OPIc Tips – Oral proficiency interview by a computer is a popular English speaking evaluation taken by many business professionals. Many corporate professionals need to attain a high score to get promotions or work overseas. Here is everything you need to know about OPIc.
Below are the 8 tips you can apply to help improve your overall score.
8 OPIC Tips:
1. Stay relaxed and calm.
Most people fail before they even start by having the wrong mindset. You are just talking to a computer, no need to stress. Take a deep breath and relax.
2. Organize your thoughts before speaking.
Don’t be in a hurry to give your answer. It’s ok to think and organize your thoughts before speaking. This will make you sound more natural and your answer will be more relevant and accurate.
3. Time management: 90 seconds to 2:30 minutes
You should be aiming to give a well-organized and detailed answer. This is not the time to keep things short and sweet. You need to provide details!
4. Not all questions are equal.
Give a longer answer for an easy question and give a shorter answer for a difficult question. When given an easy question about a topic you are familiar with, it’s time for you to shine. However, if you are not comfortable with the question given, don’t make the situation worse by babbling on and on and making more mistakes.
5. Have a conversational tone.
Don’t memorize your answer and sound like a robot. You may be speaking to a robot/computer but you shouldn’t sound like one. Have some personality and excitement in your tone.
6. Focus on the first question(Main topic).
Focus on the main idea or the topic of the question set. If you give a good detailed answer, you will most likely answer the follow-up questions.
7. Don’t memorize scripts to a specific question.
Look at tip number 5.
8. Focus on foundation English.
Most questions you will be given in OPIc will be the same, but the topic will be different. For example: “Describe the last time you watched a movie. Who did you watch the movie with? Where did you watch the movie? Do you recommend others to watch that movie?”
“Describe the last time you went to a nice restaurant. Who did you go to the restaurant with? Where was the restaurant located? Do you recommend others to eat at that restaurant?”
Most of these questions can be answered easily if you have a strong foundation in English basics in the following:
- Describing a person, a place, an item.
- Comparing similarities and differences
- Narration or describing past events
- Giving suggestions and recommendations
- Describing hypothetical situations
There you have it, folks, the top 8 OPIc tips to help you get that desired score. Good luck and best wishes!
Check our site for sample questions and English learning resources.
Try the OPIc demo here.
