Shadowing Practice: The 1% Rule - Learn English Speaking with Video

Here's another very important tactic, okay?

Even if you're extremely busy at work, which you are going to be, I find that closing yourself entirely to 0% is a mistake that many leaders make,

including myself, in a busy job.

What I recommend to people is just as a mental hack, always be looking for your next job at least at 1% of your energy and time.

1%.

You can give me 1%.

You can give yourself 1%.

You're not doing it for me.

You're doing this for yourself.

Because if you just mentally don't shut down altogether and you keep that 1%,

this means you are going to keep yourself open to hearing about really interesting opportunities.

Again, we're talking about inbound.

Remember, this is the inbound section of how to get hired.

So that's why it's open, important.

There's a big psychological difference between being at 0% and 1%, okay?

And this is the script I use, by the way.

So if you're wondering, but what if I get bombarded with these job offers, right?

Or whatever, some like pings.

This is what I tell executive recruiters, right?

These, it's just the words.

Remember, all your problems are messaging problems.

So if you find the right words for a tricky situation, the problem goes away.

Okay, this is another life tip, career tip as well.

All right.

So this is what I told them when I was at 1%, which is, I'm not looking right now because some reason.

I'm waiting for that launch.

I'm waiting for the next calibration, promotion, waiting for my stock to vest, whatever the heck that might be.

Okay, but that said, if you come across a once in a lifetime PM leadership opportunity, just email text, call me anytime.

I would love to hear about it from you.

This is what I tell people who I, PM executive recruiters and VC talent partners.

What do you think the next question is gonna be when I say this?

You know the question.

There's only one question possible in response to this.

Very next question is gonna be, what is a once in a lifetime PM leadership opportunity for you?

Yes, they will ask me of who else.

But see, these are people also who build relationships.

So they don't go transactional right away.

They first focus on me.

So they're going to ask me, okay, Shreyas, what is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you?

So I will tell them what that is.

And can you guess how you might have clarity on how to describe your once in a lifetime opportunity?

Yeah, you don't tell them the lighthouse goal, but you use the lighthouse goal as that lighthouse.

and in my case i would say like at the right

time in my career i said it would be like the first pm role at facebook in 2007

or at uber in 2011 that kind of role

that would be a once in a lifetime role at the right time

so it could be whatever for you but be clear on what

that is based on your three-year lighthouse goal okay

so yeah there's just a bunch of examples here's another thing

the more senior you are the longer you should be prepared

to be in the market for your next role okay

because most people they look job search is very unpleasant

so most people what they do is i'm going to find

a job as quickly as possible just going to find a

job in like the next two weeks three weeks four weeks

five weeks the sooner the better i understand i understand why you have

that tendency i understand it's tough it's very difficult i understand

but this is my general guideline the more senior you are

the longer you want to wait okay the longer you want to be in the market.

That means you have to be passive for a longer duration of time.

Okay?

Here's another thing.

Most people think these are the only two binary states possible with looking for jobs.

In fact, some of you are tuning out right now because you're like, I'm not looking right now.

So I don't need to listen to what he says.

This is like nonsense.

This is not how it works.

There's actually, this is how it works.

There are multiple stages of being in the market.

So you have to understand not interested at all, not looking, but open to great connections, open for the right opportunities, very open to exploring, actively interviewing.

I generally try to stay in this area all the time.

I'm never in this area.

Again, because of my 1% rule.

Because of my 1% rule, I'm usually in the open for right opportunities or not looking but open to great connections.

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.

Shadowing Practice: The 1% Rule - Learn English Speaking with Video

What You'll Practice in This Lesson

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Practice Tips for Shadowing Success

What is the Shadowing Technique?