MUET SPEAKING

How to attain happiness?

A. have a goal
B. good relationship with others
C. good health
D. positive outlook

Speaking Techniques
Tan Wai Kian

CANDIDATE A

A very good morning to one and all. The issue at hand today is how to attain happiness. I
believe that this issue has been on the forefront for as long as man existed. In fact, I
believe even animals and other beings strive to achieve this wonderful state of happiness
and contentment. It is therefore my honest opinion that in order to achieve happiness we
must have a concrete and measurable goal. Let us analyse a few reasons to justify this
point.
First and foremost, to aspire towards happiness is not enough. Just wanting is only half
the battle won. To attain it there must be some kind of action involved and this most
certainly begins with setting goals. The most important reason for setting aims or goals is
to provide a way to measure if you have achieved it or not. For example, my aim is to be
happy. In order to be happy I must have enough money and job security as well as a
stable and happy family. Therefore the next logical step is to provide a timeframe to
achieve this goal. If we set a goal based on a timeframe, happiness will be more easily
achievable. A young person could aim to get his degree before he turns 25, get a stable
high paying job by 30 and get married before he/she is 35. Thus, having a goal or goals
will help discern the level of our happiness.
Secondly, we can attain happiness when we have a goal because it gives us something to
work towards or aim for. However, please note that the beauty of having goals is that it
can be modified to suit ourselves and our situations. And once we have achieved it, we
can create new goals. Conversely, if we cannot attain it, we can modify them to be more
realistic. For instance, Mahatma Ghandi's goal in life was to achieve peace through
peaceful means. Furthermore, he was happiest when there are no wars and people can
live in peace. Even when he was sent to jail, he still held on to his goal which was to solve
things through peaceful means, not war. And even in jail, he could attain happiness Ghandi is a truly inspirational man.
As time is running out, let me reinstate that a key method to attain happiness is to set
reachable goals for ourselves. It also brings to mind a quote, 'Aim for the sun so that if
you fail, you will still be amongst the stars'. Thank you for listening.

CANDIDATE B

A very good morning I bid to the examiners and my fellow candidates. As the saying
goes, 'No man is an island'. Therefore we thrive on good relationships with others in order
to attain happiness. It would be quite strange to achieve ultimate happiness yet have no
one of consequence with whom to share it with. Hence, good relationships with others are
some of the fundamentals of achieving true happiness. Allow me to describe this issue
further by presenting a few points.
On the one hand, happiness is maximised when happiness is shared. In general, everyday
we interact with the people closes to us be they family members, spouse, children, best
friends or colleagues. In fact, sometimes, happiness comes from external sources and we
may not even know them personally. But it is these very relationships with others that
will build the foundation of happiness brick by brick. When we need help, and a friend
offers it, or when we just need to spend some quality time with our family and every
member of the family shows up, well, these instances feed happiness to our souls.
Imagine if you received really good news like a scholarship to study abroad but had no
one to tell. Indeed, our happiness would fade a little, or we might even end up depressed!
On the other hand, happiness diminishes when we have few or no good relationships with
others. In times of need, it is human nature to reach out for help especially from our
closest and dearest. As a child, when we fell and hurt our knees, we would call out for our
mom or dad. When a friend backstabs you with nasty gossip, we call our best friend to
unload our unhappiness. In the workplace, when our colleagues treat us unfairly, we go
home to our spouses and use them as sounding walls to express our anger or
disappointment. Thus, the human race is fragile, and we depend on good human
relationships to keep our happy odometer high.
In short, it would be pointless to attain happiness yet be so lonely with no one to share
the good times with. Hence, each of us should work on improving and bettering our
relationships in order to attain unlimited happiness in life. Thank you and have a nice
day.

CANDIDATE C

A marvelous morning I bid to one and all. As the popular saying goes, 'Health
is Wealth'. There is indeed a whole lot of truth to this age old adage as I am
sure everyone will admit that without health, we would live a poor quality and
even substandard life hence marring our ability to attain true happiness!
Allow me to further elaborate by providing a few different perspectives on this
issue.
First and foremost, the level of our health will determine how happy we are.
Surely there is not a single soul out there who rejoices in being unhealthy and
unwell. Basically, being healthy is crucial to our happiness because if we
cannot do even the simplest of things such as brushing our own teeth and
going to the toilet unassisted then it would be a very sad day indeed. There can
be nothing joyful about waking up every morning to face blood transfusions or
chemotherapy or surgery after surgery. In fact it would be downright
depressing and it isn't any wonder that these people would suffer depression
and even contemplate committing suicide.
Conversely, when we have optimum health, happiness is easily attained. When
you wake up in the morning and stretch and take big lungfuls of fresh air, it
makes us ready to face the challenges in the day ahead. We are able to play
our role in society well be it as a student with a sharp mind to study better, or
a worker in this industrious world, doing our job well. Or when our health is
maximised, athletes all around the world break records and cry in jubilation as
when Usain Bolt does when he literally flies down the track or when Micheal
Phelps or even Lin Dan lifts the Olympic gold medals high in victory.
Needless to say, in conclusion, happiness is easily attainable when we are
healthy because it is one of the pillars of the basic necessities in life in order to
truly achieve a state of bliss. Thank you.

CANDIDATE D

To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you.

The topic given today is rather interesting as it brings to mind a commonly
asked question, "Is the glass half empty or it is half full?" A person with a
positive outlook would surely answer 'half full' and this colours his or her life
with positive energy therefore making happiness truly easily attainable. Allow
me to elaborate what I mean about a positive outlook.
Firstly, a positive outlook gives us a means of inventing options. What does
this mean exactly? Well, people who are positive do not give up easily, in fact,
they make it a point to inspect every avenue and come up with innovative
ways to overcome any obstacle. For instance, after studying so hard a student
fails due to a death in the family during exam time and she could not
concentrate. Rather than surrender to her fate, she takes it as a challenge to
get back up on the horse and find a job. After a few years of working, she
collects enough money to do her degree on a part time basis and after 3 or 4
years, she finally graduates. This is because she has a positive outlook and
looked hard for other options to change her fate. At the end, she has managed
to attain happiness when her goals are achieved.
In addition, a person with a positive outlook seem to draw positive energy into
her radius and somehow good things start to happen to her. Even when bad
things happen, like an accident that messes up her car, she would still find the
silver lining in the sense that she is thankful to be alive and more grateful still
for not having harmed anyone else. Therefore, a positive outlook is crucial in
attaining happiness because it is a wonderful ability to find the good in any
bad situation.
In short, people with a positive outlook with find happiness under every stone,
at every corner because they are better able to be happy and content with their
lot in life. Thank you for lending me your ears.

MUET TIPS

Must know #1: Use the PEE format when speaking.

P stands for Point
E stands for Explanation
E stands for Example
Must know #2: Use signposting phrases. It informs
and guides the examiner and other candidates on
what you are about to say.
When giving your points: Say, First of all, Secondly,
Next, Finally...............
When giving explanation. Say, please allow me to
explain on my point.......
When giving examples: Say, Please allow me to give you
an example..........