What Band 8 IELTS Speakers Do Differently (And How You Can Too)

To get a band 8 in IELTS Speaking, you must speak English fluently, use appropriate grammar and vocabulary, and pronounce clearly. The key is understanding the band descriptors and showing the examiner that you meet them.

But here’s what many test takers don’t realise:

You don’t need to use the most advanced vocabulary. And you definitely don’t need to sound like a native speaker or have deep knowledge of every topic in Part 3.

So, how do you boost your chances of getting a band 8?

This guide will walk you through simple, expert-approved steps. But first, you must understand how the IELTS Speaking test is evaluated.

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The examiners will grade your Speaking test according to these four criteria, each worth 25% of your total score. The band descriptors are the same for both IELTS Academic and General Training. 

These are the four categories of the IELTS Speaking assessment criteria: 

1. Fluency and Coherence

2. Lexical Resource (Vocabulary)

3. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

4. Pronunciation

Now that you know exactly what you're being graded on, the next step is learning how to score well in each area.

So, how do you do that?

Let’s go through some IELTS Speaking tips that can help you score a band 8. 

IELTS expert Rochelle Van Der Merwe says good fluency doesn’t mean speaking fast. It means being able to express your thoughts naturally, without too many stops, awkward pauses, or self-corrections. 

When aiming for a Band 7 or 8, the examiner is not expecting you to sound like a news anchor. Instead, they’re asking: “Can this person use their language in a way that’s expressive, coherent, and confident?”

You don’t need fancy words. But you do need to sound like your ideas are flowing, not like a car engine that keeps stopping and starting.

When it comes to coherence, your ideas should be connected. When you speak about something, the following ideas you’ll talk about should build on the first sentence you mentioned. 

How to do this

Pacing, Pausing, and Flow: Mastering the Rhythm of Speaking

Many test-takers either speak too slowly because they’re trying not to make mistakes, or too fast because they’re nervous. Neither is ideal. Good fluency is about balance.

Here’s how to get that balance:

• Use natural pauses when you need to think. You don’t have to speak without stopping. The examiner will know the difference between stopping because you’re thinking of what to say (content hesitation) and stopping because you don’t know the grammar or words to use (linguistic hesitation). Content hesitation won’t hurt your fluency score.  

• Keep the conversation flowing using discourse markers and connectives like: “Actually,” “I guess,” “Let me think,” “On the other hand,” “So yeah,” “That’s a good question. These are not filler words—they are part of natural speech.

• Pace yourself like you’re telling a story. Think of speaking like narrating a short movie of your life. Use emotion, tone, and pauses to guide your listener through.

• Practice speaking with rhythm. If you’re someone who stumbles or gets lost mid-sentence, your commas and connectors are your best friends. They help structure your thoughts.

The best way to improve your fluency and coherence is by answering sample questions from our practice tests which you can access below.

| IELTS Speaking practice tests

You can listen to the sample audio recordings and transcripts to get an idea of how others answer. Then try to answer them too.

Record yourself and listen to your answer. Ask yourself:

• Did I speak at a steady pace, or did I rush or pause too much?

• Did I use connecting words to link my ideas smoothly?

• Was I able to stay on topic and develop my answers clearly?

• Did I sound confident and engaged, like I was having a real conversation?

In episode 8 of IELTS podcasts, IELTS expert Rochelle Van Der Merwe also talks about how your vocabulary can help you achieve a band 7 or 8 in the IELTS Speaking test.

She says, “Using uncommon words helps.”

However, you don’t always need to impress the examiner with big words. Using overly advanced or unfamiliar vocabulary can backfire if you use it incorrectly. What the examiners really want is range and precision.

How to do this

Use topic-appropriate, natural vocabulary that you’re comfortable with. It’s even better if you can show you know how to use collocations (e.g., make a decision, strong opinion, take a break) or simple idiomatic phrases like “I’m over the moon” or “It slipped my mind.”

Let’s say you're talking about your weekend plans. You don’t have to say, “I shall embark on a recreational expedition.” Just say, “I’m going out for a walk in the park to relax a bit.” That’s more natural and easier to understand, and it shows control of real-life conversational language.

Practice your vocabulary

Answer some of the questions in our IELTS Speaking practice tests. Each practice test includes a:

• Prompt

• Recording 

• Transcript

You can listen to them, or read the transcripts. Analyse how you can answer better. What are the words you’ll use to convey your idea? 

Record your response and review it. Ask yourself:

• Did I repeat the same words, or did I try to use different expressions?

• Were my word choices appropriate for the topic?

• Did I use topic-specific vocabulary or just general words?

• Did I use any idiomatic expressions or collocations?

Grammar is important, but not just in the way most people think.

