Shadowing Denzel Washington

Summary

Denzel Washington encourages Penn’s graduates to take worthwhile risks and keep moving after failure. He uses his nervousness about the speech itself as an example of stepping beyond familiar work. His recurring phrase, “fall forward,” connects unsuccessful auditions, changes in academic direction and the obligation to use one’s gifts. He ends by broadening risk beyond career ambition to include openness toward other people and unfamiliar ideas.

Key points, in order

1. Washington says failure is unavoidable and recounts an early musical-theatre audition that went badly. He kept preparing for later opportunities and eventually performed successfully in the same theatre decades afterward.
2. His second point is that avoiding every failure can mean avoiding attempts altogether. He asks graduates to consider the potential they might leave unused and the contributions the world needs from their different abilities.
3. He describes struggling with several possible university subjects before a summer talent show helped point him toward acting. The story illustrates how an unsuccessful direction can reveal a more suitable path.
4. Referring to his character in Philadelphia, he links small risks with overcoming fear and becoming more receptive to others. His closing advice combines persistence, generosity, faith and a willingness to accept new perspectives.

Five useful phrases to practise

Choose a caption line to open Repeat mode. Listen, then say it after the speaker.

1. 7:09 I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.
2. 7:56 I want to fall forward.
3. 11:50 I didn't quit.
4. 13:13 If you don't fail, you're not even trying.
5. 16:22 Your life will never be a straight path.

Based on the video’s captions. Original video: Penn's 2011 Commencement Address by Denzel Washington · University of Pennsylvania.

Everyday phrases from this video

• in a way

• Level: B1
• Accent: American
• Length: 23 min · 329 lines to practise
• Speed: about 147 words a minute (an average pace)
• Words: about 3,300; the talk asks 12 questions
• Timing: Sada measures how far behind the speaker you are on every line

What to focus on in this talk

Use the audition story to practise past-tense narration, then try the advice near the end.

What this talk trains

Denzel Washington speaks for about 23 minutes: roughly 3,300 words in 329 caption lines. The pace stays fairly even, about 143 words a minute in the first quarter and 149 in the last. Overall it is faster than 17 of the other 66 talks on Sada. Its sentences average 10.0 words, no longer than the middle of the library (14.3), and 12.1% of its words fall outside the 3,000 most common English words (library middle: 12.9%). It asks 12 questions, so there is plenty of question intonation to copy. Phrases that fast speech often shortens come up again and again: “going to” (10 times) and “want to” (5 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. 2:46 I'm I'm not used to speaking at a graduation of this magnitude.

   “used to”: fast speech often shortens it to “usta” when a verb follows. Listen for whether the speaker does here. Linking: say “I'm I'm”, “speaking at”, “at a” without a break between the words.

2. 10:12 So I I start, you know, I'm I'm going to sing.

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

3. 15:45 So the question is, what are you going to do with what you have?

   “going to”: fast speech often shortens it to “gonna” when a verb follows. Listen for whether the speaker does here. A question: listen to where the voice rises or falls at the end, and copy it.

4. 21:42 So, members of the class of 2011, this is your mission.

   Linking: say “members of”, “class of”, “this is” without a break between the words. Several commas: say it in short chunks first, then as one line.

Words that keep coming up

Words outside the 3,000 most common English words that Denzel Washington 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.

• audition ×7
• talent ×5
• ghost ×4
• prayed ×3
• cardiac ×3
• honores ×2
• invitation ×2
• graduation ×2

How the pace changes through the talk

The fastest minute starts at 17:17 (about 218 words a minute): practise that minute once the rest feels easy. The slowest starts at 21:34 (about 90): 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. 0:00 Please join me in welcoming Denzel Washington.
2. 0:10 Thank you. Thank you very much.
3. 0:16 Um I am obviously the most unorganized.
4. 0:19 Everybody else has nice boxes to bring their script up in.
5. 0:22 I just like kind of got it all messed up here and put it inside of a magazine.
6. 0:28 So, so, uh, in fact, I don't even have it in the right order.

How to practise this talk

1. Warm up on the slowest minute (from 21:34) 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 Denzel Washington (Repeat) or along with them (Shadow), then open Compare and go again until every word is green.
4. Save the fastest minute (from 17:17, about 218 words a minute) for last.
5. At one minute a day you finish the whole talk in about 23 days, and Sada shows your first try against your latest.

More talks to practise

• Rita Pierson — Every Kid Needs a Champion (B1 · 147 words a minute · same level)
• Oprah Winfrey — Stanford Commencement Address (2008) (B1 · 147 words a minute · same level)
• Angela Lee Duckworth — Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (B1 · 148 words a minute · same accent)
• Mel Robbins — How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over (B1 · 146 words a minute · same accent)

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