5 Silly Things You Say To Decrease Your IELTS Speaking Band Score

The IELTS Speaking exam is conducted face-to-face and is similar for IELTS Academic and General. It is an oral interview between you and the examiner. It is divided into three parts and goes on for 14-15 minutes. Most students are anxious on the day of their IELTS Speaking test, and due to this, they make some silly mistakes.

Being mindful of such silly mistakes and avoiding speaking faulty statements can help you escape the possibility of getting a low band score in the IELTS speaking exam. So, let’s figure out what these 5 silly things you say to decrease your IELTS Speaking band score are and how you can avoid them.

1. Excessive Use of Idioms

• In your IELTS Speaking preparation lessons, you are told that idioms can help you improve your scores.
• While idioms are a measure of a high band score, other aspects can help you get a good score. Some other factors that contribute to your band score are vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and your sentences’ logical structure. 
• The frequency of using idioms often results in a lower band score in IELTS speaking, and you can be penalised if you use them too often. As a result, use idioms only when you need to bring cohesion to your expression, which can happen when you focus on addressing the question effectively. 

Check Out: Common Idioms List for IELTS Speaking

2. Excessive Use of Filler Words

• Fillers are useful in IELTS speaking when you need to think and know the secret of how to speak English naturally and fluently! But the catch is, you should use them carefully and in moderation.
• For example, fillers in between sentences disrupt your fluency, and the examiner gets distracted, making it impossible for him/her to understand what you are trying to convey. 
• In addition, you should avoid saying 'Umm Ahh' in IELTS Speaking. which are fillers These words, instead of adding any value, negatively impact your performance.

3. Going Off-Topic

• The importance of sticking to the main subject cannot be overstated.
• Unfortunately, some students try to talk more and more to get high band scores, which causes them to lose focus on the main topic. This occurs in both the cue card section and the question-answer round of the IELTS Speaking exam. 
• However, you won’t lose marks if you go off-topic in the cue card section. But if you completely avoid the topic and don’t even mention it in your answers, you will be marked low.

4. Excessive Use of Connectors

• During your IELTS speaking test, you should avoid using connectors excessively, just as you should avoid using idioms excessively.
• Sentence connectors are words and phrases that help you build your ideas and convey your thoughts.
• For example, some good connectors are furthermore, consequently, on the other hand, in contrast to this, however, and so on. 
• Some students don’t put much effort into learning such a variety of connectors and ultimately repeat the same connectors multiple times. Others use connectors frequently, due to which the coherence of their sentences is lost. As a result, you should use connectives only when necessary so that they seem natural.

Check Out: 10 Useful IELTS Speaking Tips to Impress the Examiner

5. Using Advanced Vocabulary Incorrectly

• Advanced-level vocabulary is essential, but it is not the only factor that contributes to achieving a high IELTS band score. Fluency, pronunciation, grammar, and coherence are other important factors contributing to achieving a high band score in the IELTS speaking exam.
• Unfortunately, some students widely use advanced vocabulary but still end up getting low band scores. 
• Practice is the only way to improve that.
• Always remember that it is advisable to use the words you are familiar with rather than using those you find difficult and are unsure about their meaning and usage. Continue to learn new vocabulary by listening to podcasts, music, or watching movies, films, chat shows, interviews, group talks, and, most importantly, try to say them yourself. 
• Reading these words in books, magazines, and other publications and then composing your sentences is another good way to learn to advanced IELTS vocabulary.

Making mistakes is not a problem; repeating them is, though. With our IELTS online classes, get the best guidance and tips to boost your preparation by skipping these 5 silly things you say to decrease your IELTS Speaking!

Also check : 

• Linking Words for IELTS Speaking Section
• IELTS Speaking Recent Actual Tests with Suggested Answers for IELTS 2025
• 50 IELTS Speaking Part 3 Topics; Questions with Answers