IELTS Energy 1632: Six Band 9 Phrases for Soft Skills

This is the IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1632, Six Band Nine Phrases for Soft Skills. Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English. Downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl. If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams.

Get your estimated band score now with our two-minute quiz at allearsenglish.com forward slash my score. Are you good at reading the room? Do you think well on your feet? Today, we share six high-scoring phrases to describe soft skills on the IELTS speaking exam.

Fluency doesn't mean speaking perfectly. It means speaking without tension, with ease, and in a way that will build connection, without translating, without second guessing. If English still feels heavy for you, you need clarity on how to get better, not more effort. Our free two minute fluency quiz helps you understand what your English needs right now.

Plus, you get your English level. Take it today at allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E. Hey there, Michelle. How are you today?

Hi, Aubrey. I am good. How are you? Excellent question for you. Do you have a lot of soft skills? Yes, I would hope so. I think that communication is one of my stronger skills, not in certain ways, but I think I'm able to express myself well and explain how I'm feeling to people.

And I'm also pretty good at reading emotions. I agree. Yeah. Thank you. This is interesting. If you're out there listening and you're not super familiar with what does that mean, soft skills, we are going to share what exactly that means and how you can talk about it on IELTS.

This is becoming more and more important with the business world and can definitely come up on IELTS. If you're asked about work... or study, or what you're planning to do, or about your talents and skills, a lot of this could definitely come up, right? So these are personal attributes, character traits, interpersonal abilities, how well you work with others, and how well you navigate your environment, right?

Whether that's at work or with people in your daily life, like Michelle was saying, if you have good communication skills, empathy, teamwork, adaptability, all of these things that are really important for both coworkers and friends, people you want to spend time with, right? Right. Yeah.

Problem solving, emotional intelligence, time management, leadership, all of these are really good soft skills. I mean, this makes me think of actually the StrengthsFinder we did. Right. That's going to point out a lot of your soft skills if you take one of those.

Mm-hmm. The problem is a lot of IELTS students prepare to talk about these bigger issues, right? The environment, technology, education, but you may not have thought about being able to talk about your skills or the skills of other people you know or why this is important in the workforce, right? So today we are sort of exploring some of these invisible skills that you might not put on a resume but are going to show up in an interview.

Yeah. Right, exactly. So on today's episode, this is going to be really all about these hidden abilities that people develop over time. So they're not the typical skills that you might see on a resume, right?

Right, exactly. And you want to really think about vocabulary here because if you are describing yourself or others, you don't want to use those band six adjectives like kind, smart, friendly to describe them. If you can instead describe what they actually do, these skills, this is going to boost your vocabulary because a lot of students won't know this vocab. They won't have thought about using this.

So it's less common and therefore higher scoring. So for example, Michelle, instead of describing someone as very nice, my friend is very nice. What might you say that would give you a much higher vocabulary score?

Yeah, well, you could say something like she builds rapport easily and knows how to diffuse tension during difficult conversations. Yeah. So it's really like pulling out. Nice is just such a it could mean lots of different things.

And this is pulling out. Right. It's way more specific, explaining, really kind of analyzing that person, actually. Exactly. And the second an examiner hears a chunk like builds rapport easily, diffuse tension, they're excited to give you a higher vocabulary score because I guarantee they haven't heard a lot of students use phrases like these.

So we're giving you six phrases today to describe another person or yourself and the soft skills they have, things they do well. Some of these are idiomatic phrases. which also give you that range of vocabulary that required idiomatic language in speaking exam. So let's first dive into this vocabulary and then stick around to the end.

We'll share some sample answers using it. Okay, perfect. So I love this first one. I really do. The first one is read the room. And this one is idiomatic.

And this means to understand the emotions or atmosphere in a situation. So yeah, I mean, you're thinking you're not reading a book, right? You're reading what's going on in the room, what's going on in the situation.

So for example, a good leader can read the room before making a difficult announcement. Ooh. Exactly. So whether you're describing a friend on part two, or answering a question about yourself, if you say they're really good at reading the room, or I'm really good at reading the room, bam, you're using an idiom, you're describing, you know, instead of this lower scoring vocabulary, you're using this great vocab to describe something that a lot of people do well, or remember the negatives as well.

If you're not good at reading the room or someone isn't, share that, right? She's not really great at reading the room, honestly. She doesn't have the best social skills.

