Speaking Part 2 · PeopleIn the May–Aug 2026 forecast
Describe a Person Who Encouraged You to Achieve a Goal
In short
“Describe a Person Who Encouraged You to Achieve a Goal” 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 Person Who Encouraged You to Achieve a Goal. You should say:
- •Who this person is
- •What goal they encouraged you to achieve
- •How they encouraged you
- •And explain how you felt when you achieved the goal
Band 9 model answer
The person I want to talk about is my university friend Tanvir, who basically talked me into running my first ten-kilometre race a couple of years ago. It sounds like a small thing now, but at the time I was probably the least sporty person in our entire friend group, so for me it was a genuinely ambitious goal.
It all started when he noticed I'd been complaining for months about feeling sluggish and stuck in a rut. Instead of just nodding along, he signed himself up for a charity 10K in our city and then, very casually, said he'd already picked up a registration form for me too. I remember laughing it off at first — I couldn't run for five minutes without getting out of breath, let alone an hour.
But the way he encouraged me was really clever, looking back. He never lectured me or made me feel guilty. What he did was turn the whole thing into something we did together — he'd knock on my door at six in the morning, we'd jog around the lake near campus, and he'd chat away the entire time so I barely noticed the distance creeping up. Whenever I hit a wall, he'd remind me how far I'd come rather than how far there was to go, which I've since realised is exactly what good coaches do.
There was one week, about a month before the race, when I picked up a knee niggle and was ready to throw in the towel. He didn't push me to run through it — he actually made me rest, and then restructured our little training plan so I could still make it to the start line. That balance of pushing me and protecting me is what made his encouragement so effective, I think.
On the day itself, I finished in just over an hour, which won't break any records, but crossing that line was honestly one of the proudest moments of my life. He was waiting there having finished ages earlier, and the first thing he said was that he'd never doubted me for a second.
What stayed with me wasn't really the race, it was the lesson. He showed me that most of my limits were in my head, and since then I've taken on challenges — including preparing for this exam, actually — with a completely different mindset. So I owe him a lot more than a medal.
Make it your own: three angles
A friend who pushed you into a challenge
Lets you tell a before-and-after story with a clear turning point, and friendship makes the encouragement feel natural rather than preachy.
A parent or teacher during exams
Very relatable and easy to extend into study habits, but avoid vague praise — describe one specific thing they said or did.
A coach or senior at work
Good for workplace vocabulary and Part 3 links about mentoring, though keep the focus on their encouragement, not your job description.
What the examiner is listening for
The last bullet — how you felt — is where band scores are won on this card. Don't just say "proud"; describe the moment of achievement in detail and connect it back to what the person did. The examiner is listening for a clear narrative arc (struggle → encouragement → result) told with past tenses and genuine evaluative language.
Part 1 warm-up questions
- Do you usually set goals for yourself?
- Who do you talk to when you need motivation?
- Have you ever given up on a goal?
- Do you prefer to work towards goals alone or with others?
Part 3 follow-up questions & answers
Why do some people need encouragement from others to achieve things?
I think most of us are poor judges of our own potential — we tend to underestimate what we can do and overestimate the risk of failing. An outside voice cuts through that self-doubt. Encouragement also adds a social element: once someone believes in you, giving up feels like letting them down too, and that accountability is surprisingly powerful.
Is it better to motivate people with rewards or with encouragement?
Rewards work quickly but wear off just as quickly — once the prize is gone, so is the effort. Encouragement, done well, changes how people see themselves, which lasts much longer. Ideally you'd combine the two, but if I had to choose, I'd say genuine encouragement builds the kind of internal motivation that rewards never quite reach.
Do you think parents or teachers play a bigger role in motivating children?
Parents lay the foundation, because children absorb attitudes at home long before they meet a teacher. That said, a brilliant teacher can spot a talent parents have missed and open doors the family didn't know existed. So parents shape whether a child believes effort matters, and teachers often decide where that effort gets directed.
How has social media changed the way people pursue goals?
It cuts both ways. On the positive side, online communities make it easy to find people chasing the same goal, which keeps you accountable. But social media also encourages people to announce goals for applause rather than actually work towards them, and constant comparison with others' highlight reels can be genuinely demoralising.
Are people today more goal-oriented than in the past?
They're certainly more explicit about it — my grandparents never wrote down five-year plans, they just worked. I'd say modern life demands more deliberate goal-setting because careers change so often. Whether that makes us more successful is debatable; sometimes I think all the planning apps and productivity culture add pressure without adding much progress.
Should schools teach students how to set goals?
Absolutely, and arguably it's more useful than some traditional subjects. Breaking a big ambition into small steps, coping with setbacks, and reviewing progress honestly are skills people need their whole lives. Most of us stumble into them through trial and error, so a bit of structured teaching early on would save a lot of wasted effort.
Is encouragement always a good thing?
Mostly, but not unconditionally. Empty encouragement — praising effort that isn't there, or pushing someone towards a goal that's really yours, not theirs — can do harm. The best encouragement is honest: it acknowledges the difficulty, points out real progress, and leaves the person free to change course. Flattery dressed up as support helps nobody.
Useful vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| to talk someone into (doing) something | to persuade someone to do something |
| to be stuck in a rut | to be trapped in a boring routine that is hard to change |
| to hit a wall | to reach a point where progress suddenly feels impossible |
| to throw in the towel | to give up on something |
| to spur someone on | to encourage someone to keep going or try harder |
| a confidence boost | something that makes you feel more sure of yourself |
| accountability | the sense that you must answer to someone for your progress |
| self-doubt | a lack of confidence in your own abilities |
| a turning point | a moment when an important change begins |
| to owe someone a lot | to feel grateful because someone helped you significantly |
More cue cards
Describe a Goal You Want to Achieve
Describe a Person Who Helped You
Preparing for the whole test, not just Speaking?
Practise Reading with unlimited AI-generated Cambridge-style passages and trap-level feedback, and check your Writing against the official criteria — free to start.