3 'Don'ts' for Success in IELTS Speaking Test! 1. Don’t waste your time “memorizing” answers: IELTS Examiners are trained to detect whether you are speaking “naturally” or simply repeating words from memory. If they suspect that you are trying to cheat in this way, they will change the topic. 2. Don’t treat the test like a “conversation”: The purpose of the IELTS is to test your conversational English, but it’s not a *real* conversation. This is important to remember, because most people have a natural instinct to give a short answer to a short question (“How are you?” — “I’m fine, thank you”) in order to be polite. But short answers will not get you a high score. Push yourself to give long answers with reasons and examples. 3. Don’t restrict yourself to giving only “true” answers: The IELTS Speaking Test is not a conversation, but it is also not a police interview. The Examiner will not call your family to check if you gave a truthful answer to the question of “Describe a gift you gave to your mother.” The important things are your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency — not the accuracy of the information. I hope you've gotten more ideas on top of the ones I give in my podcasts and if you feel nervous, scared, fearfull when expressing your opinions... Book my one-on-one confidence building, mentoring session where you'll feelencouraged and at ease expressing your opinions without being afraid! See you in an hour!