Right, exactly. So the second one is navigate uncertainty. And this is to deal successfully with situations that have no clear answer. And there's a lot of uncertainty at work and business, right?

Especially for entrepreneurs, right? So for example, entrepreneurs have to navigate uncertainty every day. Yeah. Yeah. And this verb navigate is very high scoring, right?

You could instead say figure out or deal with or lots of other ways to say it. I don't often hear IELTS students use this verb navigate, use it, right? Just like someone would navigate a ship. We also talk about how we are navigating problems in our lives, navigating uncertainty.

So yeah, be ready to use that very impressive verb. Yeah, love it. Third one is think on your feet. And again, we're not actually talking about our feet here.

This is idiomatic. So to think on your feet means to react quickly in unexpected situations. So something is going on, you have to make a change. you have to think on your feet, right?

You have to adjust and maybe that deals with navigating uncertainty or you'll have to, you know, all of these could actually tie together as well. So, but for example, oh, and this boy, do I know this is true. Teachers often have to think on their feet. Yeah.

So a teacher, I mean, Aubrey, I mean, we both have been teachers and we, and you know, you have to adjust for time. And if people, if, students understand or don't understand if an activity like you have to have kind of all these backup plans and um and whoever's out there listening yeah like a lot of jobs are in that state like yes teachers yeah podcasters doctors imagine how i was thinking doctors yes absolutely Absolutely.

There are so many professions. So whatever your job is, think about this ahead of time. What is a way that you have to think on your feet? Or a lot of the people you know, there's a good chance you'll have to describe someone you know on the IELTS exam.

Be ready to describe whether they are good at thinking on their feet or whether you are. Or if not, again, share that they're not good at thinking on their feet and why that might be a problem. This is a pretty flexible idiom to use for lots of different questions. Yes, definitely.

All right. Number four, diffuse tension. So yeah, this is to reduce, right? It diffuses. Oh my gosh. What a high level score, a high level word. So diffuse tension means to reduce conflict or stress.

So a little humor can sometimes diffuse tension. Yes, exactly. So something like that, if you're sharing that a person is able to diffuse tension, whether that's by telling a little joke, a little quip, whatever it is, or if you're a peacemaker, you're good at diffusing tension at work or with your interpersonal relationships. This is really high-scoring vocabulary.

Like you said, Michelle, this verb is less common. There are a lot of lower-scoring ways to say that. So learn this chunk and And again, it's going to be really flexible for lots of different answers.

Yeah, definitely. And then build rapport, which we were talking about as well, to develop a comfortable connection with someone. So it is easier to negotiate once you've built rapport. And that's so true.

I mean, if you have a rapport with someone, things are just going to go so much better. You already know them and you can work together well. Yes. And if you're not seeing this written, you might be wondering what word that is.

It's spelled R-A-P-P-O-R-T, but we pronounce it rapport without the T is silent. And this is a very high scoring word here, this noun. So you learn it as a chunk, build rapport. If someone is good at building rapport, they're good at creating those bonds, connections, getting along well with coworkers or family.

So whether you are asked about your job or any kind of relationship, this would be great to share if a person is good or bad at building rapport. And then our last one is stay level-headed, which means to remain calm during stressful situations, right? For example, emergency workers must stay level-headed under pressure. So you can see how this would be useful in part three.

If you're talking about the government or society, anytime where people might not stay level-headed or if it might be important to, or you can talk about yourself, right? Or someone, you know, just in daily life who is able to stay calm under pressure and say they are good at staying level-headed.

Have you ever felt exhausted after speaking English? Not because the conversation was difficult, but because your brain was working overtime to translate, checking grammar, searching for vocabulary. But true fluency actually feels lighter. You spend less time thinking about English and more time connecting with people.

Find out what's standing between you and that next level that you're looking for. Take our free two-minute fluency quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash f-l-u-e-n-c-y-s-c-o-r-e.

All right. Let's do some sample answers, Michelle. If you would like to ask me the first one, this will be a part one question and I'll try to use some of this vocabulary. Sure.

Sure. All right. Here we go. All right. Aubrey, what qualities do you admire in other people? I definitely admire when someone can stay level-headed, when things go wrong, especially if the situation is extremely stressful or nerve-wracking and someone can still keep their chill and exercise good judgment and help everyone else remain calm.

Because sometimes that's the goal is to keep others from panicking. I'm always really impressed when someone's good at that. Okay, great. Yeah. So using level-headed, you're talking about exercising good judgment.

