笔者曾经问过一位前任雅思考官，在口语考试中是否真的有印象分，他没给说‘Yes’or‘No’，但回答同样耐人寻味，‘Well, we will judge a candidate’s level strictly according to the marking criteria, but we would feel happy with those who understand how to communicate in a polite and delightful way.’可见，考生们如果善于使用一些委婉性的表达，通过句式的变化将要表达的意思烘托或暗示给考官，不仅让考官在整个过程中感到舒适，也相应的消除了自己的紧张情绪。
在雅思口语的教学过程中，我发现很多学生口语非常流利，但有的句子说出来却令人不悦，比如有的话题让我们表达不满意的事或物，比如‘Describe a subject you dislike’或‘Describe a movie you dislike’,很多同学直接这样回答，‘We are unhappy with that movie.’或 ‘We are dissatisfied with that subject. ’,其实，我们完全可以换一种更加礼貌的方式，‘I'm sorry but we're not very happy with that movie.’或 ‘We're not completely satisfied.’。
雅思口语中还有很多话题谈及我们的需要，很多同学直接用 ‘want’ 来表达自己的需求，比如， ‘I want to listen some English songs.’, 稍作改动为‘I would need some sort of English songs when I am free’显得更加婉转； 另外，当提出某种建议时，有的学生会说 ‘The government must improve the environment nowadays.’, 在这里直接用‘must’这个小词就显得太过生硬，可以改成 ‘We were rather hoping to improve the environment nowadays.’
另外，在Part 3中考[微博]官会和学生根据Part 2的相关内容进行讨论，也会询问学生对某件事的态度或观点，比如‘Do you think the traffic in your country will get better in the future?’, ‘Do you think playing computer games do more harm than good to children?’, 许多同学在表达‘不同意’时会非常直接的说， ‘I won't agree to this.’ 或者 ‘I can’t accept it.’。如果换一种句式，就会显得更加有礼貌，比如 ‘I find it somewhat difficult to agree to.’或者 ‘Unfortunately, we would be unable to tolerate that. ’
从上面的几个例子也不难看出，改动后的句子变得更加委婉，让考官听起来也会觉得顺耳。在社会语言学中，委婉的语言是日常交际中很重要的组成部分，这也是西方人回答问题和表达自己观点时常用的说话方式。在雅思口语考试中，有四种简单的方法可以让你的口语回答显得更加委婉且有礼貌：
1. 多用情态动词
比如would, should, could, might来表示自己的态度，看法、建议或忠告，比如：
(1) Without relaxation, our life might be sharply shortened. 没有休息，生命也许会缩短。
(2) But if they watch TV too much, their eyes would be seriously hurt and they might be distracted from their study。如果看电视过多，他们的眼睛或许会严重受损，也会分散学习的精力。
(3) Umm, it could be anything, like punctured tires, diversions of traffic, sudden descent of fog… … 嗯，任何情况(都可以导致迟到)，比如爆胎，交通变道，大雾……
2. 在句首可用maybe/perhaps, unfortunately, unluckily, I'm afraid, I’m not sure..., I doubt…提出建议、请求或表示反驳、反对等。
(1) Maybe I should eat more vegetables to keep a healthy diet. 或许我应该吃更多的水果来保持健康的饮食。
(2) Perhaps there’s another side of the question. 也许这个问题还有另一种情况。
(3) I am afraid children would be addicted to online games and put their study aside. 我担心孩子们会对网络游戏上瘾，把学业搁置一边。
3.大量使用not very / quite, rather, somewhat, slightly, sort of、a little bit，或者使用否定句型代替直接性的否定词汇，比如not completely，not very等，来软化绝对和强硬的语气，给人一种正面的感觉。
4、用插入语或附加问句表示自己的看法。
(1) That’s not quite reasonable, I guess. 我想，那样不太合理吧！
(2) Dogs, it seems, love to chew up cash money. 狗看起来喜欢咀嚼纸币。
(3) Rainy days often cause too much inconvenience to people’s daily lives, isn’t it? 下雨天会给人们的日常生活带来很多不便，不是吗？
