IELTS Speaking · Part 2 Cue Card
A complete preparation guide: the cue card itself, a 60-second prep framework, a band 7.5 sample answer, topic vocabulary, and likely Part 3 follow-up questions.
Cue card
Describe a time when you tried something new.
You should say:
Specific to this cue card — not generic advice.
Read it once for shape, then aloud for rhythm. Don't memorise it — examiners can tell.
About a year ago I tried stand-up comedy for the first time, at an open-mic night in my city. I'd been writing little jokes in a notebook for years but never showed anyone. A friend who runs the open mic essentially blackmailed me into doing five minutes — he kept saying I was a coward, and at some point that wore me down. I decided to do it because I was tired of being someone who only did things he'd already done before. I felt absolutely awful while doing it. The whole afternoon before the show I couldn't eat. On stage, the first thirty seconds were a blur — I genuinely don't remember speaking. Then I got one laugh, an actual proper laugh, on something I'd written, and the rest of the set went better than I had any right to expect. By the end I was almost enjoying it, in a sweaty, terrified way. Would I do it again? Yes, but not for the obvious reason. Not because I want to be a comedian — I don't. But because doing one thing that genuinely scared me reset what I think of as scary. Job interviews, presentations, hard conversations — they've all felt smaller since.
Phrases used in the sample answer that lift fluency naturally.
open-mic night
performance event open to amateurs
blackmailed me into
pressured me to do (informal)
wore me down
gradually broke my resistance
in a sweaty, terrified way
while still feeling fear
reset what I think of as scary
redefined my idea of fear
felt smaller
seemed less threatening
The examiner will move from your story (Part 2) to broader, abstract questions (Part 3). Prepare answers for these.