All recent IELTS questions
    Speaking Part 2Reported 31 July 2026

    Describe a successful business person you admire

    The cue card

    Describe a successful business person you admire.

    How to answer it

    A local person you have met beats a global founder you have only read about, because the second bullet-free card leaves you to supply the structure and you cannot supply detail about a stranger. Define what you mean by successful early — scale, longevity, or the people they employ — since Part 3 opens with exactly that question and you want a consistent line.

    What moves the band

    • Business lexis: built it up from nothing, took a real gamble, they've weathered two recessions, a shrewd operator.
    • The Part 3 question about sacrifice is the interesting one; name a specific cost such as time, health or family.

    Part 3 questions reported with it

    Part 3 follows the topic of the cue card, so these are the discussion questions the same candidates were asked next.

    1. What factors lead to business success?
    2. What sacrifices does business success require?
    3. Can business success conflict with environmental goals?
    4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of family businesses?

    These are candidate recalls. These are questions reported by test-takers after their exams, not official or leaked IELTS material. Wording varies by test version, location and memory. Use them for timed practice — never as a prediction of what you will be asked.

    Know the number. Now move it.

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