How NOT to be nervous in IELTS Speaking

hi it's keith from the keith speaking academy and today i'd like to look at one of the most difficult things for many students in the ielts speaking test and that's about not being nervous in the ielts speaking test so i want to share with you some tips ideas and strategies to help you control your nerves so that you can be much more confident in the ielts speaking test interested keep watching [Music] hi if you don't know me my name is keith and i run the keith speaking academy and my goal is to help you speak better english give better answers in ielts and so get a higher score i hope the youtube videos can help you do join me if you haven't already every tuesday and thursday 10 o'clock spanish time because i live in spain live lessons on youtube i also have an online course it's on udemy there's a link below that might also help you with your ielts speaking but let's get into it today being nervous what's that all about right [Music] right well i think there are two things to understand about being nervous first of all is it's physiological oh there's a fancy word physiological means it's it's a body reaction right so when you have stress or you're in an uncomfortable situation your body reacts right similar to if it's hot you sweat it's physiological you can't stop it so when you're you have stress right well your body reacts it releases a hormone called adrenaline your heart beats faster your breathing speeds up you may start to sweat um and although you're alert it's difficult to focus mentally and that's part of the problem but the good news is right it's it's normal it's natural it happens to everybody and if you can control the nerves a little bit it can really help you the second thing to notice is that being nervous is temporary another fancy word temporary means it's a short for a short time so it passes quite quickly right um once the situation has changed the nerves will disappear so it's not there forever it's also great news so why is being nervous a problem right in ielts speaking well first of all because being nervous may force you to speak quietly you lose your confidence if you speak quietly the examiner can't really hear you and that will affect your score for many people they'll speak quickly they get all nervous and they start going really quickly and that is not good because it will often lead to more mistakes incoherence which affects your fluency negatively as well and also because you're not focusing mentally you may not listen properly you may not hear the right question or give the right answer so you can be off topic sometimes happens and you're not focusing on accuracy at all so all of this can have a really negative effect in your ielts speaking so actually what you want is to control your nerves so that you can speak clearly at a good pace um focus on accuracy and give answers which are on topic answering the question right and so get the score that you want so let's have a look at how we can do that so i'm going to look at different tips ideas and strategies here um they won't all be applicable to everybody there may just be one or two that you think work for you so take what works best for you but let's have a look prepare for the worst but expect the best so prepare for the worst means think about what's the worst case scenario right what's the worst thing that can happen right are you going to explode and disappear are you gonna have a heart attack probably not you may get a six instead of a seven maybe that means i can't apply to university this year or i can't immigrate this year i have to wait another year oh that's terrible and you're feeling sad about that and really really bad and maybe even crying about it um but preparing for that and thinking about all of the worst things that can happen right um and have those and feel those but then expect the best to happen it's a question of focus you have both the best is that you actually get the score you need that it goes swimmingly well you enjoy the test and you do really really well so that will be your focus the problem for many people is that they focus on the worst right prepare for the worst and they focus on the worst oh what if what if that and what if and that's all they're thinking about and makes them more nervous so park that over here you've felt it you've experienced it it's there but you then leave it and you focus on the best what's really gonna be good what could be the best outcome and that's where you focus that change in focus helps control your nervousness and now tip number two is practice being nervous what yes practice being nervous so i mean put yourselves in situations where you're not comfortable right so if you're going to conferences um or you're in classrooms with other students and teachers um put yourself in in situations where you're not comfortable so for example asking questions normally you sit there quietly raise your hand ask a question if you're at a conference go and sit at the front ask a question go and present at a conference if you've never had a speaking partner go and find a speaking partner and feel nervous get used to being in uncomfortable situations even if you want to go and speak to the the guy who sells you vegetables at the supermarket go and speak to them push yourself and practice being nervous and you'll notice how your body reacts and how you can start to control it and get used to it very very simple very easy to do practice being nervous tip number three is all about preparation and being prepared is one of the best ways to tackle nerves right because the more prepared you are the less nervous you're going to be so first of all here's an example right i have had a few students who come to me and say listen i've done the test or a mock test and i'm i'm banned five i've got my my test now in two months time and my goal is a band seven and i'm like that's impossible you will not go from a band five to a band seven in two months but what you've managed to do is put huge stress on yourself and pressure that's gonna make you nervous and you'll probably end up with a band four seriously because you've put all this pressure on yourself so by preparation first of all i mean have a realistic goal if you want to go from five to seven then book your test in two years time not two months time so that you've got time to prepare in addition there's preparation for the test right so practicing ielts questions and answers is great preparation get familiar with the topics and then there'll be fewer surprises on the day that's one thing the other thing is prepare your general english speaking skills and build up your flexibility especially if you're a band if you're aiming for a band seven the key one of the keys is flexibility you have to develop that so that whatever questions come even strange questions about pens and pencils or fishing then you can react and be flexible in your use of english to give confident answers so build up that flexibility help you prepare be better prepared for the test and you'll be less nervous and here are two simple things you