General Speaking Tips Flashcards
Tip 2: Use a Reason Sheet
Still find it difficult? Then, use a “reason sheet” to help you come up with reasons. I developed this method by working with countless students who had the same trouble and from finding that the reasons/support for one question usually and easily transfer over to another. Every time you practice a question, write down the reasons on this sheet. Use the following words to start your sheet.
money, education, experience, emotion, environment, science, medicine, knowledge . . .
The goal with this sheet is to give you a tool when you struggle. Every time you have a hard time, refer to it and look for reasons that might work. Also, over time, after using the sheet everyday and every time that you practice, you’ll find that it’s easier because you’ve memorized most of your sheet.
When using the sheet, think about whether the idea that the word represents supports your opinion. If it does, use it as your reason/support; if it doesn’t, keep going down the list until you find your two reasons. If there’s nothing there, take some time to think of your support and then add it to your sheet. Keep this list with you every time that you study and add to it with every question.
Tip 1: Start Early
For some of us, it might not be so easy to come up with two reasons in 15 seconds. You can turn it into around 20 seconds by starting to prepare once the main question is asked because you know the last sentence will always be something like, “use specific reasons and details to explain your answer.” Don’t wait for that sentence to end. By preparing while the voice is still speaking, you will gain an extra 5 seconds.
Tip 3: Use an Example Sheet
Students also report that it can be difficult to get a concept of the examples that they will explain during the 15 seconds. First, you’re going to have to think of information as you speak. We shouldn’t expect to think of everything in 15 seconds. But, if you want to increase your ability to remember important situations to talk about in your life or experience, keep an example sheet too. Don’t write out your complete example for a reason, just write a few words to remind you of what you talked about. You’ll find you can recycle examples for different questions. Here is an example of an example sheet.
Example Sheet
- professor Halpin’s chemistry class
- lab work after university
- high school algebra 2 math class
Just as with the reason sheet, when you’re not sure what to say, use this. And, if it still doesn’t help, take some time to think and add the example that you come up with to your sheet.
Tip 4: Speak in Detail
I hope that in the perfect example answer, we didn’t repeat general words, but rather explained them. Instead of saying “my teacher motivated me to study harder” in the example, I said “which pushed me to look at the book more closely and spend more time studying.” Instead of stating “my chemistry teacher had passion in the classroom,” I explained it: “I could tell he spent a lot of time preparing his lectures.” You need to do this too:
Avoid using these general, simple, low-level words: project, work, help, home country, learned a lot, etc.
Instead, explain them: I had to train 15 new employees (project); I research new cancer drugs (work); my friend let me borrow her car (help); the United States (country); I understood how to diversify my portfolio (learned a lot). It’s a skill. Develop with practice, focus, and review.
Tip 5: Stop lying!
Don’t make up your examples. Tell the truth. Now, it doesn’t matter whether you tell the truth or make something up, but when you try to make something up, you struggle to think of what to say, you use simplistic language, and you get stuck. You basically destroy your chances of earning a top score.
Be honest! Why? Once you have an example in your head and start to talk about it, you may not notice it but EVERY grader will: you become more detailed, your language becomes more complex, and you satisfy the requirement of the question; it doesn’t say give general reasons and examples, right? It asks you to give specific reasons and examples.
We all care about your success at NoteFull and we work everyday to make the process as easy for you as possible, so we understand that it can be difficult to follow this tip, but there’s no excuse; you MUST do it.
You might be saying: “but, I can’t think of any examples.” Please remember our experience with over a thousand students. That’s not true. It’s an excuse. You’re doing it to avoid building this new habit, which takes time and energy. When you pass your TOEFL, you’ll understand that the effort of building this honest habit was worth it. We have extensive material to help you do this, but you need to make the choice.
Please say out loud right now if you’re serious about improving your score as fast as possible:
“I choose to be honest in questions 1 and 2, ALWAYS, because I know that it will improve my score.”
If you’re worried that you’ll slow down in trying to think of a real example, remember that if you say a lot of low quality information, it won’t help you earn a top score. If you say a smaller amount of higher quality, honest information, you will earn a higher score
