Top OET Speaking mistakes (and how to fix them)
The ten most common OET Speaking mistakes we see across thousands of practice sessions — and what to do instead. Drill these and you will see your band move.
Across thousands of practice role-plays scored on the 9 OET criteria, the same handful of mistakes drop the same band marks. Here are the ten most common, with the fix for each.
1. Skipping the agenda
Mistake: Diving into history-taking after the greeting without saying what the consultation will cover.
Why it costs you marks: Providing structure drops, and the patient feels less in control. Examiners mark this consistently.
Fix: After greeting, take 5 seconds to say what's coming.
"Before we get into anything, I'd like to ask you about [X], and then we can talk about [Y]. Is that okay?"
2. Ignoring dropped cues
Mistake: The patient drops something subtle ("I'm not sure I want to take medication") and you carry on with your plan.
Why it costs you marks: Understanding the patient perspective drops hard. This is the single most common reason candidates score C+ instead of B.
Fix: When you hear a cue, name it and follow up.
"I noticed you said you weren't sure about the medication. Can you tell me a bit more about what's behind that?"
3. Information firehose
Mistake: When it's time to explain something, you deliver 90 seconds of explanation in one continuous stream.
Why it costs you marks: Information giving drops. The examiner cannot tell whether the patient followed any of it. The patient (interlocutor) is also less likely to engage productively after a long monologue.
Fix: Chunk and check.
"There are two main things I'd like to explain. The first is [X]. Does that make sense so far?"
(Wait for response)
"Good. The second is [Y]."
4. Closed questions only
Mistake: Every question is yes/no.
Why it costs you marks: Information gathering drops, and you don't surface the patient's actual concerns.
Fix: Open question first, narrow with closed questions.
"Tell me about the pain — when did it start, what does it feel like, what makes it better or worse?"
(Then narrow)
"Is it constant, or does it come and go?"
5. Empathy markers that feel hollow
Mistake: Using "I understand" on autopilot, including when you haven't actually heard what the patient said.
Why it costs you marks: Relationship building drops. Examiners can tell when empathy is a verbal tic vs. genuine acknowledgement.
Fix: Specific acknowledgements that paraphrase what they said.
"That sounds really difficult — having to manage the pain and the worry about getting back to work."
6. Skipping the comprehension check
Mistake: Explaining something and assuming the patient followed.
Why it costs you marks: Information giving drops. You also miss the chance to demonstrate skill in clear explanation.
Fix: Ask for a teach-back.
"Just to make sure I've explained that clearly — what would you tell your daughter about what we just discussed?"
7. Jargon without translation
Mistake: Using "hypertension", "compliance", "prophylaxis" without unpacking.
Why it costs you marks: Appropriateness of language drops, plus the comprehension check (mistake 6) becomes harder.
Fix: Translate immediately.
"Your blood pressure is high — what we call hypertension. That just means..."
8. Mistiming the wrap-up
Mistake: Running out of time before you've summarised, agreed a plan, or asked "anything else?"
Why it costs you marks: Providing structure drops, plus you lose the final-question signal on understanding the patient perspective.
Fix: Reserve the last 30–45 seconds for the close, regardless of how much you've covered. Better to under-explain task 3 than skip the close.
"Just to summarise — we agreed [X]. I'll see you again on [date]. Before you go, is there anything else on your mind?"
9. Reading from your notes
Mistake: Glancing back at notes you took during the 3-minute prep multiple times during the role-play.
Why it costs you marks: Fluency drops, relationship building drops (you're not making eye contact), and tempo breaks.
Fix: During prep, write down ONLY the 4–5 task cues, in 2–3 words each, as a sanity check at the end. Don't write full sentences. Don't try to memorise — internalise.
10. Resisting the interlocutor's resistance
Mistake: The interlocutor pushes back on your suggestion, and you double down with "but you really should..."
Why it costs you marks: Understanding the patient perspective drops; Relationship building drops.
Fix: Acknowledge the resistance, find out what's behind it, then collaborate.
"I can see you have reservations about that. Can you tell me what's making you hesitant?"
(Listen)
"That makes sense. Given that, what if we tried [alternative]?"
How to drill these fixes
Three high-ROI practices:
- Build a phrase bank. Write down 3–5 phrases for each of the fixes above. Drill them until they're automatic. Examples and templates are in our Speaking sub-test guide.
- Record yourself. Listen to a role-play you did 24 hours later. Score yourself against the 10 mistakes above. You will hear yourself making mistakes 1, 2, and 3 within the first minute.
- Get per-criterion feedback on every role-play. Generic "you could have done better" feedback is not actionable. You need to know which criterion and where in the transcript.
That last one is exactly the practice loop OET Live automates. Every session gives you the 9-criterion breakdown with the specific quotes from your transcript that won or lost each criterion.
Join the waitlist when you're ready.