Many if not most students suffer from a severe lack of confidence, especially in an interview setting, such as in IELTS Speaking where an examiner interviews you face to face or in an online zoom call for up to 15 mins!

It is only natural to feel overwhelmed by this sudden shift in the test format as your listening, reading and writing are all performed on a computer. However, although you may think that this interview is an anxiety inducing obstacle between you and your dreams, I’m here to tell you otherwise. In my not so humble opinion, I think the fear of IELTS speaking is a little bit exaggerated and it is to some extent, baseless.

The following easy to follow guidelines or “tips” if you’re into buzzwords, will help you gain a better understanding of the test environment and overcome any fear of uncertainty you may have.

 

1-IELTS Speaking examiners are experienced professionals:

First of all, you need to realize that a trained pro is taking your exam. They are specifically trained to make you feel comfortable. They are also human just like you, and are encouraged in training to reciprocate your smile. So, just smile, be easy and professionally casual in front of them and you should be able to ace your test confidently.

 

2-IELTS Speaking examiners are experienced professionals:

If you’ve read my other articles or documents, you know I love repeating my examples before making a different point, this time though, I thought of repeating my headings. This is also a trick to force people to read inside the paragraph instead of quickly glancing the headings. That being said, if you’re looking for shortcuts or cheating, you can kindly get off my website. Anyways, read the heading again. An experienced pro means that they have taken at least a thousand interviews before you, and they will take 1000 interviews after you.

To the examiner, you are just a number, even if you think that you are the most awkward person on the planet. Oh, and you aren’t beating me in awkwardness by the way, no matter how high up the scale you think you are.

So, realize that even if you make mistakes or blunders, they will forget them in 5 mins and move on to the next candidate. It is literally their job to do so.

 

3-Focus on what is in your control:

I have anxiety. When I am faced with a new situation, my body can start shaking violently. There is nothing I can do to stop that except medication (which I don’t take for personal reasons). So, the only thing I can do is accept it, ride it out, let my body do what it needs to do to as a natural response to uncertainty and move on. Does a shaking body mean I lose confidence in my skills for which I have practice so hard? Absolutely not.

You can separate your anxiety and your skills. YES! It is very possible. Your anxiety and your skills can co-exist. I am a living and breathing example of that.

One thing that does help (to a very small extent) is breathing exercises such as box breathing (4-4-4) where you inhale deeply for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and then slowly and fully exhale for 4 mins. It can calm you down right before the test. As the kids say these days, it works all the time, 50 percent of the time. It is still worth a shot though. Try it and see if it does help, you’ve got nothing to lose.

 

4-Stop thinking about the examiner:
Who will they be? Will they like me? Will they be easy to please? What if they are not in a good mood? Etc.

Does it matter? Remember, you have paid to be there. This is the biggest thing to keep in mind, you have purchased a service of assessment, let the professionals do their job and stop worrying about them.

 

5-How to stay calm for a better performance:

You can imagine that the examiner is a good old friend of yours. I am not kidding. Start talking to them with enthusiasm and zeal and force yourself to smile. When you do this, you will feel a natural boost in your confidence and self-esteem.

The funny thing about performance anxiety is that the more you think about it, the more your brain will block itself and you will not be able to think of great responses quickly. Try not to think deeply as to how you will perform and instead, focus on strong points. If you are fluent, lean into it. If your vocabulary is strong, think about wittier and more uncommon responses and such.

 

6-Be ready:

And of course, true confidence only comes from a delusional amount of self-belief, which you can attain by working very hard to improve your skills and get to a level of speaking where English is natural to you. For more details, prep resources, personalized speaking tips and training, Spoken English courses, check out my website or contact me using the contact forms. You can also send me an email directly at awaisahmedgill90@gmail.com .

Written by: Awais Ahmed
Owner of IELTS with Awais.