Describe a talk you gave to a group of people: IELTS Speaking Cue Card model answers have been provided below. The answers are centred upon questions - Who you gave the talk to, What the talk was about, Why you gave the talk, And explain how you felt about the talk
What is a Cue Card: IELTS Speaking Part 2 includes cue cards containing topics on which candidates are to speak. Candidates get 2-3 minutes time to speak and 1 minute for note-taking. In IELTS Speaking part 2, candidates' proficiency in grammar and vocabulary is assessed along with their confidence to speak in English.
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Topic: Describe a talk you gave to a group of people: IELTS Speaking Cue Card
You should say
Answer 1:
Who you gave the talk to?
A couple of months ago, the faculty asked me to speak at the freshers’ orientation—basically throw some wisdom at the wide-eyed first-years who’d just landed in college. I was honestly surprised they picked me, but apparently doing decently in studies while running around for clubs, fests, and everything else made me look like someone who “has it figured out.” (Spoiler: I still don’t, but okay.)
What the talk was about?
So there I was, standing in front of 200+ kids who looked exactly how I did two years back—excited, terrified, and secretly wondering if they’d survive the semester. I decided to talk about the only thing that actually saved me back then: time management and not studying like a maniac at 3 a.m. the night before exams.
Why you gave the talk?
I kept it real—no fancy slides, just me rambling about stuff like making a rough weekly plan on Sunday nights, chopping big scary assignments into tiny “I’ll just do this one page today” bits, and actually using Google Calendar instead of treating it like a suggestion. Threw in a couple of my greatest first-year disasters too—like the time I pulled three all-nighters in a row and still bombed a test because I studied the wrong chapters. They laughed (thank god), and I could see a few of them nodding like “yeah that’s gonna be me.”
And explain how you felt about the talk?
I won’t lie, my stomach was doing flips for the first two minutes. Public speaking is still not my thing. But once I saw them leaning in, taking notes, and actually looking less panicked, I relaxed. By the end, a bunch of them came up with questions—“How do you stop scrolling Instagram when you’re supposed to study?” (Still working on that one, buddy)—and a few even said the talk made them feel less overwhelmed.
Walking out of there, I felt this weird mix of proud and relieved. If even one of them starts planning their week instead of crying over submissions at the last minute, I’d call it a win. Made me realize passing on whatever little I’ve learned is pretty damn satisfying. Might actually sign up to do this again next year.
Answer 2:
Who you gave the talk to?
Last year, when my old school organized a “Motivation Day” for the Class 10 kids, the teachers reached out to a few of us alumni to come and speak. I think they picked me because I’d done pretty well in my boards and was always running around for debates, quizzes, sports – the usual stuff. A lot of the students still remembered me as their senior so the moment I walked in, there were excited whispers and big smiles. That actually calmed my nerves a bit.
What the talk was about?
I spoke about handling board-exam stress and how to stop feeling like the whole world is ending in March. I told them it’s completely normal to freak out – I used to have full-on panic moments myself – but if you prepare smartly and don’t treat yourself like a machine, things get a lot easier. I shared the little tricks that saved me: making tiny, ugly-but-useful notes instead of rewriting the whole textbook, solving every past ten years’ paper till I could do them blindfolded, and actually sleeping 7 hours (yes, I actually set an alarm to force myself to bed). I told them skipping meals or pulling all-nighters feels heroic but just makes you blank out in the exam hall.
Why you gave the talk?
To keep them hooked, I opened up about my own low points – the time I cried in the bathroom because I thought I’d failed maths, how breathing exercises sounded stupid until they actually worked, how my mom hid my phone for three days and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. They were laughing, nodding, some even taking notes – it felt surreal that these kids were listening to me so seriously.
And explain how you felt about the talk?
I went there because when I was in Class 10, I had no clue what was happening and no senior ever came back to tell us “it’s going to be okay.” I hated that feeling of being lost, so I just wanted to be that person for them. The teachers later told me students pay way more attention when the advice comes from someone who was sitting in the same sweaty uniform just a few years ago.
Honestly, I was shaking before I started – palms sweaty, voice cracking during the mic check – but the moment I saw a girl in the front row give me that “keep going” smile, something clicked and I was fine. By the end, a bunch of them crowded around, asking doubts, saying thank you, one kid even hugged me. I walked out feeling ten feet tall. It’s still one of the best things I’ve ever done – way better than any mark sheet or trophy.
Answer 3:
Who you gave the talk to?
A couple of months back, my team lead pinged me one evening: “Hey, can you take a quick session for the new interns tomorrow? You know this project inside out.” I’d been on it for over a year, so saying no felt weird. Plus, there were eight fresh faces straight out of college, wide-eyed and a bit lost in their first “real” job. I’ve been that confused intern once, so I just said yes.
What the talk was about?
The session was supposed to be a one-hour “here’s how things actually work” crash course. I walked them through what our project is trying to solve (in plain English, no jargon overdose), showed them the tools we live in every day—Jira, Postman, the internal dashboards, all that stuff—and walked through the usual workflow from ticket to deployment. I also threw in a “greatest hits” list of rookie mistakes I’ve seen (and made myself): skipping code reviews, hardcoding secrets, naming branches “fix” or “final-final”. They laughed, which was a good sign.
Why you gave the talk?
To stop it from becoming a boring lecture, I kept throwing simple examples at them and ended with a 10-minute hands-on task: clone this repo, fix this tiny bug, push it properly. Watching them scramble, help each other, and actually get it done was honestly fun.
I said yes partly because I remembered how much my seniors’ five-minute explanations saved me when I joined. Someone took the time for me, so it felt right to pay it forward. Also, teaching forces you to spot the gaps in your own knowledge—nothing humbles you faster than a blank stare when you’re trying to explain something “obvious”.
And explain how you felt about the talk?
I won’t lie, I was a little nervous standing up there with my team lead sitting in the corner. But the interns were super attentive, asked solid questions (“Wait, so when do we actually create a new branch?”), and you could literally see the panic leaving their faces as things started making sense. By the end, a couple of them came up and said, “This made day one so much less scary, thank you.” My TL gave me a quiet thumbs-up on the way out. Walked back to my desk feeling weirdly proud—like I’d actually done something useful that day. Still one of the better Fridays I’ve had at work.
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