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Describe an impressive talk/conversation you had that you remember well: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who you talked to
  • When and where you had the talk
  • What you talked about
  • And explain why it was impressive
Show all 69 answers

Cue 1:Who you talked to

  • Introduce the person you had the conversation with, mentioning their relationship to you.
  • Share a brief background about them to give context to the conversation.

Example

I had an impressive conversation with my uncle, who is a successful entrepreneur. He has been running his own business for over a decade and has a wealth of experience in the industry.

Cue 2:When and where you had the talk

  • Describe the time and place of the conversation to set the scene.
  • Mention any relevant details about the environment that made the conversation special.

Example

This talk took place last summer during a family gathering at my grandparents' house. The atmosphere was relaxed, with everyone enjoying good food and laughter, which made it the perfect setting for a meaningful discussion.

Cue 3:What you talked about

  • Outline the main topics discussed during the conversation.
  • Highlight any specific stories or advice shared that stood out to you.

Example

We talked about the challenges of starting a business and the importance of resilience. He shared a personal story about a time he faced failure but learned valuable lessons that ultimately led to his success.

Cue 4:And explain why it was impressive

  • Reflect on what made the conversation impactful for you personally.
  • Discuss how it influenced your thoughts or actions moving forward.

Example

This conversation was impressive because it opened my eyes to the realities of entrepreneurship. His passion and determination inspired me to consider my own career path more seriously, and I left feeling motivated to pursue my dreams.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, that conversation with my uncle was not just a casual chat; it was a pivotal moment that encouraged me to think differently about my future. I realized the value of learning from others' experiences and how impactful a single conversation can be in shaping our aspirations.

    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: Lack of Detail

    Providing vague answers without specific details can make your response less engaging and memorable. It may fail to demonstrate your language proficiency and storytelling ability.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the person you talked to, the setting, and the topics discussed to create a vivid picture for the examiner.

    2: Ignoring the Impressive Aspect

    Failing to explain why the conversation was impressive can leave your answer incomplete. It’s essential to highlight the significance of the talk to showcase your reflective thinking.

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    Tip

    Clearly articulate what made the conversation impactful for you, whether it was the insights gained or the emotional connection established.

    Poor Structure

    A disorganized response can confuse the listener and detract from the overall quality of your answer. It’s important to present your ideas in a logical sequence.

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    Tip

    Follow the cue prompts in order: introduce the person, describe the setting, discuss the conversation, and conclude with its significance to ensure clarity.

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    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

    Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

    Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

    Answer

    I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.
    Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

    Answer

    The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.
    Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

    Answer

    As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.
    Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

    Answer

    When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.
    Describe a book you recently read
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

    Answer

    It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

    All Answers

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

    Band 6-7

    So, recently my friend and I visited a cafe where we were sitting and sipping our cold brews and having a quiet time to ourselves, exchanging gossips and what not. While we were talking about a major topic about our state's current political state, we felt that the current generation or mostly referred to as Generation Z have been much more reliable and much more statistical when it comes to Millennials and Gen X. So, when we started talking about how their political views and perspectives change to a Millennial or a Gen X, we as Gen Z feel that our thinking is much more reliable, statistic and much more broader in the sense of viewing a person's presence, opinions and emotions to the current state that they are living. For example, we were talking about a particular person who is planning to stand for the upcoming elections and we felt that the particular person is not fit to promote himself as an elective member in the parliament such as a chief minister since he has no prior experience in being an elected member of the parliament nor has any political exposure. So, we felt that we as Generation Z who are the upcoming future of the current state or nation or the world in fact, we believe that the nation wants and would thrive better when it comes to a person who is much more knowledgeable, intellect and who feels that the current generation could bring a bigger difference.

    Band 6-7

    I had been to a conference in the month of June, there I met a chief consultant from a hospital. I had a casual talk during our tea time and it was very impressive, I really thought that I should develop such skills, both talking as well as the financial skills. He was describing how to plan the finances, starting from the house to an institution and how it is going to benefit and what are the repercussions of not following such a financial policy, everything whatever he spoke about was very nice and it was thought provoking. I thought like I should also start practicing to first talk like him and also think like him and to get some innovative ideas, these kind of people are very rare, when I am going to meet him again, I would be taking much more lessons which is valuable to the life as well as to my working place, I can use his strategies and incorporate in our workplace. Not only me, many of people who was with me felt the same thing that was a very good meeting.