can do to practice building flexibility for example number one with a speaking partner is practice asking each other surprise questions right instead of asking the recent questions that you've been preparing ask each other surprise questions maybe questions from years ago or questions you've made up right describe a time you saw a light that that's not in the that's not one of the questions no but describe a time you saw a light and what it's doing is it's pushing you to build your flexibility to react to the surprise situation and then as you build your confidence you will get less nervous the second thing you can do is when you're asking each other questions especially part one questions ask the same question three times and give a different answer each time right so if you're asking a recent question you know what kind of accommodation do you live in answer with three different answers not always the same one that you've practiced many times because that is not flexibility being able to give different answers that's flexibility and you must have that if you're a band 7 or above so there you go couple of tips practice tips let's move on tip number four is to believe in your english i talk quite a lot about this um and at risk of being repetitive um it is really important that you take ownership of your english it's your english it's you it's a part of your personality it's a part of who you are right whether you're band 4 or band 7 it's your english and it's something when you have it you should be proud of it right almost don't think about comparing yourself and being evaluated put that aside just focus focus right on being proud this is my english this is the level i have i'm proud of it and i'm going to show the examiner right believe in your english right the next group of tips are things you can do just before the test right almost on test day one of the most effective ones that i have done and i do with students sometimes is do you remember the the game um how to be a millionaire right call a friend where you don't know the answer you call a friend not in the test no but before you go into the test call a friend and just chat to them for a couple of minutes say listen i'm about to do the test how are you um and just talking to somebody can be a huge relief because that isolation before the test it often makes you start to think more and to think more negatively and if you can just break that and speak to somebody call a friend just say hello or you know ask your friend to encourage you when you call them or to speak in english or their mother tongue it doesn't matter but just have that contact with somebody shortly before the test it can make a big difference now another kind of trick here is all about posture practice posture okay because there is research that shows that your posture reflects your mood right and i'm sure you know this right if you're being a bit closed you often sit like that right if you're not interested in somebody you may do that right when you're open we tend to do this when you're happy you smile and there is something called reverse engineering which is basically that when you smile it tricks your head or your mind into thinking you're happy so when you're sad right just by going it actually makes you happy because your mind thinks you're happy right if you want to be open to somebody just standing like this tricks your mind into being open and the same with posture right if you sit straight up um arms or your palms faced out a little bit like not like that but like and if you sit with a strong posture upright arms open it fools your mind or tricks your mind into thinking you're confident and you will start to be confident right if you're not thinking about this you'll walk into the exam nervous like this oh hello mr examiner and just by changing the posture it will change your voice and your confidence it's a very simple trick it can work maybe at the start to help you get going but often that's what it's about it's just starting the ball or getting the ball rolling the more confident you get the more confident you get the next tip is visualization um and this is one that all of the best or the kind of international sports stars use a lot of singers do it celebrities do it politicians do it before you have a big event or game where you may be nervous and uncomfortable before you do that you work on your head right you work on visualizing the positive outcome so before the test you go and find a quiet place or just sit on your chair close your eyes and start to imagine the test you walking in smiling sitting down confident posture the examiner asking you and you replying clearly loudly and with confidence right through the test and then imagine at the end you're walking out of the room smiling and with a happy that you've done well and that visualization is very powerful to help you build up that confidence subconsciously as well as consciously as you walk into the room so visualize it can help the next tip comes from one of those great gurus um eckhart tolle and he says when you feel nervous let the nerves be do you remember the beatles let it be it was a very deep song and it's about letting everything be so if you're nervous don't fight the nerves and go oh i shouldn't be nervous i don't want to be nervous you you can't just let it be oh i'm nervous okay that's fine oh i've got this tightness in my stomach okay that's fine just let that be it's okay and see what happens and very often there's a change up here that happens that instead of fighting and getting more nervous your son relax and accept that feeling and it can really really help try it out see in any situation not just with your ielts speaking try it out see if it works for you rightio now the next tip comes from a lady called tamar chansky is it tamar i think it is let's call her dr chansky she's a psychologist she's a writer as well she's written some very popular books about controlling anxiety and nervousness and she has this approach called the 3-3-3 approach and it's all about actually similar to eckhart tolle is about being in the moment or being present now and she uses this 3-3-3 approach which is quite interesting right so you notice three things and then three sounds and then three parts of your body okay so it only takes a few minutes but wherever you are and you're starting to feel stress or anxiety you look slowly and carefully at three different things so for example you might look at your computer and you look at it quite carefully almost like you're looking at it for the first time ever right and then you look at another object maybe the table and you just observe it and then a third object maybe the window maybe your phone and you spend a few seconds really looking at it and then listen to three different sounds right i can hear the traffic and you really pay attention to the sound right and then i can hear the neighbor upstairs let your emotions go just listen to the sound that can be so noisy oh and i can hear my wife's footsteps outside so you listen to three sounds and then you focus on three parts of your body