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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe a meeting you remember going to at work, college or school.

You should say:

• when and where the meeting was held
• who was at the meeting
• what the people at the meeting talked about

and explain why you remember going to this meeting.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:
Well, I never really enjoy attending any meeting, "period". I didn’t like it when I was going to college, and I don’t happen to enjoy it now either at my work. But, of course, the world doesn’t really care what I think about attending a meeting and neither does my CEO boss. So, when he, my CEO that is, called for an urgent meeting about a year ago, I just didn’t have any other option but to oblige.

This meeting was held at the huge office chamber of my CEO. In fact, the office room is so huge that it could easily accommodate the seating arrangement of at least 50 people at the same time. And why couldn’t it?! After all, he was the owner and also the boss of one of the largest snack making companies of my country, with an annual business turnover of about US $30 million as well as almost 350 employees.

However, after entering the office room of my boss, I could actually see only 12 or 13 people who were attending the meeting. Among them, the majority were the most senior-level managers and a few mid-level managers, including this poor me. Of course, I wasn’t really aware of the agendas of the meeting (usually only the most senior-level managers are notified about the meeting agendas at my work) in advance, but when the meeting actually started, I came to know that the boss was effectively thinking of raising the amount of annual bonus at the end of every year only for those employees who don’t ask for any extra time off other than the scheduled annual holidays and vacation time.  

So, what this meeting exactly had to do with my participation in it, or why I remember going to this meeting? Well, the answer is, I was the first employee to receive the additional amount of annual bonus because I was the one at my office who didn’t take any additional time off outside of the regular annual holidays and time off.

Model Answer 2: 

Introduction:
Attending meetings is an important part of academic and professional life. Here, I would like to talk about a meeting that I remember attending during my college days. But before I get into the details of this meeting, I'd like to thank you for the time and opportunity you have given me to talk about this topic.

When and where the meeting was held:
The meeting was held during my final year of college, about two months before the end of the academic session. It was held in the college auditorium, and all the final-year students were asked to attend the meeting.

Who was at the meeting:
The meeting was conducted by the head of the college, and all the faculty members of the college were present at the meeting. In addition, representatives from various companies were invited to the meeting to talk to us about employment opportunities.

What the people at the meeting talked about:
During the meeting, the head of the college talked about the importance of being well-prepared for the job market and the need for acquiring additional skills to stay competitive. The faculty members also shared some important tips on how to improve our resumes and prepare for interviews. The representatives from the companies talked about their respective organizations and the various job opportunities available.

And explain why you remember going to this meeting:
I remember going to this meeting because it was very informative and useful. The meeting provided me with a lot of insights into the job market, and it gave me a good idea about what to expect after graduation. I was also able to network with some of the representatives from the companies and got to know more about the job opportunities available in my field of study. The meeting was a great learning experience and helped me in preparing for my future career, and that's the reason I still remember attending it.

Sample Answer 3:
Thank you, sir, for this nice and interesting topic. As I am a full-time employee in a large multinational company, attending or arranging meetings is a quite frequent event for me. But for this topic, I would like to talk about a meeting I had with some of my classmates in my school.

We had this meeting at a public park which was located near our school. As far as I can recall, we went there after school was over. I was in my grade 7 at that time and we had this meeting to decide who should we nominate our class captain between Milton and Rifat. I think we had this meeting just before the day we were supposed to nominate our class leader. The meeting lasted for about one hour.

At least 7-9 of my classmates, who were very close friends and had a great bond, were present at the meeting. Ismail led the meeting and we wanted to come to a decision about the next day's captain nomination. In this group of 8-10 students, 2-3 were very close friends of mine. There were around 30 students in our class and all would be able to cast their votes for the class captain selection except the three who were candidates for the captain election. Since three students were competing for the election, 27 remaining students would be able to vote. As a group of about 10 students, our votes thus had been very crucial.

