Tips for the monologues

1. During the preparation

1. Do not write full sentences on the rough paper, but keywords or bullet points. It's good
to write an outline. If you write full sentences, you will waste invaluable time.
2. During the talk:
1. General tips:
1. If you are nervous, try to breathe with your stomach, and do not speak very fast.
2. Don't talk very quietly or we won't understand you (remember that you will be
wearing a mask!).
3. Vocalize well and pay attention to the pronuntiation.
4. Modulate your speech: stress the key words and connectors (every time you move on
to another point). Don’t talk in a monotonous way or you'll end up by boring the
examiner to death. Try to sound natural.
5. You can hold a pen and move your hands a bit, but do not gesticulate excessively.
2. Tips about structure and content:
1. Give an introduction, a main part, and a conclusion. When introducing the topic, you
can start with a general idea and then insert a rhetorical question. For example: An
increasing number of people decide to leave their villages and move to big cities,
but, what are the reasons behind this, what are the advantages and disadvantages of
cities, and how will they change in the future?
2. If you are given a topic and 3 points, remember to mention the three points in your
monologue (for example: topic Cities. Points: 1. the rise of cities. 2. advantages and
disadvantages of living in big cities. 3. the future of cities). Don’t leave out one of
the three points, or marks will be deducted.
3. Try to strike a good balance: don’t talk a lot about one point and very little about
another.
4. Manage your time wisely: the introduction and the conclusion should have more or
less the same length (a fifth of the total length each), and the main body should be
longer (three fifths of the total length). The typical mistake is to give a long
introduction, a shorter main body, and then to conclude in a rush with only one short
sentence, or not to conclude at all. This should be avoided at all costs.
5. Stick to the point and do not ramble (if you ramble, marks will be deducted). For
example, if you have to talk about the consequences of the increase of the aging
population, do not talk about the advantages and disadvantages of being young or
old.
6. Don't be silent, or you will end up looking like you don't have any ideas.
 7. As a rule of thumb, rambling is better than being silent, and sticking to the point is
better than rambling.
8. Structure your speech. A good way to do this is by using connectors.
9. Use general expresions for transitions. Visit the webpage
https://virtualspeech.com/blog/speech-transitions-words-phrases for a list of them.
Using these expressions is also a way of playing for time. While you're saying them,
you will be thinking about what to say next. So, strategically, it is clever to make use
of them.
3. Other tips:
1. Look at your notes while you're talking. Do not stop talking and then look at your
notes and then continue talking.
2. Try to use the grammar and vocabulary correctly. If you realize you've made a
mistake, you can correct it on the spot. Don't panic. Everyone is bound to make
mistakes during a presentation, and the talk is long enough to allow you to turn
things around and give an overall good impression despite the mistake.
3. When talking, remember that you are already in C1. That means that you should aim
for a high English level and try to impress the examiner with inversions (not only do
people forget... but also) and other difficult structures, and with sophisticated
vocabulary. If you use a very basic English level, even if you don't make any
mistakes, it won't be much appreciated.
4. Remember: sometimes, passing the certificate exam is not only a matter of having a
good English level, but also a matter of being able to select useful information,
managing your time wisely, structuring what you're about to say, summing up well, etc.