Does it matter which option I choose?
No, raters never judge the choice itself. Pick whichever person is easier to explain your decision to, usually the side that hands you more reasons, and the points come from how you deliver it.
Back to questions
Speaking Task 6Demo
Dealing with a Difficult Situation
The exact exam interface with a sample question. Nothing is recorded or saved.
CELPIP Speaking (Demo) - Task 6 1/1
Preparation time: 60 seconds
Time remaining: 1 minute
You made plans to have dinner with your friend Amy this Saturday, and she has been looking forward to it for weeks. Your aunt has invited the whole family to a gathering at the same time because she has important news to announce.
Choose ONE:
EITHER
Talk to Amy. Explain why you cannot have dinner with her this Saturday.
OR
Talk to your aunt. Explain why you cannot attend the family gathering.
Preparation Time
60
Step 1 of 3: preparation time. Decide right away who you will talk to, then jot a quick outline of your points on scratch paper. In practice you can skip this wait. In the real exam you cannot, and it ends with a loud "Start speaking now".
CELPIP Speaking Task 6 Guide:Difficult Situation Tips, Template and CLB 9 Sample
Task 6 drops you into an awkward everyday conflict and gives you two ways out, and each one lets somebody down. You choose one option, then speak directly to the person affected, explaining your decision as if they were in the room. You get 60 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to answer, and since neither choice is the correct one, raters only score how clearly and tactfully you deliver the news. The demo above uses the exact interface and timing of the real test, so everything you practice here transfers directly.
The format at a glance
Preparation
60 seconds to choose your person, then line up two reasons and a backup plan
Response
60 seconds of recorded speech, the timer submits automatically
Audience
One person your decision will disappoint, so a warm but firm tone earns the points
How Task 6 is scored
Trained raters score every CELPIP speaking task on the same four equally weighted dimensions. In Task 6, tone and audience count under Task Fulfillment, which is exactly where unprepared answers bleed points.
Content and Coherence
The number and quality of your ideas in a logical order. One firm decision carried by two developed reasons beats a minute spent weighing both sides.
Vocabulary
Range and precision, and in Task 6 that means the soft language of bad news. Would, could, and might do more for your score here than any rare idiom.
Listenability
Rhythm, pronunciation, intonation, and grammar working together. A calm, steady pace sells sincerity, and silent pauses beat filler words every time.
Task Fulfillment
Did you address the person directly, make a clear decision, keep a polite tone, and speak for the full time? Answers that never actually talk to the listener bleed points here the fastest.
A 60 second answer template that works
Preparation60 seconds, before the answer
Pick whichever person is easier to explain your decision to, then line up two reasons and a backup plan. When the 60 seconds run out you hear a loud "Start speaking now" and recording begins immediately, there is no button to press.
Greet them and set up the news10 to 15 seconds
Use their name and signal that something has come up with your shared plan. Talking to the person, not about them, is scored under Task Fulfillment, so stay in the conversation from the first word.
One clear decision, backed by honest reasonsabout 30 seconds
Say what you have decided in one plain sentence, then explain why with one or two concrete reasons. Acknowledge what it costs them, a line like I know how much you were looking forward to this keeps firm from turning cold.
Offer a way to make it right10 to 15 seconds
Close with a concrete alternative, a new date, a promise to call, or a way to make it up to them. An answer with no solution reads as incomplete, so never let the timer catch you without one.
Soft phrases that carry hard news
These phrases cushion a refusal so you can hold your position without sounding harsh. Practice them until they come out automatically.
I know this puts you in a tough spot, but...I'm really sorry to do this on such short notice...Unfortunately, something has come up that I just can't miss...Would it work for you if we...?
Mistakes that cost points
Blunt refusalsVocabulary
Announcing I can't come with no cushion sounds rude in English, even when the grammar is perfect. Soft modals like would, could, and might carry the same message politely.
Talking about them, not to themTask Fulfillment
The instructions say to address the person you chose. Narrating the story in third person costs Task Fulfillment points even when the English is flawless.
Hedging between the optionsContent and Coherence
Weighing both choices out loud eats your minute and leaves no clear decision on the recording. Commit in your first sentence and spend the rest defending it.
Skipping the solutionTask Fulfillment
Bad news with nothing to offer reads as an incomplete answer. A new date, a follow-up call, or an offer to cover the next dinner turns a refusal into a complete response.
Racing the clockListenability
Panic speed breeds restarts and self-corrections that chop up your rhythm. A measured pace with brief pauses fits plenty into 60 seconds and scores higher.
Task 6 questions people ask
Why do people call Task 6 the hardest speaking task?
Because it grades tone, not just fluency. You have to refuse someone politely, sound genuinely sorry, and still land a clear decision plus a backup plan inside one minute, which takes more control than open-ended talking.
Do I really talk to an imaginary person?
Yes, the role-play is the task. Responses that describe the situation instead of addressing the listener lose points, so open with the person's name and stay in the conversation until the timer stops.