Yeah, very good answer. Yeah. And I want to point out this phrase, keep one's chill. I said when someone's really good at keeping their chill, this is slang.

This is perfect for part one. Just means to stay calm, but is much higher scoring than saying stay calm because it's slang. It's less common, right? So learn that as a chunk too.

Keep her chill. Keep his chill. for someone to keep their chill. It means they stay calm. Yes. All right. Can I do one? Yeah. I'm going to ask you a part one as well, Michelle.

This will be about yourself. Ready? Are you good at solving problems? Well, I think I've really improved over the years. Now I can usually think on my feet, especially when unexpected problems come up at work.

I think that, you know, podcasting has helped with this always kind of, you know, we don't really stop when there's some sort of mistake on the podcast unless we can't. recover from it. We just need to start over. So just being able to stay level-headed when that happens and just getting that practice has been really valuable.

Nice. Amazing. You used to think on your feet. I've gotten better at thinking on my feet. I was thinking of the phrase, roll with it. Podcasters, teachers, lots of professions are able to...

Roll with it. Like you said, when we make a mistake, we aren't wanting to edit. So we just laugh it off and keep going. You can use this chunk to say I can roll with it or they're really good at rolling with it.

That means you don't stress out. You don't panic. You just move on and don't make a big deal about it. Right? That's right. Yes, exactly. All right. Let's do one part three answer as well.

Remember that your part three answers are longer, guys, right? It's going to be about a minute. But part three, especially, you need to be ready to be flexible with the time because the examiner has very specific time constraints. So they might have to stop you earlier than a minute to ask the next question.

Remember, this has nothing to do with your answer. and everything to do with how many questions they're required to answer. So don't stress out if they cut you off. They might let you speak for the entire minute.

They might cut you off much quicker than you expect if some of your earlier answers were longer. So don't worry about it. For part three, plan on speaking for about a minute, but be ready to be cut off and don't let that stress you out.

All right, Michelle, want to ask me a part three question? Sure. Okay. I'm going to ask you this one. All right. Which is more important, intelligence or communication skills?

Ooh, that's a fantastic question. And not something I've thought about really a lot, but I think both matter. It's hard to choose. Communication skills really determine whether people can apply their knowledge effectively.

So you could have all the smarts in the world and not be able to do anything with it, right? Yeah. For example, someone who exercises good judgment and earns people's trust might be more successful than those who are absolutely brilliant, but really tough to work with. So it's so tricky.

I think people need both. I don't think one is more vital than the other. Okay, thank you. Yes, very interesting. So really, I mean, you were using really high level vocabulary, you said exercise good judgment, earn people's trust.

And I thought that was interesting. Like, do you think to get a good score? Do you have to choose? That's a really good question. We've talked about this before.

When you're asked something like which is more important, this or that, you do have options. You can choose one or the other and explain why you think it is more important. You can definitely also go this route. And say, wow, both are so important.

Here's why. You have to explain your reasoning. And you are definitely allowed to say, I really can't choose. I think they're equally valuable, right?

That is also a valid answer. And it's just as high scoring. What's really vital is that you explain your reasoning. You absolutely could not just say, both.

Both are really key. That's not good enough, right? And I think that for me, knowing this, going into an exam would be helpful because... I tend to have a hard time making decisions.

And so I feel like that could throw me off if I'm worried about, oh, my gosh, I actually have to choose one. And that would actually just make me nervous. And knowing, okay, it's okay. Like, it's okay to say both.

You don't act. It's not that's not what this is about. Right. So because you're still answering the question. If someone asks you, which of these two things is more important?

And you say, I actually don't think one is more important than the other. And here's why that's still answering the question in a really high scoring way. Yeah.

Oh, man. This is such a great episode. I'm excited for you to have all of these chunks. A lot of this is idiomatic. Think about your soft skills and the skills of people you know.

There's a good chance on part two, you'll be asked to describe a person. There's a good chance on part one, you'll need to talk about work. On part three, you're talking about these bigger issues. These are very flexible, all of these phrases.

Get a on a lot of different topics, a lot of different questions so that you are ready to use them flexibly on test day. Yes, absolutely. And as always, everyone, remember to hit the follow button wherever you're listening to the IELTS Energy Podcast so you don't miss anything from our show.

Absolutely. We will see you guys next time. Thanks, Michelle. All right. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy. Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.