
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or for anyone else who's just curious about the industry, comment below if you have any questions or any comments.
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And thanks so much for watching.
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We'll catch you on the next video.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
This video is a goldmine for English learners looking to improve their speaking skills through shadow speech. Its conversational tone, real-world examples, and clear explanations create a natural context for practicing fluency. By shadowing the speaker, you’ll learn to articulate complex ideas (like project management) in simple terms, a skill vital for professional and daily communication. The video’s pace is moderate, making it easy to follow—perfect for mastering the shadowing technique without feeling overwhelmed. Plus, discussing practical topics like team coordination and goal achievement gives you ready-to-use phrases for work or academic settings.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker uses several key structures that are worth practicing:
- "it's their job to finding" (corrected: "it's their job to find") – This common mistake highlights the need to use base verbs after "to" in infinitive phrases. Shadowing helps you avoid such errors by training your ear to recognize correct form.
- "why is a project manager necessary then, right?" – The tag "right?" softens questions, making them sound more natural in casual speech. Practice this to sound less formal.
- "you'll have someone who just paints walls" – Relative clauses ("who just paints walls") are essential for describing roles. Shadowing helps you link clauses smoothly.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Improving English pronunciation means tackling tricky words from the video:
- "aligned" – The stress is on the second syllable ("uh-LAINED"), not the first. Misplacing stress can make the word unrecognizable.
- "efficient" – Many learners mispronounce it as "ee-FISH-ent" instead of "ih-FISH-ent". Use a shadowing app or shadowing site to compare your pronunciation to the speaker’s.
- "scenarios" – The "a" is short ("suh-NAIR-ee-ohz"), not long. Listen closely and repeat to master this.
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 | are completed · are aligned · were hired |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | hasn't opened · we've gone · you've put |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | those who are · those who literally · someone who just |
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.