How to Ace the IELTS Speaking Test

The much-anticipated IELTS speaking test was run today (the first day after the apocalypse). Well, leaving apocalyptic references aside, for some students, that speaking test is a real judgement-day kind of experience.

I have been conducting speaking tests for the last 10 years and I am quite confident that exam terror, although originated by the exam itself, rarely benefits the test taker. I feel, however, that it is still a natural positive reaction which shows genuine interest rather than apathy. Apathy is another word for indifference, of which I saw much today. Bottom line is: Acing the IELTS speaking test (or for that matter, any speaking test including job interviews) is a question of POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Below is a sample:

This candidate got a well-deserved band 7 score. For me, 50% of that score goes to attitude. There may be  problems with this method of evaluation which many will consider purely subjective. To answer them I'd say that until the speaking exam is marked by artificially-intelligent machine examiners, human examiners will be positively affected by candidates who show that they are comfortable with the exam and willing to entertain the examiners with smart ideas delivered in adequate language.