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Describe a disagreement you had with someone: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who was the person?
  • Why did you have the disagreement?
  • Was the issue resolved? If yes, how?
  • And explain what happened after the disagreement.
Show all 113 answers

Cue 1:Who was the person?

  • Introduce the person you had the disagreement with, mentioning your relationship with them.
  • Provide some context about how long you have known this person and the nature of your interactions.

Example

The person I had a disagreement with was my younger brother, Rohan. We have been close since childhood, sharing everything from toys to secrets. We often have friendly debates, but this particular disagreement was more serious.

Cue 2:Why did you have the disagreement?

  • Clearly explain the topic of the disagreement and why it was important to both of you.
  • Share your perspective and Rohan's perspective to give a balanced view.

Example

The disagreement arose over our plans for a family vacation. I wanted to go to the mountains for some adventure, while Rohan insisted on a beach destination for relaxation. Both of us felt strongly about our choices, as I wanted to experience the thrill of trekking, and he wanted to unwind by the sea.

Cue 3:Was the issue resolved? If yes, how?

  • Discuss how you both approached the resolution of the disagreement.
  • Mention any compromises or discussions that led to a solution.

Example

Eventually, we decided to sit down and talk it out. We listed the pros and cons of each destination and realized that we could combine both ideas. We agreed to spend a few days in the mountains and then relax at the beach. This compromise made both of us happy.

Cue 4:And explain what happened after the disagreement.

  • Describe the aftermath of the disagreement and how it affected your relationship.
  • Share any positive outcomes or lessons learned from the experience.

Example

After resolving the disagreement, our relationship grew stronger. We learned to appreciate each other's viewpoints more. The trip turned out to be a fantastic experience, and we created wonderful memories together. It taught us the importance of communication and compromise.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, disagreements can be challenging, but they also provide opportunities for growth and understanding. My experience with Rohan taught me that listening and finding common ground can lead to better relationships and enjoyable experiences.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer unclear. It's important to provide specific details about the disagreement to engage the listener and demonstrate your language skills.

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    Tip

    Use clear examples and specific details about the disagreement, such as the person involved and the exact issue to make your response more vivid.

    2: Ignoring Resolution

    Failing to discuss how the disagreement was resolved can leave your answer incomplete. It’s essential to show how conflicts can be managed and resolved.

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    Tip

    Always include how the issue was resolved, whether through discussion, compromise, or another method, to show your problem-solving skills.

    Lack of Reflection

    Not reflecting on what happened after the disagreement can make your answer seem shallow. It's important to show personal growth or changes in your relationship.

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    Tip

    Conclude by explaining what you learned from the disagreement and how it affected your relationship with the person involved.

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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band >7

    Recently I had a disagreement with my dentist because I said that I was pursuing my higher education in AI and healthcare rather than I was moving into the PD of this industry field. The thing that he said when I told about him about this program is that he said AI or data science all are just a trend that is being upheld by many young generation. Trend will drastically decrease during the time, during the upcoming years and I never understood the point that he was about to make because as the population increases, as the development advances, data is always going to increase. As the data increases, we need more and more sources and technologies to cope up with that situation. AI is the future and will be always developing, evolving to make our life much more easier to assist us in every sector, in every area that humans have reached. So learning AI will always help us to move forward in this generation and moving ahead by learning NLP or deep learning and we will be one step ahead. I believe that I will be one step ahead than the rest of the doctors around here. So I think this is not just a trend, it is the future and it is always better to know things more about AI and to understand how the technological aspects work.

    Band >7

    I'm not someone who usually disagrees to people, but there are some times where I had to step in and, you know, counter some issues. So one major disagreement that I could remember was when I argued with my milkman to reduce the use of plastic. This happened a couple of months ago. This was because the milk was delivered in a plastic bag. I offered him a couple of other alternatives that he could opt for, like bringing the container up to my house and then taking the milk in a container or a small bowl, and that would reduce the use of plastic for both of us. I also let him in my house, gave him a glass of water, and discussed about how plastic is such a bad thing for Earth. It takes years and years of, I told him it takes years and years of, you know, uh...

    Band 7

    One disagreement that stands out in my memory happened between me and one of my closest friends during a group research in college. At first it seemed like we had shared a vision, but as we began diving deeper into the work, our priorities started clashing. I was focused on keeping everything structured and sticking to academic standards, whereas my friend was more interested in making the presentation visually engaging and informal. Now disagreements in themselves are dangerous. It's how we handle them that matters. Initially we both got a bit defensive. He thought I was being rigid, and I felt like he wasn't taking the project seriously enough, but instead of letting it spiral into resentment, I decided to take a step back and reflect. I reminded myself that disagreements aren't about winning, they are about understanding. So I initiated a conversation. He sat down, put the egos aside, and talked like adults. I explained why structure and credibility mattered for our grading, and he explained how design and engagement would make our work stand out. What we realized was we were both right. Our goals weren't contradictory, they were complementary. The realization transformed everything. We divided responsibilities, played to our strengths, and ended up with a project that not only met academic expectations, but also wowed the audience. What I learned from that experience is powerful. Disagreement doesn't mean disconnection. If anything, it's a signal to a pause, listen harder, collaborate better. Since then, I've approached conflicts not as a threat, but as a chance to evaluate the outcome. When handed will, even the toughest conversation can become the turning point anywhere.

    Band 7

    I don't usually argue with people, it's not in my nature, but one of the disagreements I recently had was with one of my friends, Raghu. He is generally very arrogant of nature and always wants to dominate his opinion upon others, which is one of the things that I don't like about him. It was the project that we were assigned to in data sciences, that we had to make use of AI intelligence and we had a very big disagreement owing to what kind of method we will employ to design our project. I remember I had already confirmed it with the tutor about the usage of the particular tool that I was planning to use, but Raghu had another idea and we had a very bad disagreement over the group project and everyone else were so concerned that whether the project will happen or not. Then one of the other friends, who knew both of us, tried to reconcile us by coming to a middle, what we say, agreement. I agreed that we could use his method, but he also had to agree that the project presentation and everything that followed will be planned by me. So in this way, the disagreement had to be resolved, otherwise the project would not have been possible.

