Shadowing Conan O’Brien

• Level: C1
• Accent: American
• Length: 24 min · 293 lines to practise
• Speed: about 140 words a minute (an average pace)
• Words: about 3,300
• Timing: Sada measures how far behind the speaker you are on every line

What to focus on in this talk

A comedian’s timing: each joke lands on its last words (“$300 for Gore-Tex gloves”). The captions break lines mid-sentence, so practise a whole minute at a time rather than single lines.

What this talk trains

Conan O’Brien speaks for about 24 minutes: roughly 3,300 words in 293 caption lines. The pace picks up as the talk goes on, from about 126 words a minute in the first quarter to 151 in the last. Overall it is faster than 8 of the other 66 talks on Sada. Phrases that fast speech often shortens come up again and again: “going to” (10 times) and “a lot of” (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. 4:13 I'm not bright and I have a lot of free

   “a lot of”: fast speech often shortens it to “a lotta”. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Linking: say “bright and”, “and I”, “lot of” without a break between the words.

2. 9:53 Junction it snowed heavily during my visit and I was trapped here for 4

   Linking: say “Junction it”, “visit and”, “and I” without a break between the words. A number (4): practise saying it at the speaker’s speed.

3. 14:00 well today I'm not going to waste your time with empty cliches

   “going to”: fast speech often shortens it to “gonna” when a verb follows. Listen for whether the speaker does here. One of the quicker lines: about 242 words a minute by the caption timing, against 140 for the whole talk.

4. 18:41 woman I did a lot of silly unconventional

   “a lot of”: fast speech often shortens it to “a lotta”. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Linking: say “woman I”, “did a”, “lot of” without a break between the words.

Words that keep coming up

Words outside the 3,000 most common English words that Conan O’Brien 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.

• diploma ×6
• commencement ×6
• profound ×4
• disappointment ×4
• grid ×4
• seriously ×3
• graduating ×3
• greatest ×3

How the pace changes through the talk

The fastest minute starts at 14:00 (about 193 words a minute): practise that minute once the rest feels easy. The slowest starts at 0:31 (about 78): 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. 0:06 I've been living in Los Angeles for 2 years and I've never been this cold in my
2. 0:11 life I will pay anyone here $300
3. 0:14 for gortex gloves
4. 0:16 anybody I'm serious I have the
5. 0:20 cash before I begin
6. 0:23 I must point out that behind me

How to practise this talk

1. Warm up on the slowest minute (from 0:31) or on the opening lines above.
2. Then take the chosen lines above one at a time: a shortened phrase, linked words, a number, a quick line.
3. On each line, press Record and say it after Conan O’Brien (Repeat) or along with them (Shadow), then open Compare and go again until every word is green.
4. Save the fastest minute (from 14:00, about 193 words a minute) for last.
5. At one minute a day you finish the whole talk in about 24 days, and Sada shows your first try against your latest.

More talks to practise

• Patrick Winston (MIT) — How to Speak (C1 · 139 words a minute · same level)
• Dan Gilbert — Why We Make Bad Decisions (C1 · 195 words a minute · same level)
• Brené Brown — Listening to Shame (B2 · 141 words a minute · same accent)
• Robert Waldinger — What Actually Makes a Good Life, According to 85 Years of Data (B2–C1 · 141 words a minute · same accent)

Famous talks to shadow →