Many test takers try to use complicated structures in every sentence, thinking it will get them a higher score. But examiners value accuracy first, and range second.

How to do this

You should show that you can use a variety of tenses and sentence structures, not just present simple. For example, try mixing in conditionals (“If I had more time, I’d travel more”), past perfect (“I had already finished my work before dinner”), and passives (“The movie was directed by a famous filmmaker”).

However, don’t force complexity into every sentence.

The goal is to demonstrate control, not to overload your answers with advanced grammar. It's better to use a mix of simple and complex structures that are correct than to speak in broken, overcomplicated sentences.

Practice your grammar

Try practising with real IELTS Speaking questions and focus on how you structure your sentences. Choose a sample Speaking prompt and try answering it using a variety of sentence structures. 

Record your response and review it. Ask yourself:

• Did I use a variety of tenses correctly, or did I stick to just one?

• Did I use different sentence structures (simple, compound, complex) to express my ideas?

• Did I make any grammatical errors, or was my response error-free?

| Access more IELTS Speaking practice tests here

If you’re worried about your accent affecting your IELTS Speaking score, IELTS expert Rochelle assures you that you shouldn’t be.

In our IELTS Prepare by IDP podcast, she says your accent won’t affect your score as long as your pronunciation is clear and easy to understand. IELTS is an international test. The examiners are trained to understand a wide range of accents—from Indian and Filipino to French, Brazilian, and more.

What matters most is clarity. If you tend to speak too fast or mumble, slow down just enough to make your speech crisp and clean.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of practicing out loud. Read aloud from articles or transcripts. Imitate native speakers from interviews or YouTube videos. The more you hear and repeat English as it’s naturally spoken, the better your pronunciation will become.

| Access more IELTS Speaking practice tests here

Practice your pronunciation

To improve your pronunciation, it's important to focus on both clarity and natural speech patterns.

Choose a sample Speaking prompt and practice answering it while paying close attention to your pronunciation.  

Record your response and review it. Ask yourself:

• Did I pronounce words clearly, or were some sounds difficult to understand?

• Did I use natural stress and intonation, or did I speak in a flat or monotonous tone?

• Did I focus on pronouncing the endings of words (e.g., -ed, -s), or did I skip them?

• Were there any words that I struggled with? How can I improve them?

Here’s a big myth: that you need “big ideas” or “deep opinions” to impress the examiner. That’s not true. Ideas aren’t graded at all in the Speaking test. What’s graded is how well you express whatever idea you choose.

Rochell even assures: “This is not an IQ test. Speak about what you know, and if you don’t know it, explain to us why you don’t know it.” 

How to do this

Instead of stressing over finding the perfect answer, just focus on expressing any idea clearly and confidently. If you’re asked something you don’t know much about, that’s okay. Say something like, “I’m not really sure about that topic, but I think…” and keep going. The ability to handle unexpected questions smoothly shows confidence and control.

And don’t be afraid to talk about your real life. If a question asks about an ideal vacation, you don’t have to make up a story about going to Paris. Just say, “I’d love to go to the beach nearby, because I haven’t had a break in a while and the sound of the ocean really helps me relax.”

Simple ideas, well expressed—that’s the key.

More tips from an IETLS expert

Your IELTS Speaking examiner is trained to spot memorised answers. If you aim a band 8, Rochelle suggests “be a storyteller, don’t be too rehearsed.” Speak as if you’re talking to a friend, or you’re talking in a podcast. Be comfortable and let your ideas flow smoothly. 

Want to know more?

Our IELTS expert, Rochelle, also talks more about how to focus on your strengths, and how to use a variety of sentence structures in your test.

If you want to know more in detail, listen to her podcast on how to prepare for IELTS Speaking.

If you’re someone who prefers to learn from a mentor and from structured classes, our IELTS Speaking Course can make all the difference.

The course is led by experienced educators from Macquarie University. With over 20 years of global teaching experience and a strong background in academic English, they will give you clarity on every lesson. You'll get practical strategies, clear examples, and expert guidance designed to help you succeed.

Over two weeks, you’ll learn what examiners are really looking for and practise your fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation in a supportive, online environment. 

You’ll even learn how to assess your own responses like an examiner, so you always know what to work on and how to improve them.

The students who achieved band 8 didn’t build their fluency and grammar overnight. It took weeks of practising, or maybe months of mastering the language. 

So, what are your next steps from here? 

Go and choose a speaking prompt from our IELTS Prepare. Record your response. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Let this be your day 1 of recording yourself. Then, do the same tomorrow until you have a weeks-long number of recordings. As you compare your responses, you’ll notice how slowly you’re doing better than your day 1 response. 

And if you’re ready to take the test, book now and find a testing centre near you.