The first agenda of the meeting was to note down the pros and cons of Milton and Rafat as our class captain. Then the second issue was to score them both based on 20 criteria that we had already listed. After that, we let every one of us talk for 2 minutes to express his opinion. Our final agenda, the most important one, was to come to a decision point to choose a captain in favour of whom we will vote.

Why do I remember this meeting? - Well, this was probably the first important meeting I had in my life. The excitement of having a secret meeting that would influence greatly in deciding our class captain was overwhelming. Moreover, I felt like being an important part of this meeting since I proposed the idea of having this meeting. This meeting, in reality, greatly influenced the class captain selection the next day and we had our favourite captain, Milton, nominated! This whole event took place when I was only 12 years old. Due to my age, agenda for the meeting, our excitement for it, I still remember this meeting very vividly.

Sample Answer 4:
Being an executive for a marketing company, it is really difficult to maintain schedules everywhere as the executive has to remain busy always. Still, I can remember the first annual meeting with this organisation where I am ranked with the senior marketing manager.

The meeting was held at around 12 pm and the participants were asked to be at the head office conference room at least 15 minutes before the meeting. But unfortunately, on the same day, I had to execute some other tasks at the same time. In fact, some of the clients asked me to visit them on that day and I was unable to avoid the requests as the customers are valuable to us. Thereby, I was unable to appear at the right time and informed the issue to my authority. The meeting agenda was about the annual sales and marketing planning, targets, ways to achieve the goals etc. for the upcoming year, promotion of the executives and so forth. So, all the marketing representatives were asked to attend the meeting.

A large number of officials and executives were present at the meeting. The event began at the pre-set time and was presided over by the Chairman of the company. Almost all the invited guests were present there. The top officials and the board members were also present and took their seats in the first row. With the anchoring of the Managing Director, the agendas were discussed elaborately. Besides, the meeting was attended by the executives of all level (usually the junior executives were not allowed to attend such events but the trend has been changed considering some strategic issues of this annual planning). The meeting continued for the next two and a half hours and ended with a grand lunch.

There were lots of issues to be discussed at the meeting. It began with congratulating the newly elected board members, and the Chairman, in his speech, requested them to execute their respective responsibilities for the betterment of the company in their tenure. Then the annual planning issues were placed for discussion. Company’s overall progress was discussed as one of the key agenda. Though the company achieved a larger part of the previous year’s target, it was difficult reaching the entire goal. The human resource was a problem for the company and with the fresh recruitment, the company now aims to reach the set goals of this year and get a higher rank than last year. Among the other issues, the most notable are – the inclusion of new schemes of marketing strategies, ensuring the proper customer care and feedback, monitoring of the advancements and others.

I have participated in many other meetings of the company but this one is particularly memorable to me. Firstly, I was late for the meeting as I had to complete some other official business and distribute responsibilities of my nine-member marketing team. So, I could not make my entry at the right moment. Besides, I missed the initial part of the meeting and had to check out the meeting minutes for that. I will remember the meeting for many days as I gave a speech at the meeting over my activities and presented the strategies for my team to achieve the goals within the limited time. Moreover, the company wanted me to play some additional roles for my special performance last season. So, they ranked me up with some benefits as well. For all such events, I remember the meeting.

Sample Answer 5:
As a student of MA in Social Science at a university in New York, I passed some years in the USA. I had to work as a part-time sales executive at a local Samsung outlet to bear my expenses as I had no scholarships. I attended a strategic meeting there, and I will share my experience now.

The meeting was held in the afternoon at the outlet on a weekly holiday. I was asked to reach the outlet by the due time. The meeting was about setting up strategies for the increase in sales for that outlet. In fact, the other competitors selling similar products like Apple, Sony, Asus and others were having a very good business. So, the authority wanted us to increase our sales volume and wanted to set the right strategies for achieving the monthly sales targets. 

