Shadowing Practice: Your Pace is Your Power | Erin Chelsea Tan | TEDxPace Academy - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Let me ask you a question.
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Let me ask you a question.
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What is your most irrational fear?
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Until recently, I had no idea how to answer this question.
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But I've given it some thought and I've come to the conclusion that I have a phobia of Google Docs.
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It is a serious, life-altering condition.
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And it is so rare that I believe that only I have it.
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Mostly because I made it up.
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Google Docs is the platform that most schools and workplaces use nowadays to create documents.
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For students like me, every assignment starts the same way.
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Open the app, create a new file, and start typing.
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A black Google Doc represents endless possibilities for creativity, innovation, and new beginnings.
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But for me, a black Google Doc doesn't mean possibility, but rather, confrontation.
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A harsh reminder of every time I've failed to meet expectations in the past by being too afraid to start.
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See, I struggle with deadlines.
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Every teacher I've had knows this,
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from the last-minute submissions at 11.58pm to the ones submitted after that.
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I'll even admit that I submitted my draft for this TED Talk late.
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and it's caused me to feel discouraged about my capabilities as a student.
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Missing deadlines led to lower quality work,
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rushed thinking, and a lot of stress that could have easily been avoided by starting earlier.
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But I didn't cram because I felt lazy.
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I crammed because I felt overwhelmed.
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Every time I would open a document,
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my brain would immediately recall every time I failed to keep up.
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And my fear of falling behind would manifest into a fear of starting something that I couldn't finish in time.
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For me, every Google Doc I created became a reminder of the relentless pace of a world
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that always seemed to move faster than I could keep up with.
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And I'm willing to bet that everyone here in this room has felt the same way before.
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The feeling where if we aren't moving as fast as the others, we're falling behind.
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Modern society paints success as the result of non-stop productivity.
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This misconception fuels the pressure that students like me feel to cram and overwork ourselves and chase perfection.
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That's why we cram when we feel overwhelmed.
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With social media especially, years of effort can be condensed into a single 30-second reel.
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When struggle is edited like this,
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growth seems immediate and we reinforce the belief that innovation must be fast.
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And if we aren't moving fast, we aren't moving forward.
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Take Google, for example.
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Google was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996 as a Stanford University research project.
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From renting a garage as their first workplace,
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they had changed the way the world accessed information by the early 2000s.
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Both founders are now only in their early 50s,
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and they have achieved billionaire status at an age where many can't even afford retirement.
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The success story is like this that increase our expectations unrealistically.
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So instead, we can take their story as proof that success can happen quickly,
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but it still requires hard work and effort.
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And quickly, sure isn't the only path.
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Some of the best ideas take time to perfect.
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Take KFC.
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Its founder, Colonel Harlan Sanders,
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didn't franchise his fried chicken recipe until he was in his 60s.
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After multiple failed business ventures and years of perfecting.
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He wasn't some young prodigy who worked out of a garage.
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He was someone who persisted,
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waited for the right opportunity,
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and succeeded on his own timeline.
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His story reminds us that success can come from starting slow.
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And starting late doesn't mean that you're behind.
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This is important to remember in a world that constantly celebrates early achievement.
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We often forget that growth can take time.
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Sometimes the best ideas come from repeated failure,
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experimentation, or simply waiting for the right moment to act.
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In other words, success doesn't have a deadline.
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We often equate fast with productivity and productivity but successful.
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But fast doesn't always assure quality quality.
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When we rush, we don't think more clearly.
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We just think more quickly.
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And I've felt that.
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When I force myself to work harder and faster than I naturally can,
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I don't produce better work.
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I just grow more anxious.
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I focus on submitting instead of improving and finishing before even understanding.
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Over time, this constant pressure leads to burnout,
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which the World Health Organization defines as the result of chronic stress that hasn't been managed well.
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Trying to speed up can actually slow us down.
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Growth isn't linear.
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It doesn't always move in a straight line upwards.
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Sometimes it plateaus.
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Sometimes it feels painfully slow.
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And comparison just makes things worse.
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Research from the U.S.
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Surgeon General shows that teenagers who spend more time on social media comparing themselves are more likely to feel anxious or depressed.
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The more we compare ourselves with other people,
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the more we lose sight of what is in front of us and the time and attention it needs.
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We forget that our own growth,
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no matter how invisible it may feel, is still happening.
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The reality is everyone's path looks different.
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Every success story has its own timeline.
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And most of the time,
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it is the mess behind the scenes that actually makes the story worth telling.
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But slowing down doesn't mean that we can ignore reality.
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If we're being realistic deadlines exist opportunities expire
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when these aren't followed it may seem like you aren't respectful of other people's time
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or you aren't taking things seriously enough
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and sometimes what we call taking our time is actually fear in disguise so it is important to note the difference
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between moving intentionally and avoiding starting,
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between thinking deeply and overthinking ourselves into paralysis.
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So the key to finding the difference between fast and slow is knowing yourself.
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Understanding what works best for you,
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like when pressure helps you and when it harms you.
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Maybe you innovate as fast as Google.
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Or maybe you're like KFC and you just need a little extra time to season to perfection.
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Either way, you aren't falling behind.
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You are on your own timeline.
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And I assure you, you're right where you need to be.
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So maybe the real question we should be asking ourselves isn't am I moving fast enough?
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but rather, am I moving in a way that allows me to grow?
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In innovation, we don't judge a system by how fast it was built but rather,
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how well it works under pressure.
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The future doesn't belong to the fastest.
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It belongs to those brave enough to honor the quality of their work over the speed of their clock.
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And sometimes that can look like staring at a blank Google Doc at 11.47 p.m.
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Late again, wondering how you got here.
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It may feel like you've run out of time.
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But remember, you are still in control of what happens next.
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I realize that a blank Google Doc doesn't have to mean punishment.
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It can be a chance to start.
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So when you face that blank Google Doc,
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don't let the panic take over.
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And next time, don't wait till 11.59 to find your courage.
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Start messy.
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Start imperfect.
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But start with the intention of making things great.
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I'd like to end with a quote that I'm sure we've all heard before.
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But this time, I hope we can truly take it to heart.
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Life is not a sprint.
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It's a marathon.
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The goal isn't to finish first, but to finish strong.
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Run it or walk it,
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as long as you go at a pace that's truly yours.
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Your pace is not laziness.
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It's not falling behind.
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And it's surely not weakness.
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your pace is your power.
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Thank you.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by shadowing a TEDx talk by Erin Chelsea Tan. The focus will be on the theme of personal pacing in the context of productivity and societal pressures. By engaging with this content, you will not only improve your IELTS speaking practice but also gain insights into how to confront the fears associated with expectations and deadlines. Shadowing this talk will help you refine your pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm in English, enabling you to express your thoughts more clearly and confidently.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Confrontation - A situation where someone has to deal with a difficult issue or problem.
- Overwhelmed - Feeling unable to handle something due to too much pressure.
- Cramming - Studying intensely in a short period of time, often just before a deadline.
- Innovate - To introduce something new, especially with ideas or products.
- Productivity - The effectiveness of productive effort, especially in a working environment.
- Expectations - Beliefs about what should happen or how someone should act.
- Success - The accomplishment of a goal or purpose.
- Franchise - The right or license granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services.
Practice Tips
To maximize your learning during this shadow speaking exercise, follow these tips:
- Listen Actively: Before you begin to shadow, listen to the talk once without interruption. Pay attention to Erin’s pace and tone to grasp the emotional undertone of her words.
- Start Slow: Initially, play the recording at a slower speed if available. This will help you catch every word without feeling rushed.
- Repeat and Imitate: As you shadow, pause frequently to repeat her phrases. Emphasize her intonation and rhythm to develop a more natural English speaking style.
- Use Reflection: After shadowing each section, pause to reflect on what you've learned. Ask yourself how you can relate her message to your own experiences and goals.
- Engage in Discussions: Consider discussing the themes of the talk with peers or a language partner. This will enhance your conversational skills and help you practice new vocabulary.
- Consistent Practice: Regular shadow speech practice can improve your fluency over time. Aim to spend at least 10-15 minutes each day on this exercise for noticeable results.
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.
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