Speaking Part 2 · ExperiencesIn the May–Aug 2026 forecast
Describe a Difficult Decision You Made
In short
“Describe a Difficult Decision You Made” is a common IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card. You get 1 minute to prepare and should speak for 1–2 minutes, covering all four points below. This page gives you a Band 9 model answer, an idea map so you can make it your own, the Part 3 follow-up questions with answers, and the vocabulary examiners reward.
The task card
Describe a Difficult Decision You Made. You should say:
- •What the decision was
- •When you made it
- •What options you had
- •And explain why it was difficult
Band 9 model answer
The difficult decision I would like to describe is my choice, a couple of years ago, to leave a stable, well-paid job in order to retrain in a completely different field.
I made it after months of quietly feeling stuck. On paper the job was everything I was supposed to want — good salary, security, a clear path — but I dreaded Monday mornings, and I couldn't shake the feeling I was in the wrong career.
The options were stark. I could stay, keep the income and the safety, and try to make peace with it; or I could resign, live on savings, and take a course with no guarantee it would lead anywhere. There wasn't a comfortable middle path, which is exactly what made it so hard.
What made the decision genuinely difficult was less the practical risk and more the fear of being wrong in front of everyone — walking away from something people envied, with no certainty it would work out. I was torn for weeks, weighing up the security I'd lose against a happiness I could only hope for. In the end I took the plunge, partly on a gut feeling that I'd regret not trying far more than I'd regret failing. Looking back, it was the best decision I've made — but I still remember how frightening it felt at the time, and I don't pretend it was easy or that it was guaranteed to end well.
Make it your own: three angles
A career or study change
Rich in stakes and emotion — easy to explain the options and why it was hard.
Moving away from home
Good for weighing opportunity against comfort and family ties.
A personal or family choice
Powerful if you are comfortable sharing it; keep it appropriate.
What the examiner is listening for
Structure it as a genuine dilemma: the situation, the competing options, the decision, and — crucially — why it was hard. Conditionals and past modals shine here ('I could have stayed', 'I would regret it'), and a little honesty about the fear makes it far more compelling than a tidy success story.
Part 1 warm-up questions
- Do you find it easy to make decisions?
- Do you usually ask others for advice?
- Do you prefer making decisions quickly or slowly?
- Who do you turn to for important decisions?
Part 3 follow-up questions & answers
Should young people make their own important decisions?
Increasingly, yes — making decisions, and living with the results, is how people learn judgement. Parents and mentors should advise and set boundaries, especially for the biggest choices, but shielding young people from every decision leaves them unprepared. The skill of deciding is itself learned by practising it.
Do people rely too much on advice from others?
Some do, and it's understandable — big decisions are frightening, so it's tempting to outsource them. But advice reflects other people's values and risk appetite, not yours. The healthiest approach is to gather input widely, then own the final call yourself, because you're the one who lives with it.
How has technology changed the way we make decisions?
Enormously — we now have instant reviews, comparisons, and data for almost everything, which helps with factual choices like what to buy. But for personal decisions it can cause paralysis: endless options and opinions make it harder, not easier, and can drown out your own judgement.
Are decisions made by groups better than those made by individuals?
It depends on the decision. Groups bring diverse perspectives and catch blind spots, which suits complex problems, but they can also be slow and prone to compromise or groupthink. Individuals decide faster and more coherently. The best organisations match the method to the stakes and the time available.
Why do people sometimes regret their decisions?
Often because they judge a past choice with information they only have now, which isn't fair to the version of themselves who decided. Regret can also come from deciding hastily or to please others. Some regret is inevitable, though — every real choice means giving something up.
Is it better to make big decisions quickly or slowly?
Generally slowly — big decisions deserve reflection, gathering information, and sometimes sleeping on it. But there's a point where more deliberation just becomes anxiety and delay. The skill is knowing when you have enough to decide, then committing, rather than endlessly second-guessing.
Useful vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| to weigh up | to consider carefully |
| torn between | unable to choose between two options |
| to take the plunge | to commit to a risky decision |
| to second-guess | to doubt a decision afterwards |
| in two minds | undecided |
| to come to a decision | to finally decide |
| pros and cons | advantages and disadvantages |
| to sleep on it | to delay deciding until the next day |
| a gut feeling | an instinctive sense |
| no turning back | a point after which you cannot reverse a choice |
More cue cards
Describe a Piece of Advice Someone Gave You
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