My entire sales team and the higher executives of the company attended the meeting. An official from the Samsung headquarters was also sent here to instruct us on sales issues. They discussed different issues related to sales enhancing. I was present there with my part-time sales team while the other full-timers were also attended. In fact, the weekly leave was smashed by this meeting. So, almost everyone was restless in the beginning to get rid of it, but later when the serious issues appeared, they became active listeners and participated with their own thoughts. As a result, the meeting turned into a lively one and some effective strategies were discovered that helped us to move ahead successfully.         

Actually, the sales volume was lower in this particular Samsung outlet than the other outlets in the city. Most of the times, we failed to reach the monthly sales target. So, the authority was disappointed with our performance and services. They also alleged us that the sales representatives are unable to provide the right service to the existing and potential clients which are producing that poor sale volume. Accordingly, the instructions were delivered by the Samsung representative. The instructions were positive and meant for the success of the entire sales team. Besides, some additional recommendations were placed from our part in accordance with the potential situations.

I remember the meeting for its importance. Basically, the moments were not positive for the outlet and it was unable to draw the attention of the clients to sell the products. The outlet used to sell different products from Samsung, basically mobile phones and computer monitors. The outlet owner had to undergo pressures from the authority when we failed to fill up the monthly sales target. Besides, the monthly sales had an impact on our salary as we were on a contract basis. As a result, such a strategic meeting was required to revive everything. I had the chance to share my idea and luckily the idea was accepted and helped a lot to generate revenue. For my contribution, I was awarded a handsome amount of money from the outlet. They implemented my idea for a long period. For all such reasons, I remember going to this meeting even today.
 

More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:

Topic: Describe a meeting you remember going to at work, college or school.

1. Attending a meeting of the board of directors was an interesting experience for me. The meeting held in Singapore last month. Almost all the board members of the organization were present at the event. They discussed setting up the strategies for next year and compete with the other competitors. I can remember the meeting because I played the role of the host there. I had to arrange the entire meeting and stay at the venue until the meeting was over. 

2. The last annual general meeting of my organization took place in Delhi. All the employees of the organization were present there. The meeting discussed the overall activities of the organization and sought suggestions from the root level to improve the activities. I can remember the meeting because it was an important event for me. Though I was a junior staff there, the authority did not forget to invite me and honestly, it was a great honour.

3. My office recently arranged for a sudden meeting at the headquarters in Shanghai and I had to attend there. The chairman and the Vice-Chairman were present at the meeting. I was the only external participant and took part in the discussion. The meeting aimed at discussing the overall issues of the office and implement some new policies. The meeting was remarkable to me because I was promoted to a new position with some responsibilities after the meeting was over.

4. The meeting was about completing the unfinished syllabus of the students within a short time. it was held in the conference room of my college I work in. The principal with the other teachers was present at the meeting. I can remember the meeting because I was instructed to look into the matter. In fact, many of the teachers were neglecting their studies and I was assigned to make them sincere in completing their courses before the deadline was over.

5. Honestly, it was the longest meeting of my life. The meeting that the project director asked to join was held at a restaurant in the city of Paris. In fact, the meeting began at 3:00 pm and ended at 8:30. The meeting also discussed a wide number of matters and plans to get a berth in the local drug market. The meeting also focused on importing medicines from the Asian region. I was assigned some special responsibilities for the meeting. In fact, it increased my workload. So, I can remember the meeting very well.
 

Part 3 – Two-way discussion:

Discussion Topic: Going to Meetings: 

Q. What are the different types of meeting that people often go to?
Q. Some people say that no one likes to go to meetings – what do you think?
Q. Why can it sometimes be important to go to meetings?

Discussion Topic: International Meetings:

Q. Why do you think leaders often have meetings together?
Q. What possible difficulties might be involved in organising meetings between world leaders?
Q. Do you think that meetings between international leaders will become more frequent in the future? Or will there be less need for world leaders to meet?

Answers to part 3 questions could be found at - Speaking Sample 86 - Part 3

• IELTS Cue Card
• Candidate Task Card
• Speaking Part 2

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