Freezing is a Structure Problem, Not a Confidence Problem
The number one cause of silence in Part 2 is trying to invent the whole story at once. Instead, break the cue card into four chunks and prepare one or two sentences per bullet. When one bullet runs dry, you have a natural bridge to the next — and the examiner barely notices the pause.
Use your one-minute preparation time to write just the four bullets from the card and one powerful vocabulary word next to each. Never write full sentences; the paper is a map, not a script.
- Open by naming the experience directly.
- After each bullet, add one sensory detail — what you saw, heard or felt.
- If you lose your thread, restart the sentence: "What I mean is…" — this sounds natural, not stuck.
- Practise the four-chunk drill nightly with a timer until 2 minutes feels comfortable.