CELPIP Speaking Task 1: Giving Advice

CELPIP Speaking Task 1 Sample Answer: Running a Smooth Online Conference

This prompt asks you to guide a stressed co-worker who must run her first national online conference. The tricky part is covering all three of her worries, technology, scheduling across time zones and audience engagement, in a clear, organized order.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

90 seconds

Listener

Someone you know well

The question

Your co-worker Simone has been asked to organize a one-day online conference for about 200 employees in offices across Canada. She has never planned an event like this, and she feels stressed about the technology, the schedule and keeping people interested on screen all day. Advise Simone on how she can make the online conference a success.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Advise your co-worker Simone, organizing an online conference for 200 employees across Canada, on handling the technology, the schedule and keeping people engaged.

Plan (90 sec)

Open: "Simone, break it into small pieces and it gets much easier."
Tech: one reliable platform; a test run with every speaker; a tech helper to manage the chat.
Schedule: mind time zones (start around noon Eastern); short sessions of 45 minutes, real breaks.
Engagement: polls, Q&A, breakout rooms; ask speakers to keep slides simple.
Communication: send the link, agenda and instructions a week ahead and a reminder the day before.
After: record sessions, send a short survey.
Close: offer to help with the test run.

Useful vocabulary

platform, agenda, time zones, breakout rooms
poll, test run, moderator, engagement

Phrases

"The first thing I'd do is..."
"To keep people engaged, you could..."
"Make sure everyone..."

Avoid

Forgetting time zones for a national event.
Covering only technology; she has three worries.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Simone, first, congratulations. Being asked to run this means management trusts you. And honestly, it's a lot less scary once you break it into three parts: tech, timing and keeping people awake. For the tech, stick with the platform everyone already uses, probably Teams, and schedule a test run with every speaker a few days ahead. On the day, have one person whose only job is the chat and troubleshooting, so you're not fixing microphones while trying to host. Timing is where national events go wrong. With people from Halifax to Victoria, start around noon Eastern, so the West Coast isn't logging in at dawn. Keep sessions to forty-five minutes and build in real breaks, not just five minutes. To keep people engaged, give them things to do. Run quick polls, take live questions and use breakout rooms for short discussions. Nobody wants to stare at slides for seven hours. Send the agenda a week before, plus a reminder the day before. And let me know if you want a hand with the test runs.

175 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: Splitting the job into "tech, timing and keeping people awake" gives a clear map, and each section follows that order.
Task Fulfillment: Specific advice like starting "around noon Eastern, so the West Coast isn't logging in at dawn" shows real understanding of a national event.
Vocabulary: Natural phrases like "management trusts you," "troubleshooting" and "stare at slides for seven hours" sound confident and professional.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Hey Simone, I know this feels huge, but if you break it into smaller steps, it's very manageable. For the technology, pick one platform that everyone already uses, like Teams, and do a test run with every speaker a few days before. It's also smart to have one person just managing the chat and tech problems. For the schedule, don't forget the time zones. If you start at nine in Vancouver, it's already noon in Toronto, so plan around that. Keep sessions to about forty-five minutes, with proper breaks. To keep people interested, add polls and question periods, and maybe use breakout rooms for small discussions. Finally, send the link and the agenda a week ahead, and a reminder the day before. I'm happy to help with the test run.

130 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: Clear openers like "For the technology" and "For the schedule" match Simone's three worries and make the answer easy to follow.
Vocabulary: Workplace terms such as "test run," "breakout rooms" and "proper breaks" are used accurately.
Task Fulfillment: All worries are covered, but Simone's stress gets only the opening line; a little more encouragement would make the advice feel more personal.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hi Simone, I know it's big job, but you can do it. First, choose one program like Zoom or Teams and test it before the day. Ask all the speaker to practise with you. For the schedule, remember people are in different time zone. Vancouver is three hour behind Toronto, so don't start too early. Also, people get tired on screen. Make short session and give break every hour. You can use poll or ask question to make it more interesting. Send the link and agenda early, maybe one week before. If you need help, tell me.

97 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: Errors like "it's big job," "all the speaker" and "three hour behind" show missing articles and plural endings.
Content/Coherence: The time zone point is useful, but most tips are one-liners, and the closing "tell me" sounds abrupt.
Task Fulfillment: All three worries are addressed, yet engagement only gets "poll or ask question," which is thin for a full-day event.

The CLBs are estimates of the level each sample was written at, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB