Speaking Part 2: how to use your one minute of preparation

In Part 2 you get a task card, one minute to prepare and then speak for up to two minutes. Many candidates waste the minute writing full sentences. Here’s a better plan.

Use the bullet points as your outline

The card always gives you three or four prompts. Write two or three keywords for each – never sentences.

Describe a skill you learned that you are proud of

• what – swimming, age 22
• how – adult classes, patient instructor
• difficult – breathing, embarrassed, 6 months
• why proud – overcame fear, sea on holiday

Add one story and one feeling

Examiners remember answers with a short story (“The first time I swam a full length…”) and a feeling (“I felt so relieved”). These naturally use past tenses and descriptive vocabulary – both reward Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range.

Plan your opening line

Decide your first sentence before you start: “I’d like to talk about…”. A confident start sets your rhythm.

Keep going until the examiner stops you

If you finish early, add detail: who was there, how it changed you, what you’d do differently. Speaking for the full two minutes shows fluency.

Record yourself in the band.pk Speaking practice, then listen back and compare with the model answer.