Shadowing Practice: Why People Don’t Respect You (Do This Instead) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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The more you try to get respect, the less of it you will probably wind up with.
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And I know that might sound weird, so let me be more precise here.
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Yes, you can absolutely learn to command more respect, but many of the most common ways people go about that just lead to them getting way less of it.
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So I want to break down three of those most common respect -killing moves, and we're going to be using characters from the Peaky Blinders to illustrate those, including showing the better way from Tommy Shelby himself.
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But first, we're going to start with the first respect killer coming from the Digbeth Kid.
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Now, for context, this is someone who has come to Tommy looking for work.
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No, I'm Digbeth Kid.
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The Dig...
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What are you, boxer?
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Digbeth Kid, like Billy the Kid.
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What are you...
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Wait, wait.
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It's not a real gun.
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So, the Digbeth Kid, as he calls himself, comes in with a fake name and a fake gun.
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He knows he's meeting Tommy Shelby, and so he's trying to appear dangerous, but his body language gives him away.
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You can see his twitchy prey -like movements.
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He shuffles from foot to foot, he can't decide where to look, and he holds his hat across his body like he's afraid of taking up too much space.
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We've talked about this on the channel before, but these herky -jerky prey -like movements that you might see in a squirrel instantly signal internal unsafety.
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So to avoid this, you can maintain eye contact, slow down your movements, and open up your stance.
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And you see Tommy doing this throughout this entire video in comfortable settings and in high -pressure situations.
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Please allow me to put a bullet in this scum tinker's head.
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No, he's been chosen.
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Could the chosen one smoke?
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But back to the kid.
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He is attempting to portray the facade of a hardened criminal because he thinks it's going to get him a job, but the facade actually causes a problem.
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You've been arrested.
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You see, the tough guy act nearly loses him the job.
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It's only when he drops that and admits he's never been arrested
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that he gets what he wants because his idea of what they're looking for is the complete opposite of what Tommy needs.
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And this is just as true in all of our lives.
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It can be very tempting to change what you say or how you act to appeal to others, especially in job interviews or dates or when you're talking to someone that you admire.
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And in the short term, yes, it might work out.
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But those facades have gaps, and eventually the gaps will get exposed.
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And when those cracks show, the whole thing usually backfires.
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So the first respect sin that you want to cut out is don't try to be what you think others want.
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In fact, holding true and saying what you won't give other people often creates more respect.
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This works because people trust and respect consistency.
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Whatever short terms
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that you gain from morphing yourself to become what other people want will just cost you respect
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when that consistency breaks down the line.
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And that brings us to the second respect issue coming from Billy Kimber.
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Is there any man here named Shelby?
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I said, is there any man here named Shelby?
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Kimber enters loud and brash, and many people think this is how you command respect, by dominating everyone else in the room.
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The problem is that this inevitably creates a combative frame where one side wins and the other side loses.
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If you do this, you're going to either wind up surrounded by yes -men
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that are down to lose all the time or in an argument.
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Either way, you've got extremely fragile respect.
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Tommy avoids this trap by rejecting the combative frame.
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By not reacting to the gunshot with fear or anger and And instead calmly ordering drinks, he turns this confrontation into a discussion.
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And you can follow the same plain book
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when you sense someone is trying to get a rise from you with some sort of insult or a threat.
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And it's a surprisingly simple move that pulls others into your frame.
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You can watch how Tommy does it here.
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I'm told the boss is called Tommy and I'm guessing that's you
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because you're looking me up and down like I'm a fucking tart.
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I want to know what you want.
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You see, the frame of an insult or a threat is that you need to match their energy.
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You have to reply super quickly and intensely in order to win in this combative frame.
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But pausing before you speak, usually for 3 to 5 seconds, up to 10 or 15 if you need it, will allow you to reset the frame.
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You can take a breath, center yourself, and then respond instead of react.
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And to be clear here, a reaction means that you are being totally pulled into that other person's frame.
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You're allowing them to set the tone and then dictate your behavior.
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But a response means that you take in what the other person has said, but you're maintaining your frame.
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You're replying on your own terms.
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Now, Billy Kimber doesn't respond.
