Communication is a part of everyday life, and you may be asked about different aspects of communication such as the methods and characteristics. Below are IELTS vocabulary words you can use to discuss how people communicate with one another and how to describe people communicating. There are some exercises for you to practice with real IELTS questions.
Table of Contents
1. Communication Vocabulary
- Accurate – Correct or truthful
- Bias – To show unfair favouritism to one side in an argument or contest
- Body language – The way bodily movements communicate what a person is thinking/feeling
- Communicate – The act of sharing news, ideas, and information
- To converse – To talk
- Computerised – Something that has been produced, adapted, stored, or processed by a computer
- Confuse – To make a mistake and misunderstand something/To cause someone to be confused
- Diligent – A hard-working person
- Dialogue – A discussion between two or more people that is often aimed at resolving problems
- Distract – To stop someone from giving their entire attention to something
- Dry – A sarcastic, matter-of-fact person who is often unintentionally funny
- Imply – To suggest what you want in an indirect manner
- Clarify – To make something understood by repeating it or giving more detail
- Dishonest – Not accurate or truthful
- Egoist – A person who only thinks about themselves and their ego
- Expression –A word or phrase used to convey an idea
- Extrovert/Outgoing – A person who is very expressive and enjoys socialising with others
- Eye-contact – The act of looking directly at someone’s eyes. Often seen as a sign of honesty/trust
- Facial expression – The look on a person’s face that conveys their emotions
- Frank – Open, honest, and direct
- Genuine – An honest and truthful person who does not pretend to be something they are not
- Gossip – News shared between people that is often trivial or is about other people
- Ineffective – Does not provide the desired effect/result
- Interaction – Communication or involvement with something or someone
- Interview – A conversation that usually involves the asking and answering of questions. For example, jobs, news, radio shows etc…
- Introvert – A shy person who is focused on their feelings more than interaction with others
- Message – A written or verbal communication that is left for a recipient who cannot be contacted directly/ Social media/Text messages are electronic communications sent over the internet or phone
- Non-verbal – Communication without words. Usually made with body language and facial expressions
- Passionate – A person who feels very strongly about something
- Perspective – A specific view or attitude
- Posture – The position of the body while sitting or standing / A particular way of behaving
- Receiver – A person/entity to whom communication has been sent
- Sender – The person/entity who sends a communication
- Sincere – Something/Someone truthful and honest
- Verbal – Communication that is spoken
- Witty – Funny because of a quick and inventive sense of humour
2. Communication Vocabulary Activity
| Read Full Answer |
Do you prefer speaking by phone, writing messages, or talking in person? Sometimes I prefer writing messages compared to conversing by phone or in person because I am quite introverted so it is a bit more comfortable for me. However, more often than not I prefer to communicate in person, especially about emotional matters, because you can make eye-contact with the person and see the non-verbal clues they give off, which I believe is more accurate at revealing what someone is really thinking and whether they are being sincere or whether they are lying. Part 2 – Choose the correct word to complete the sentences I have always been an extrovert because I love interacting and dealing with people. If you do not sit with good straight posture you are more likely to have back problems when you are older. Even though she said she wasn’t upset, her facial expression told a different story. One frustrating aspect of communicating with children is that you often have to clarify yourself again and again. I have always been a very hard-working and diligent person. So much so that I work every hour available! |
3. Idioms, Phrasal Verbs & Collocations
These are some common idioms, phrasal verbs, and collocations you can use to answer IELTS questions on the topic of communication. Using these words/phrases correctly will make your answers sound more natural and concise. There is an exercise for you to practice using the words with some real IELTS questions.
- Beat around the bush – To not get directly to the point
- Can’t get a word in edgeways – When you cannot speak because the other person is speaking too much
- Come out of your shell – To become less shy and become more talkative
- Effective communicator – A person who is good at talking to others or conveying a message
- Face to face – In-person, rather than over a telephone or the internet
- Get in touch – To make or establish contact with someone
- Get something off your chest – To tell someone about something that has been making you upset or unhappy
- Instant messaging – Messages that are sent straight away via internet apps like WhatsApp
- Having said that – Means the same as ‘Despite what I just said’
- Hearsay – Information that is usually passed from one person to another and that cannot be proven/disproven. Similar to ‘gossip’
- Make sense – To find meaning in something or to understand something
- Needless to say – Means the same as ‘of course’ or ‘it’s obvious that’
- On the same page – Parties that agree about something or hold the same position/opinion
- One on one – Two parties that come into direct contact or correspondence
- Spill the beans – To reveal information
- Spread like wildfire – Something that moves very quickly from person to person. For example, news or gossip
- Stay/Keep in touch – To maintain contact
- Talking to a brick wall – Talking to an unresponsive audience who does not react
- When all is said and done – At the end
- Word of mouth – Spoken language / Information that is passed from person to person
- You can say that again – I agree with you
4. Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, and Collocations Activity
| Read Full Answer |
Communication Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, and Collocations Activity – Choose the correct option to answer the IELTS questions How has the way people communicate changed in recent years? The way we communicate has changed dramatically in recent years and needless to say, it is mostly because of the internet. In the past people used to stay in touch by letter, phone calls, or by meeting face to face. Back in the day if ever I heard gossip, it was usually via word of mouth from one of my friends, who love to talk about other people. Nowadays though any news spreads like wildfire because it is sent straight to all my friends at the same time through instant messaging, which is quite annoying having said that, one thing I like about modern communication is that when I have a problem that I really want to get off my chest, I can just call my family on the other side of the world, and I can talk for as long as I like for free. |
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