IELTS Speaking Part 3: Decisions

1.      What do you think are the most important decision that people make in their lives?

Well, off the top of my head, I guess it would be decisions like who you want to marry and spend your life with, how many children to have, and what kind of job to pursue, because these are things which will have a huge effect on your whole life.

off the top of my head = 不经考虑的话

2.      What skills are necessary when making decision?

I’m honestly not that sure, because I mean, when I make decisions, I’m not really thinking about what skills I’m using, I just kind of make them, if you know what I mean! But I suppose one skill that’s sort of necessary in making decisions is analytical skills, because this will help you weigh up each choice you face, and therefore guide you in making a good decision. And as well as this, I think that having the ability to make decisions quickly without pondering too much is also necessary, because we often have to make decisions without full knowledge of something.

I’m honestly not that sure = 我实在不太清楚

weigh up = assess 估量

ponder =斟酌

3.      How can people improve their decision-making skills?

If truth be told, I’m not the best person to ask, because I’m not that good at making decisions, but I suppose one thing people could do would be to trust their gut instinct more. And by that I mean attach more importance to how they are feeling deep down, because I think our mind has a kind of sixth sense in knowing what the right thing to do is.

gut instinct = 直觉 (gut feeling, intuition)

And by that I mean = in other words / so what I mean is, 也就是说

attach more importance to = 更重视

4.      Do you think that parents should make important decisions for their children?

On the whole, I’d say they shouldn’t, no, because what parents think is best for their children isn’t always necessarily the best thing. So as far as I’m concerned, I think wherever possible, parents should let their children make their own decisions, because after all, it’s their child’s life, not theirs. And even if the child doesn’t make a good decision, they will still end up learning from it.

On the whole = 总的来说

wherever possible = 在可能的情况下，只要有可能

because after all = 因为毕竟

end up = 最终

5.      How can older people help young people make their own decisions wisely?

That’s a good question, and thinking about it, I’d say probably the main thing they can do is to help younger people understand what the most important things to take into consideration are, before they make a decision. You know, older people have experienced more in life, and so they're generally more aware of what’s important and what things should be prioritized. So I think there’s a lot that young people can learn from them.

6.      What are the qualities of a good leader?

I think a leader should have a number of qualities, one of which would be being decisive, because if you think about it, one of the most important things that leaders have to do is make decisions, and more often than not, there’s no clear-cut answer to a solution, so if you’re not good at making decisions under such circumstances, then you probably won’t make a very effective leader.

So for me, this would be the main quality, but of course, there are other important ones too, like having respect for people, as well as being able to inspire them, which the best leaders all tend to do.

if you think about it = 如果你想想看

more often than not = 多半, most of the time, usually, normally

clear-cut answer = 明确的回答

you probably won’t make a very effective leader  = 你可能不会成为一个有效的领导者

So for me = 所以就我来说

7.      In what ways can parents encourage their children to develop leadership abilities?

That’s a good question, and I’d say parents can encourage their children in a number of ways, one of which would be to give them as much freedom as possible to do what they want, instead of always telling them what to do. Because in this way, I think children will be able to better develop a sense of independence and maturity, which are important leadership qualities. And as well as this, I think another thing that parents can do is to always encourage their children in everything they do, regardless of how well they do it, because children will become more self-confident as a result, and will therefore be more likely to become a good leader

in this way – 这样，……(就能够)

regardless of = 不管……如何

more likely to become = 更可能会成为…