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He reacts to any perceived challenge.
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Which one am I talking to?
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Which one of you is the boss?
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I'm Mr. Kimber's advisor and accountant.
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And I'm the fucking boss, okay?
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I am Billy Kimber!
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I run the races.
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And here he is demonstrating what might be termed the Joffrey rule, which is that if you have to insist on your status in any situation, you don't have status.
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I am the king.
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Any man who must say I am the king is no true king.
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This highlights a key difference between Tommy and Kimber and the types that we encounter like that in the world.
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Kimber fights and argues to be respected.
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Tommy never does.
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So many people think that being respected means insisting upon it all the time.
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You can't let anyone get away with disrespecting you.
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But there's always going to be people who want to undermine you, play status games, or just casually disrespect you without even thinking about it.
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If you get defensive or you overreact, you will just come across as insecure.
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So when these sorts of challenges come, it doesn't mean that anything has gone wrong.
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You do not need respect from every single person and you don't need to win every interaction.
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Just take a breath, ignore the bait, and maintain your frame.
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Which brings us to the third issue coming from Inspector Campbell.
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For context here, Campbell and Tommy are meeting to negotiate.
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Now watch how Tommy opens this conversation.
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I'm a businessman.
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I want to make my business successful.
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So we're on the CM side.
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I think perhaps we could be.
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Tommy is direct.
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He says what he wants clearly and he maintains this directness throughout the conversation.
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Contrast this with how Campbell handles it.
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How can we be on the same side
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when i see things like this campbell is repeatedly sarcastic he's
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condescending he's indirect he is uncomfortable with the direct aggression
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so he uses passive aggressive comments instead now people who use
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this kind of comments don't want to fully own their hostility
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so they hide their aggression under innocent sounding comments to give
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themselves plausible deniability they want to maintain power over people without other people realizing
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that they're doing it we all know people who play games like this, and nothing feels more patronizing.
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But if you respond in the right way, it can totally turn the tables.
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So how does Tommy handle these sorts of passive aggressive comments?
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Well, the same two steps that you can use.
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First, Tommy responds to the superficial layer of Campbell's underhanded remark.
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Forgive me, I don't seem to have a pen to write down this rather long list of demands.
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And this is true in real life.
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If someone makes a comment that could be interpreted as either genuine or maybe it's sarcastic, it's a really powerful move to respond as if it's genuine the first time.
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This is another form of that non -reactivity that we saw from Tommy earlier.
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It shows that you're unaffected and it forces the other person to either explain their insult or to just move past it.
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But if the indirectness persists, you can move to step two.
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I have what you're looking for.
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I have the guns.
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What guns?
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We're not it's play wait wait tommy doesn't overreact he just walks away and
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when we want something we can find it really hard to
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do this you see it all the time people work for bosses who undermine them
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or they stay with passive aggressive partners
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when it would just be better to get up and leave
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but the moment you show that you're willing to leave people realize
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that they have to drop the passive aggressiveness and engage with you honestly
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or they risk losing the interaction all together you see
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that happen with campbell as he's forced to call tommy back
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to the table i actually broke down a similar real -life scenario in much more detail with Robert Downey Jr.
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that follows a very similar framework.
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In that video, I actually highlight four steps if you want to go slowly through the nuances, but the key point holds.
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Indirect and passive -aggressive games will fall apart when you first interpret charitably and second refuse to play.
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So what the levels one to three have in common, they are all trying to get respect by proving their worth.
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The kid is lying to prove that he fits in, Kimber is trying to prove that he's in charge, and Campbell is trying to prove that he's respectable despite his double dealing.
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And this desperation to prove themselves actually makes us respect them less.
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But Tommy is operating at level four.
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He does not have this proving energy.
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He's not trying to prove that he's dangerous, clever, or in charge.
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His disinterest in proving himself to others underlies all the behaviors that we saw earlier.
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His consistency, his non -reactivity, and his directness.
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He is not trying to prove his worth.
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But there is a problem here.
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He's gonna trigger the grenade and your very combustible rum will blow us all to hell.
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And I don't care because I'm already dead.
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Tommy's disinterest in proving himself comes from his lack of self -worth.
