Undoubtedly, talking is our primary mode of communication; we speak about 16,000 words a day (which would be about 45 pages of typed text). Yet, all this talking does not mean that we are excellent verbal communicators. This is never more apparent than when we must speak publicly, for example, when giving a rocket pitch or accepting an award. It takes a lot of practice before we can get up in front of an audience and speak spontaneously.
For many of you, your first public speaking event may be your first interview (for employment or for admission to graduate school). Such speaking requires that you have:
- a well-structured organization of your ideas
- a good balance between general statements and specific details
- a concise presentation of your points
- an awareness of time management
- a desire to be both entertaining and informative
- a speaking speed that is neither too slow (and boring) nor too quick (and confusing)
This is a lot to be thinking about while also trying to say what you want to say. When people give interview answers that are too long or too short, or when they are boring their audience, it’s usually because they are focusing on something else, like their structure, or their details, and forgetting about time management or audience response. Remembering everything at the same time is very hard to do!
In short, good speaking does not come naturally; it is a learned art.
So where can you begin studying the “art of talking,” or what the ancients called “rhetoric”? Many people gain a mastery of rhetoric from membership in their high school debate club. But if you’ve graduated from high school then it’s too late for that.
Thankfully, non-English-speaking applicants to English-speaking universities have a chance to improve their public speaking skills when they prepare for the TOEFL test, which asks them to respond orally to 6 different prompts. The prompts are often quite similar to questions you might be asked about in a job or admissions interview, such as descriptions, explanations, and summaries. Therefore, by carefully and rigorously studying for the Speaking section of the TOEFL test, you will also be learning many valuable interviewing skills. To feel most comfortable in an interview, you will want a Speaking score of at least 26 (out of 30). At this level, you have proven to the test raters that your speaking is confident, entertaining, clearly organized, and well-supported. In addition, TOEFL gives you between 45 seconds and one minute to answer your questions, which is about the same amount of time you should take when answering interview questions. If you want to spend more time answering a question, it’s always good to stop at the one-minute mark and allow your interviewer to respond before you continue.
It is also important to note that ETS, the company that rates the TOEFL, has recently begun allowing schools to hear your responses to the Speaking prompts. This means that you can no longer hope that your interview will compensate for a low Speaking score on the TOEFL. If the school hears your poorly-spoken TOEFL responses, then you might not be asked to have an interview.
For all these reasons, we at Strictly English TOEFL Tutors suggest that you work as hard as you can on increasing your TOEFL Speaking score. It is definitely the one skill on the exam that will benefit you long after test day!