    Band 6-7

    A really impressive conversation that I was once a part of was when I had a conversation with a teacher trainer. She had been a trainer for teachers for more than 10 years and this lady who had great experience in the field of teacher training advised teachers to always put students first and on how to be empathetic while dealing with students. She also talked about how she had implemented invigilation-free exams in the schools where she had worked earlier, which I found extremely interesting. She emphasized on how it's important to focus on the character of students and develop them into honest and responsible citizens. Schools have a very important role to play in character development and teachers are the primary contact for students when it comes to setting good examples. This is an important lesson that I learned from her. She emphasized on the importance of teachers being points of trust and trustworthy contacts that students could come to to share their grievances and therefore seek help. If teachers and students have a good bond in which they can exchange and also the teacher is able to mentor the students, then we will

    Band 6-7

    I'm a guy who loves to listen a lot rather than talking too much. When I was in a football team, I used to talk much more because I'm a guy who loves to listen rather than talking too much. But if the situation demands, I will speak for myself. There was once a time when I was part of my school football team. I was appointed as the captain for almost 2 years. So, I had to talk too much. At the beginning, it was a bit of too much for me because that was completely new for me. But later on, after so much practice and talking to my teammates a lot, I really improved. At first, I thought it was a piece of cake because I was so familiar with my teammates but it was a bit hard. Then, once my former coach came to me and said that I should be more interactive with my teammates because as the captain's role, I had the sole responsibility of leading the team and giving out the direction of how the team should play. Later on, after so much experiences, I developed a habit of talking a lot.

    Band 6-7

    The impressive talk that I had, it could be my colleague. When I started working in a first company, I had one colleague named Smitali. She told me that if you want to survive in a corporate world, the most important thing that you have to learn is do your work. Sometimes we have more than 10 tasks to finish in a day. So if you are working on something and in the middle of it you get another task, don't start panic, don't start working on the other task that you have received. Finish the task on hand after that move to the other task. That way you will have finished the first task. And now you can give everything that you have to the task that you have received. And in this way you will not panic.

    Band 6-7

    An impressive talk I had was with my guide, after completing my research work. So he had great hope for my research. So talking with him was really impressive because I completed the research within 6 months and it took a lot of hard work and preparation and data collection which helped me to complete the task on time. So getting to know the result was worth the waiting was really impressive. And I know this research I had done will be presented in the conference in Allahabad. So he was asking me to plan on that and to prepare well for that. So that it will help me in my future for my doctorate degree and all. Furthermore, it gives me a satisfaction and happiness that I cannot describe. Additionally, we had to prepare a poster, a presentation for the conference. So I am really impressed about what he has spoken about the research. So this was the recent impressive talk that I had with my guide.

    Band 6-7

    Right now I remember a conversation that I had with my sister when I was a teenager. I think I was 13 years old. My sister asked me to sit down and she told me that she was going to give me some knowledge about women health. And she asked me if I know anything about menstrual cycle. And I told her that I don't know anything about it. So she enlightened me about all the five days they go through, the pain they suffer, the caring they need in those five days, the type of hormonal imbalance they feel. And many of the times they don't get a chance to get those frustrations out. So they cry and every man should be aware that in those five days every woman likes to be taken care, treated nicely. The reason why she was telling me about menstrual cycle is because one of my cousins, he is elder to both of us and my sister was traveling with him and she told him that she is on her periods and he had no idea about that. So that's why she thought that maybe I should know about menstrual cycle, which will be helpful for me in the future.

    Band 6-7

    So, an impressive conversation which I had was with a cousin of mine whose name was Shona. He stays in Nasik and lately had gone to visit him during my vacation. So, we were just having a casual talk about random topics and suddenly we came to a topic about army since he serves in the military. So, we just started having a conversation regarding the armed forces and various things. This was because I am pretty much interested in Indian forces and I always dreamt of being an army officer. So, we just began a conversation about it and he just went on and on about his army life, the hardships, how he established his stand during the army, how was his progress throughout the years, the different kind of conditions he had to face and how did he come out of it, what did he become or how did it benefit him from serving in the army. For instance, he explained a prejudice where he was called on a sudden mission to a different country and he was not at all prepared but with all his experience and his hard work, he could gain confidence from his seniors and he decided to go on the mission which was very risky but he came out with flying colours. The thing which I found most impressive about this talk was that I am so lucky that I don't have to deal with so much of pain and troubles because I have got everything ready made by my parents. I just have to make use of it and do the right things in the right way, that's what I need to do and I always need to have a positive outlook.

    Band 6-7

    I had an impressive talk with my favorite actor, his name is Pawan Kalyan and he is an actor from India called Pawan Kalyan and he is well known as Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh state which is located in my country India. I got a chance where I had a press conference hall and then he visited the press conference hall. I gathered the chance to talk with him in a press conference of politics meeting. Then I talked about the politics and film industry. Then I asked about my future, I am planning master studies in Germany, what will you suggest me to go or not go. Then he replied very well mannered and he had given me a structured plan to my future. So at final we discussed, we concluded our chat and it is very impressive to talk with my favorite actor and favorite politician, moreover he is a great human being. So nice to talk with him and it is well deserved to get a chance meeting a VIP person. Thank you.

    Band 6-7

    One of the best conversation I had remembered still now is with my in-laws. Recently my in-laws had decided to buy some furnitures to our house. Even though they had decided what to buy and all, they just asked me my opinion. And I suggested them something about the table and the sofa set etc. After hearing my opinion, they were so much excited and they had changed their mind and they took me to buy the objects. So it was one of the best experience for me. When my brother-in-law had supported me and took by my side, we had went to Grand Home which is a furniture shop situated in our hometown. We bought many trending furnitures that were imported. So after buying those objects with my opinion, I became so grateful that they were hearing my opinion and they were considering me as their family and they valued my talking and all. So it was one of the most precious moment for me. It is the first time that I am
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