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And this emptiness shows up in his destructive behavior, his drinking, his violent outbursts, and his relentless ambition at the expense of the people around him.
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Tommy struggles to express himself emotionally and he believes that he can never find peace.
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There's no rest for me in this world.
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So, this is the big question.
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How can we stop trying to prove ourselves without cutting ourselves off emotionally?
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The answer is by building self -respect.
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And self -respect comes when who you want to be aligns with who you are.
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Tommy lost sight of that ideal self due to the trauma that he experienced in the war.
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But to build self -respect, you need to have a clear and realistic picture of who you want to be be.
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Now this might sound simple, but you have to ask yourself some very challenging questions like how does my ideal self respond to conflict
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and how do I do that today?
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How does my ideal self respond to the possibility of rejection and how do I do that today?
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And how does my ideal self act in awkward social situations?
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And don't answer these questions with how you want other people to react to you.
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It's about how you respond regardless of the situation.
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Now Kimber, Campbell, and the Digbeth Kidd all know who they want to be, but they ignore the gap between that ideal self and their actual self.
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And so they look to others for validation.
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They do not realize that external validation can only get you so far because the truth is you cannot outsource self -respect.
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It's in the definition.
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Only you can build it.
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So once you have a clear idea of who you want to be, just take one small concrete step towards that thing.
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So if you want to be more productive, Focus on spending less time scrolling social media.
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If you want to be more disciplined, choose a small task and do it every day for one month.
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Just start small and then follow through.
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Because whenever you deliver on a promise that you make to yourself, you strengthen that self -respect.
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And when you start respecting yourself, people notice.
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They see that you're not relying on them for validation, that you're not shaken by being undermined or insulted, and that you're not terrified of rejection.
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And through that, they will see that you're not trying to get respect, and that actually makes them much more likely to respect you.
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So if you're interested in the fastest way that I know of to make this stuff effortless, you might be interested in my course, Charisma University.
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You get full details at the link here, but basically, if you like the YouTube channel and charisma, confidence, building, respect is a priority for you, I highly encourage you to click the link,
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check it out, learn more, and maybe join.
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Either way, I hope that you have enjoyed this video and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
This video is a goldmine for English speaking practice, especially if you’re prepping for IELTS speaking practice. It blends real-life dialogue with dramatic tension, mirroring the kind of high-stakes conversations you might face in interviews or professional settings. The characters’ distinct communication styles—from the nervous Digbeth Kid to the calm Tommy Shelby—give you a chance to observe how tone, body language, and word choice shape respect. Plus, the natural flow of speech makes it perfect for shadowspeak (or shadow speak), where you mimic the rhythm and intonation to build fluency. By practicing with this video, you’ll learn not just what to say, but how to say it with confidence.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Let’s break down key phrases that boost speaking skills:
- “The more you try to get respect, the less of it you will probably wind up with.” This the more…the more structure is great for explaining cause and effect—essential for IELTS tasks. Practice it by replacing “respect” with other nouns (e.g., “The more you rush, the more mistakes you make”).
- “Could the chosen one smoke?” Tommy’s use of modal verbs (“could”) here is subtle but powerful. It softens a request while maintaining authority. Try using “could” or “might” in formal conversations instead of direct commands.
- “He’s been chosen.” The present perfect passive (“has been chosen”) shows action completed by others. This is common in professional contexts—use it to talk about decisions or assignments (e.g., “The project has been approved”).
Common Pronunciation Traps
The video’s British accents (think Birmingham in Peaky Blinders) can trip up learners. Watch out for:
- “Digbeth Kid” – The “th” in “Digbeth” is a soft dental fricative, not a hard “t.” Practice by placing your tongue between your teeth and blowing gently.
- “Tommy Shelby” – The “o” in “Tommy” is short, like “tah-mee,” not long. Avoid over-pronouncing it as “toh-mee.”
- “herky-jerky” – This casual phrase has a staccato rhythm. Stress both syllables equally to match the speaker’s emphasis on nervous movements.
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 need it, will allow |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been chosen · You've been arrested · been arrested |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has come · We've talked · You've been arrested |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who has · rule, which is · man who must |
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.