The IELTS Speaking Starter Phrases That Get You a Band 9 (Parts 1, 2 & 3)

The first two seconds of your IELTS Speaking answer are more important than almost anything that follows. Before a single word of real content leaves your mouth, the examiner has already started forming an impression of your fluency and confidence.

The biggest problem I see in students is not a lack of vocabulary, not weak grammar, and not a shortage of ideas. It is starting. That frozen, panicked moment at the beginning of an answer — where silence stretches out and confidence evaporates — is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes in the test. The good news? It is also one of the easiest to fix.

The Root Cause: Exam Brain

When the test begins, something shifts in students’ minds. I call it exam brain. Suddenly, they feel they need to sound academic, formal, and overly polite. So they produce unnatural, stilted openings like:

• “As for me, I am of the opinion that…”
• “Regarding this question, I would like to state that…”
• Or they simply repeat the question word-for-word back to the examiner.

No native English speaker talks this way in a real conversation. These phrases signal to the examiner that you are performing rather than communicating — and that kills your Fluency and Coherence score immediately.

What you need instead are short, natural starter phrases. They do two powerful things at once:

1. They signal to the examiner that you are ready and in control.
2. They buy your brain a critical half-second to gather your thoughts.

Let’s break these down by test part.

Part 1: Short, Direct, and Confident

Part 1 questions are personal, simple, and fast-paced. You do not need a long-winded introduction. You just need to answer the question naturally.

The best starter phrase for Part 1 depends entirely on how you genuinely feel about the topic.

If You Feel Positive or Certain

If you agree with the question or enjoy the topic, open with a word that projects confidence:

• “Definitely…”
• “Absolutely…”
• “For sure…”

Example: “Do you like your job?” → “Definitely — I find it really rewarding because…”

This kind of opener is confident, natural, and sets up your answer perfectly.

If You Have Mixed Feelings

You do not always have to be enthusiastic. Honest, nuanced answers often score better. Use starters like:

• “To be honest…”
• “Actually…”
• “Not really…”
• “I have mixed feelings about that…”

These phrases pair beautifully with the A.R.E. Framework™ — where you give your Answer, your Reason, and an Example. The starter handles the Answer part naturally, and your response flows from there.

Part 2: Sound Human, Not Like a Presenter

Part 2 is where many students panic. They stare at the cue card and launch into something like:

“I am going to talk about the cue card topic, which is…”

This is not terrible, but it sounds like a formal business presentation — stiff, rehearsed, and impersonal. It does nothing for your Fluency score.

Natural Opening Phrases for Part 2

Use these instead to immediately sound more human and conversational:

• “I’d like to talk about…”
• “I’m going to describe…”
• “The person I’ve chosen to talk about is…”

The Story-First Approach

An even more powerful technique is to open with a reference to the past. This instantly turns your answer from a list of points into a story — and stories flow naturally.

• “I remember the first time I saw…”
• “The first time I encountered this was when…”

This approach works hand-in-hand with the Topic Diamond™ framework, which structures your Part 2 answer around four stages:

1. The Past — where you begin your story
2. The Present — the current state of things
3. The Future — where things are heading
4. Your Opinion / Feelings — your personal take

By opening with a past-tense starter, you are not just saying something natural — you are launching directly into the logical first phase of your structured answer. This makes the transition seamless and your response coherent from the very first word.

Part 3: Buy Time, Then Give Your Opinion

Part 3 is where students freeze the most. The questions are abstract. They discuss society, trends, and hypotheticals. There is no “right” personal experience to draw on — you have to think on the spot.

This is completely normal, and examiners know it. What they want to see is that you can manage that difficulty in English — not that you have a pre-prepared answer.

Buying Time Phrases

If you need a moment to think, use these fillers instead of silence:

• “That’s an interesting question…”
• “I’ve never thought about that before, but…”
• “That’s a tough one, but I’d have to say…”

These phrases are not weaknesses. They are tools. They keep the flow of English communication going, signal self-awareness and control, and give your brain the seconds it needs to formulate a real answer. They are far superior to saying “I don’t know” or simply staring at the examiner.

Opinion Starter Phrases

When you are ready to go straight into your answer without a pause, use one of these opinion openers:

• “It seems to me that…”
• “I generally believe…”
• “From my perspective…”

After one of these openers, you are straight into your response. I structure Part 3 answers using the I.D.E.A. Framework™: state your Idea, Develop it, give an Example, and then consider an Alternative view. The opinion starter sets up the Idea stage perfectly.

How to Make These Phrases Automatic

Knowing a phrase is not the same as using it under pressure. The only way these starters will help you in the actual test is if they are automatic — if they come out of your mouth before your brain has even made a conscious decision.

The way I built this automaticity for my own test was through deliberate, timed practice. Using the SpeakPrac app, I would pull up a random Part 1, 2, or 3 question and force myself to respond instantly — leading with one of my starter phrases every single time.

Here is the practice drill I recommend:

1. Open the SpeakPrac app and select a random question.
2. Your only goal for that attempt is to start speaking within one second, using a starter phrase.
3. Record your answer.
4. Play it back and time your response delay.
5. Repeat, aiming to cut that delay down each time.

Over time, the starter phrases become reflexes. And when the real test begins, that reflex fires automatically — buying you calm, buying you time, and projecting confidence from the very first syllable.

Quick Reference: Your Starter Phrase Toolkit

These starter phrases are your foundation for strong Fluency and Coherence. But they are only the beginning of your answer. Once you are past the first sentence, the quality of what follows — your structure, your vocabulary choices, your grammar range — is what takes you from a good score to a great one. Practice the starters until they are second nature, then focus on building what comes after them.