not looking but feeling so you may want to close your eyes and feel your hands it's strange right because you've probably never felt your hands before you're feeling the the energy inside right or you can feel your feet feel your leg your left leg it's quite interesting and you get so focused on that thing that your mind stops thinking right you can't do both at the same time and that's how it works it brings you into the present moment three three three just takes a couple of minutes it can be really effective from dr chansky try it out next moving on right so the next group of tips are all things you can actually do on test day in the test okay so the first one is focus on communication not showing off now i know i do talk a lot about showing off your language in ielts speaking you want to show the examiner how good you can speak english correct however in the first two or three minutes focus on communication right not showing off fancy language okay so for example if you know the examiner asks to tell me about your hometown well i'm from manchester it's up in the north of england it's quite a big city it's quite a big a famous student city as well actually and i really like it sure simple nice right and i'm just communicating the way i would speak to somebody at a party if they ask me right the problem happens and the stress and the nerves get worse when you try to show off at the beginning tell me about your hometown oh i'm from manchester which is located up in the north of england which is part of great britain which consists of four countries ireland wales scotland england manchester is a big metropolis it's it's a cosmopolitan cosmic cosmic cosmopolitan city um which has it goes back to the industrial revolution in 1860 right and what's going on right what's going on is you're trying to show off but you're making mistakes because you're putting so much pressure on yourself to show off and look good um and you're not communicating and and it's just getting worse right speaking more quickly making more mistakes all of those things that happen when you get nervous so in the first minute or two focus on communication not showing off the next tip is share your emotions and again in a natural conversation you want to share your feelings with the examiner right or with whoever you're talking to unfortunately what often happens in the test is students going to something some trainers called exam mode a board comes down or a wall comes down and you become a bit robotic i come from manchester which is in the northeast of england it's a very big city it has been and you're kind of speaking like a robot um and there's no emotion there however when we communicate you want to show emotion right if you love your hometown let that show i come from manchester it's a lovely city it's a really big city right up in the north of england i really like it because right you can feel the emotion i'm quite excited about it and i want to tell you about it that's going to help communication fluency intonation all of those things so show your emotion in the ielts speaking test moving on the next tip is focus on the person not the examiner have you ever met a celebrity what often happens when you meet a famous person is in your head you have this idea of how amazing and big they are and you're quite small it's like oh my god it's elton john it's prince william oh and it's amazing right and you can hardly speak but when you meet these people they not all of them but a lot of them just say listen i'm just a person i'm just like you i'm a normal person here in front of you right and and it's true of course they are a celebrity for a reason but if you can also focus on the person in the test not thinking it's an examiner it's a professional from another country high level i'm very low no it's a person right and just focus on communicating again with this person try and get that focus again focus and it can help reduce your nerves next okay the next tip is three simple words breathe smile enjoy right breathe because when you're nervous often your breathing speeds up and sometimes you forget to breathe right and that's not good um so at the start of each answer you can just pause and take a deep breath right tell me about your hometown okay so i come from manchester and that's absolutely fine you can pause take a deep breath helps the oxygen get to your head um and it really really helps breathe smile because as i said before when you smile you trick your brain but also what happens when you smile at people normally people smile back at you right normally so when you smile you create a bit of a rapport with this person in front of you and it helps communication so smile and enjoy seriously enjoy the test now some students go what are you kidding me i hate tests how can i possibly enjoy it it's all a question of focus and attitude that if you think about enjoying it your whole body changes your physiology changes psychology will change and just think about enjoying the test and it really can help you relax i'm going to enjoy this come what may right and the final tip this is a very quick tip but do remember actually most examiners and most people who interview you right for whatever wants you to do well they want you to show the best side of you right most examiners want you to succeed they want you to show how good your english is right they're not really setting traps trying to trick you or catch you out no most of them just want you to communicate and show off your english right remember that focus on the person focus on communication show your emotion and remember they want you to exceed not exceed to succeed maybe to exceed expectations right so that's it and so there you have it a whole bunch of exciting tips and strategies to help you control your nerves in the ielts speaking test if you've got your test coming up soon i really wish you the best of luck try out these tips see if they work try them out in your everyday life as well not only for ielts speaking that's it remember if you want to learn with me i've got these live lessons for free on youtube every tuesday and thursday 10 o'clock spain time check the link below if you want more check out my course my online course on udemy links below as well if it's right for you go for it great thank you very much for watching if you've enjoyed this do like it leave me a comment below and do subscribe and also turn on notifications so you can watch upcoming videos as well that's it thank you very much take care now all the best bye-bye you

Channel: English Speaking Success

Views: 131,744

Keywords: ielts speaking, ielts speaking success, ielts keith, ielts speaking 2020, ielts speaking nervous, nervous in ielts speaking, ielts nerves test, ielts speaking confidence, keith speaking academy, not be nervous, not be nervous for interview, not be nervous ielts, ielts nervous

Id: olZh3nc0BYU

Length: 31min 8sec (1868 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 02 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Remarkable_Paint_403]

nice tips

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