    Band 7

    I had a disagreement with one of my friend. The topic was that girls need not to work after completion of their studies. They don't have to pay more attention towards their work life or professional life as much as men have to. So, this was the point of view of my friend initially when our discussion began. So, I did not feel the same way as he thought because I feel it is not the point that girls don't have to look after the professional life. They do have to. In my opinion, I would definitely choose to look after a personal life and to balance them equally. For me, being financially independent is a very important and essential factor because that would make me stand out from all other people. Apart from this, I would always choose my career as my priority because standing on my own feet is something that I really appreciate from beneath of my heart. So, it was completely wrong that he said girls do not need to

    Band 7

    So this is a disagreement I had with my father regarding curating the wedding guest list. I was of the opinion that we should have a very intimate wedding with very close family members as the audience, as the members attending the wedding, whereas my father was strongly of the opinion that a marriage is the union of two families and two cultures coming together and we should be inviting all our near and far, you know, people and they all should be invited. And long story short, after a very, very long, tedious rebuttal, we came to a common consensus where we assessed our funds and we assessed our, you know, economic viability on how to feed such a large banquet of people. And we then curated, we came to a middle ground and curated the wedding guest list where it was a win-win situation for the both of us.

    Band 7

    One disagreement I remember clearly was with my school friend Parth. We had been good friends for many years. But I remember when I was appointed as the school captain and he was appointed as vice captain of the school. Then we were assigned a task to make a presentation on environmental pollution. There was disagreement between us due to difference of opinion. So he wanted to create large colorful posters with charts and pictures. But I felt that we should make a powerpoint presentation with short video to make it look more modern and interesting. We both felt strongly about our own ideas. And so slowly and slowly the argument become heated. We spent more time arguing than actually working. So the next day our school teachers noticed that something is really wrong. So she asked us. We explained everything. And she calmly told us that good teamwork means understanding and combining both the strengths. Like you should understand each other's point of views and opinions. And then you can mix both the methods and choose a holistic approach in which you can make a short video and also prepare a poster for the display. And we agreed to that. And to our surprise the final presentation was really balanced. And the poster helped those who liked visual displays. And the video made it interactive. So we got a great feedback. And it became one of our best school projects ever. So this experience really taught me that disagreements are not always bad. They help us to see things from a new angle sometimes. And now I try to listen more and understand others view before reacting.

    Band 7

    I would actually like to list two such incidences, first of which happened with Priyanshu, my best friend. We kind of disagreed upon the Indian work culture opinion. He believes that Indian work culture isn't all that bad, whereas I believe that it is pretty horrible and it doesn't have any empathy for the workers. The laws and the labour laws are just not good at all. They are too taxing, the work culture is too demanding. We have CEOs like Narayan Murthy and the CEO of Ola coming to live interviews and saying that it's okay to work for 70 hours a week, which in my opinion is very very wrong and I strongly disagree with this opinion and me and my best friend, we have settled our differences and we don't argue about it anymore. Secondly, I disagreed with Aman about Indian culture. He believes that Indian culture is the best culture in the world, which I strongly disagree with. He thinks that Western culture is too individualistic, whereas Indian culture is too holistic, but I completely disagree with his opinion. I believe there is no such thing as best culture in the world. Every culture has its positives and negatives. Even though I have respected Indian culture a lot, it's always okay to respect other cultures as well.

    Band 7

    A disagreement I clearly remember was with a colleague during a group project at work. We were tasked with developing a proposal for a new client and although we both had the same goal, we had very different approaches to how the work should be done. My colleague preferred a fast-paced, result-driven method aiming to complete the draft as quickly as possible to meet the deadline. On the other hand, I believe that we should spend more time refining our ideas and conducting thorough research. Even if it meant working overtime, the disagreement came to a head during a team meeting where we both expressed our opinions rather passionately. It was uncomfortable because it happened in front of others and I was concerned it might affect the team dynamic. However, after some reflection, I decided to have a private conversation with him later that day. I explained my perspective calmly and listened to his side as well. We eventually agreed to find a middle ground. He would draft the structure quickly and I would refine the content in detail. Looking back, I actually appreciate the disagreement. It challenged me to be more flexible and helped me develop better communication and collaboration skills. It also reinforced the idea that disagreements, when handled maturely, can lead to more balanced outcomes. I feel proud of how we managed the situation and interestingly, we ended up working very well together on future projects.

    Band 7

    I am trying to recall an incident that happened 3 years back at my home. It was regarding the purchase of a motorcycle for me regarding my work. I really wanted a motorcycle to have a convenient commute to and fro from my office. So we had a discussion planned at my home in order to decide on which motorcycle that I have to purchase. But my parents were more inclined towards fuel efficiency of the vehicle. But instead I was more passionate towards the performance of the motorcycle. So the discussion went on for weeks actually in my home. On the one hand, I was more interested in having a race edition motorcycle. On the other hand, my parents were more interested in a cruise bike. So at the end of the day, I decided to purchase the motorcycle in my dreams. So I purchased a bike called Apache RTR 200 which is a race edition superb bike of TVS. But I did it after convincing my parents of my interest and my passion to have my dream motorcycle. So ultimately they agreed with me and helped me in buying my dream bike. Still now, I am using the same bike and I am really happy that I made this decision because I had the bike of my dreams and I am also happy with the fuel efficiency that this bike is providing me and till now no problems have been observed.
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