I would also add two more pieces of advice from my personal successful experience.
- Be ready for a physically demanding challenge. You do need to mobilize your internal resources for the exam in general and the speaking part in particular. I mean that usually (not always, but it will be my next point) you take this part as a final one after three hours of an intesive and stressful work. Therefore, you must be ready to demonstrate all your best under such a pressure. So, even such details as your diet and sleep hygiene do matter here.
- Know your test center and communicate with them properly. Even though the format of IELTS exam is the same all over the world, some details may vary. For instance, two test providers in Russia have various approaches to this part of the exam. I've taken the test with the both of them and such details as location, examiners, and a schedule were entirely different. I'm sure that it's actual for other countries too.
I firmly believe that in such a challenging project every detail may influence your score.
Good luck for all the test takers.
