Q1.
Narrate a personal experience about a time when you were motivated by someone or something to carry on and never give up. Your perseverance helped you. Use the following sentence prompts as a guide for your narration: 1. Introduction; 2. Describe the challenge; 3. Feeling disheartened; 4. The source of motivation; 5. Taking action; 6. The result; 7. Reflection.
Answer
Method: Speak for about two minutes, moving through the seven stages in the book. Do not read — write the seven headings on a card and glance at it. Keep the challenge small and real; a true small story is far better than an invented big one.
| Stage | What to say |
|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | When and where it happened. |
| 2. The challenge | Exactly what was difficult. |
| 3. Feeling disheartened | The moment you nearly quit. |
| 4. The source of motivation | Who or what changed your mind. |
| 5. Taking action | The concrete thing you did next. |
| 6. The result | What you achieved. |
| 7. Reflection | The lesson, in one sentence. |
Sample answer: “I remember a time when I felt like giving up. It was when I tried to learn to swim last summer. The challenge I faced was that I panicked the moment my feet left the floor of the pool. After four days I told my father I would not go back, because everyone else in my batch was already crossing the pool. But then I watched a boy much younger than me swallow water, cough, and get straight back in. Somebody had to show me that being frightened was not the same as failing. After feeling inspired, I decided to go back and hold the rail and just float, for ten minutes a day, without trying to swim at all. In the end I was able to swim the width of the pool by the last week of the camp. This experience taught me that progress does not have to look impressive to be progress — I only had to keep getting into the water.”
Tip: Remember the speaking checklist on page 37 — speak clearly and confidently, glance at your notes rather than reading, make eye contact, and keep a steady pace.