Watch THIS before your IELTS Speaking Test

- Hello and it's Keith from English Speaking Success.

Now, if you're watching this,

then you're most likely taking your

IELTS speaking test very, very soon.

Maybe next week, maybe tomorrow,

maybe even in the next few minutes.

And well, listen, if you are, I am here to help you.

I'm gonna help you control your nerves,

believe in yourself, and get completely mentally prepared

so you succeed in this upcoming IELTS speaking test, okay.

I'm gonna do two things.

First, I'm gonna help you relax

and then second do a visualization.

And this is what the top athletes in the world do

before a game or a competition,

they go through in their head what's gonna happen,

how they want it to happen

and then when they're actually in the game,

it's almost automatic.

We're gonna do the same with your test, right?

Okay.

So to begin we're just gonna take a minute to relax your breath

and your body.

You can close your eyes if you prefer for this, okay.

So breathe in

and breathe out.

(lighthearted music)

In.

Out.

Continue.

And as you breathe out, relax different parts of your body.

You're breathing in, relax your shoulders.

Breathe in

and relax your neck.

In,

relax your arms.

In,

relax your back.

In,

relax your legs.

In,

relax your knees.

Breathe in

and relax your feet.

Now, turn your attention to outside and listen carefully.

What can you hear?

Just focus on that.

Keep breathing.

Bring your focus back to your breath

and just follow your breath.

Just relax your whole body.

And after three, I want you slowly to come back.

One,

two,

three.

Now that your body is relaxed

and your mind is relaxed but alert, you're not asleep,

we're gonna start enjoying.

I want you to enjoy every moment

that happens in the next few minutes.

And I also want you to know that I believe you can do this.

I believe in your ability

to do the IELTS speaking test well,

to show your speaking how confident and good you are

and to do a fantastic job.

We're gonna do a visualization, where we start...

Again, you can close your eyes if you like

or keep them open.

But in your mind,

I want you to imagine what's gonna happen in the test

and I will talk you through each step.

Remember to enjoy every single moment.

Are you ready?

Let's begin.

So it starts when you're sat outside the test room

and you're sat waiting you're relaxed.

You cannot wait to begin, you're so excited,

you have a big smile on your face.

And then you hear the examiner

call your name or your number,

and you stand up with a big smile on your face,

you smile at the examiner.

You've got a fantastic examiner, so friendly and open.

It makes you feel even better.

You walk into the room confidently and tall

with that smile and glow on your face.

You come in to the room, sit down in your seat

and you're ready to begin.

The examiner is asking you for your passport or ID

and you hand it over confidently, but relaxed.

You are completely calm

and you feel at one with the world.

You are so happy to be here.

The examiner is curious and he is asking for your name.

You tell them.

And then they want to ask you a bit more about yourself.

It's almost like you're in a coffee bar

chatting with a colleague or a friend,

and they're asking maybe about your hometown

or your job or studies.

And you're excited but relaxed to tell them

a little bit about you.

And you are speaking calmly, quite slowly,

but in control of the pace,

in control of the space around you

and you speak fluently.

Nice, short, simple answers.

And you're really warming up to the test

then warming up to the examiner

and you're eager to know what questions are coming next.

And in part one the topics that come up

are the topics that you know so well

that you're so confident to talk about.

And you smile as you give the answers fluently and calmly

to the examiner who is smiling back and pleased to see,

pleased to see that you're doing the best that you can.

And then we move on to part two.

Where there's a moment to relax.

The examiner gives you the task card

and what a lovely surprise like a birthday present,

it's a topic you're familiar with again,

and something that you're confident you can talk well about.

You take a minute to prepare.

Quietly, calmly, see yourself smiling, making a few notes,

preparing your first phrase or sentence

and waiting for the examiner to smile and say,

"Can you begin speaking now, please?"

And you look at the task card, you look at your notes,

you take a second to pause was and smile,

and then begin your answer.

And you talk fluently and confidently

for the time up to two minutes.

And as you move quickly into part three,

you're really enjoying the test.

You're enjoying showing off your language,

communicating to the examiner,

telling them things about yourself, your ideas,

your opinions, things that actually matter to you

and the emotion is coming through

as you're smiling and telling the examiner your opinion

of the questions they ask.

Before you know it, the examiner smiles and says,

"Thank you very much.

"That's the end of the IELTS speaking test."

And you're surprised at how quickly it's gone.

But you relax, you smile, stand up and walkout of the room,

the most confident, elated, and enthusiastic person

in the whole country,

because you know you've done such a good job

and you're really happy and confident because you are right.

You did believe in yourself.

You did believe in your ability to show

how you are an effective communicator in English,

not just another student, but actually an English speaker.

And you should be very happy.

And you go out.

And as you go out and stand in the sunshine, smiling,

just close your eyes for a second

and really enjoy the feeling.

Really feel the whole buzz through your body of success

and achieving the goal that you wanted.

And when I count to three,

I want you to gently open your eyes.

One,

two,

thee.

So well done my friend,

you've passed the IELTS speaking test.

You've got the score that you needed, well done.

Listen, you can come back anytime before your test

and watch this video again to help you relax,

but stay focused and alert

and to recreate that feeling of enjoyment and excitement.

The most important things really are relax,

believe in yourself, and enjoy the test

and just see how everything falls into place.

I hope this helps.

And from me, Keith, at English Speaking Success

and the Keith Speaking Academy,

take care of yourself

and the very, very best of luck.

Bye-bye.