Using speaking fillers in IELTS enables the candidate to have some valuable time to think about what they are going to say rather than just rushing in and making lots of mistakes! Using them effectively at the beginning of answers for speaking part 3 can help you gain higher points in fluency. Balance is the key! For example - starting every answer with a speaking filler might not sound natural but using two or three different speaking fillers during the whole of speaking part 3 would.
Examples of speaking fillers are -
a) To be honest ....
b) Well ....
c) I hadn't thought about that before. Give me a moment to think please ...
d)It's difficult to say ....
e) It's funny you should ask that ....
Of course, there are hundreds of speaking fillers but knowing how to use a few correctly should be enough for the exam.
