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CELPIP Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation

CELPIP Speaking Task 6 Sample Answer: Rescheduling a Team Meeting

By David

You've organized a team meeting for this afternoon, but a key participant has an emergency, making it ineffective to proceed as planned. Your team is prepared and might be inconvenienced by the change. You must inform…

Preparation
60 seconds
Speaking
60 seconds
Choice
Speak to person A or person B

The question

You've organized a team meeting for this afternoon, but a key participant has an emergency, making it ineffective to proceed as planned. Your team is prepared and might be inconvenienced by the change. You must inform them promptly to adjust schedules.

Choice:

Either

Talk to your team and explain the reason for rescheduling, proposing a new time and apologizing for the short notice.

OR

Talk to your team and explain why the meeting can't proceed without the key person, suggesting asynchronous updates in the meantime.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Colleagues, after careful evaluation, I've decided to reschedule this afternoon's meeting because our essential participant is dealing with a personal emergency, rendering the session less effective without their expertise and potentially leading to incomplete decisions. I fully recognize the disruption this causes to your calendars and preparations, and I extend my sincere apologies for the abrupt change—maintaining momentum is important to me too. To minimize impact, I propose reconvening at the original slot tomorrow, but I'm open to alternatives if that conflicts; meanwhile, let's utilize our shared drive for preliminary feedback. This adjustment underscores our commitment to inclusive and informed collaboration, and I thank you in advance for your adaptability.

110 words

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Everyone, I regret to announce that today's meeting needs to be rescheduled due to an unforeseen emergency with our key stakeholder, who won't be able to join and whose input is crucial for productive discussions. I apologize for the inconvenience, especially on such short notice, as I know you've all prepared. How about shifting it to the same time tomorrow? In the interim, feel free to share any urgent points via email. Your flexibility is appreciated, and this will ensure we make the most of our time together.

88 words

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Team, sorry but the meeting is rescheduled. One person has an emergency and can't come. Let's do it tomorrow instead. I know it's last minute. Thanks for understanding.

28 words

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

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