Shadowing Cameron Russell

• Level: B1
• Accent: American
• Length: 10 min · 113 lines to practise
• Speed: about 184 words a minute (faster than most talks)
• Words: about 1,700; the talk asks 9 questions
• Timing: Sada measures how far behind the speaker you are on every line

What to focus on in this talk

Casual and quick. In “I should not have worn this dress” she says “should not have” in full, for emphasis, instead of the usual “shouldn’t’ve”. Short lines like “Actually, for 10 years.” make easy first attempts.

What this talk trains

Cameron Russell speaks for about 10 minutes: roughly 1,700 words in 113 caption lines. The pace picks up as the talk goes on, from about 142 words a minute in the first quarter to 191 in the last. Overall it is faster than 55 of the other 66 talks on Sada. Its sentences average 18.9 words, longer than the middle of the library (14.3), and 11.9% of its words fall outside the 3,000 most common English words (library middle: 12.9%). It asks 9 questions, so there is plenty of question intonation to copy. Phrases that fast speech often shortens come up again and again: “want to” (5 times) and “have to” (3 times).

Lines from across the talk, and what each one trains

One line from each quarter of the talk. Press a line to open it in Sada, ready to record. “Linking” marks words that run together: a word ending in a consonant sound joins the vowel that starts the next one.

1. 1:08 These heels are very uncomfortable, so good thing I wasn't going to wear them.

   “going to”: fast speech often shortens it to “gonna” when a verb follows. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Linking: say “heels are”, “thing I” without a break between the words.

2. 3:33 But unfortunately, I have to inform you that in 2007,

   “have to”: fast speech often shortens it to “hafta” when a verb follows. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Several commas: say it in short chunks first, then as one line.

3. 6:24 Okay, so the next question people always ask me is, "Do you get free stuff?"

   A question: listen to where the voice rises or falls at the end, and copy it. Several commas: say it in short chunks first, then as one line.

4. 7:37 So, the last question people ask me is, "What is it like to be a model?"

   A question: listen to where the voice rises or falls at the end, and copy it. Linking: say “What is”, “is it” without a break between the words.

Words that keep coming up

Words outside the 3,000 most common English words that Cameron Russell uses more than once. The number is how often each is said. Look up any you don’t know, then press it to practise the line where it first comes up.

• uncomfortable ×5
• legacy ×5
• stopped ×4
• awkward ×3
• photographer ×3
• honest ×3
• insecure ×3
• worn ×2

How the pace changes through the talk

The fastest minute starts at 6:34 (about 231 words a minute): practise that minute once the rest feels easy. The slowest starts at 0:57 (about 124): a good minute to warm up with.

Measured from the caption timing, so the numbers are close, not exact.

How the talk opens: press any line to practise it

1. 0:15 Hi. My name is Cameron Russell,
2. 0:18 and for the last little while, I've been a model.
3. 0:24 Actually, for 10 years.
4. 0:28 And I feel like there's an uncomfortable tension in the room right now because I should not have worn this dress.
5. 0:37 So luckily, I brought an outfit change.
6. 0:39 This is the first outfit change on the TED stage, so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think.

How to practise this talk

1. Warm up on the slowest minute (from 0:57) or on the opening lines above.
2. Then take the chosen lines above one at a time: a shortened phrase, linked words, a line said in chunks, a question.
3. On each line, press Record and say it after Cameron Russell (Repeat) or along with them (Shadow), then open Compare and go again until every word is green.
4. Save the fastest minute (from 6:34, about 231 words a minute) for last.
5. At one minute a day you finish the whole talk in about 10 days, and Sada shows your first try against your latest.

More talks to practise

• Daniel Levitin — How to Stay Calm When You Know You’ll Be Stressed (B1 · 186 words a minute · same level)
• Ivan Joseph — The Skill of Self Confidence (B1 · 186 words a minute · same level)
• Elizabeth Gilbert — Your Elusive Creative Genius (B2 · 184 words a minute · same accent)
• Derek Sivers — Keep Your Goals to Yourself (B1–B2 · 185 words a minute · same accent)

Famous talks to shadow →