0- Practice in Private
- Practice in front of a mirror
- Practice with an Audience
- Practice in private : to improve pronunciation, stress and Intonation and Fluency
- Practice in front of a mirror : to check your appearance, posture and expressions
- Practice with an audience: to improve volume, pace and clarity
- Practice in private
Try the shadowing method- mimic native English speakers to practice speaking
listen to a English/British talk show host/anchor for 10 sec with subtitles, pause, repeat the sentence to mimic pronunciation...continue to listen for next 10 seconds , pause and repeat ( 10 min each day will improve vocabulary and pronunciation.
Rehearse some common questions well. you can easily score points here.
write the answers down and read aloud, later practice with expression, volume and clarity in front of a mirror.
Some questions for example,
Where are you from?
( Answers like- I am from Kolkata, East of India will not fetch you anything but, if you said something like : I am from Kolkata, India - a city deservingly called the city of joy because of its all inclusive nature. It is also the cultural capital of India and home to artists, musicians, writers, painters and passionate people in general.
so make some great answers about your life, career, dreams, hobbies, city, routine, likes and dislikes, common problems in your city, social causes etc. chances to impress the interviewer will be higher.
Why are you taking IELTS test?
Where do you want to study/live and why etc could be included.
- Practice in front of the mirror
Breathing deep, posture straight, open and confident body language looking straight in the mirror and mimic the expression of your sentence. Practicing before a mirror will remind you to be aware of your body language in the one on one interview. It will leave a good lasting impression.
When speaking your tone should vary according to the sentence.
Affirmative-then the tone should be deep, solid and conclusive
Questionnaire- then stressed in the beginning of the sentence with words like why, when and what and high tone at the end of the sentence. The audience can forget words but never the tone!
- Practice with an audience
Pace and volume also determine whether you are confident or not.
It is always good to take a pause for 3 to 4 seconds after the question is asked. It helps you get rid of nervousness steady your voice and makes it easy for you to frame your opening sentence.
For the interviewer:
After asking the question it gives him few seconds to get into listening mode. so do not rush to answer instantly. Be patient, steady and clear when you answer.
Practice and Good luck!
