In the speaking component of the OET exam, nerves can often impede your best performance on the day. Stress is a natural reaction to a high stakes exam like OET, especially in a situation where you are interacting with an unknown examiner and given only 3 minutes preparation time per scenario. Here a couple tips to increase your confidence and make your interaction much smoother:

• Prepare an opening line: Often students comment how hard it is to start the conversation with their patient. A strong opening can be the key to maintaining strong momentum. Hence, prepare an opening line that can be applied to any scenario: “Good morning, my name is Laura and I’m an ED nurse. I’ll be looking after you today, I hear you have concerns about…”
• Make a conscious effort to speak slower than your normal pace: At times, when we are nervous, we subconsciously speed up our speed of speech, which can impede the patient’s understanding of your questions.
• Practice with as many different simulated scenarios as possible: Before your exam, expose yourself to as many different situations as you can. This can give you the confidence to know, that whatever scenario you are given on the day, you will have the ability to adapt and meet the challenge

(Rashmi Shingde, April 2016)