IELTS Speaking Part 1 – Meeting New Friends People
IELTS Speaking Part 1 – Meeting New Friends / People
- Do you meet new people more often now than in the past?
- Do you enjoy talking to new people?
- Where can you meet new people?
- Do you like meeting new people?
- What do you often talk about with your new friends?
- Have you made any new friends recently?
- Did you make a lot of friends when you were a child?
- Do you like making friends?
Do you meet new people more often now than in the past?
Actually, it’s the opposite. In the past, I met new people every week, from different countries because of my job. But after the COVID pandemic, the industry I worked in shut down, so I had to change my career. Now, most of my work is remote. If I think back, I’ve probably met hundreds of people in the last 10 years, which is a lot. But now, I’ve only met about five people in the last four years, and that was all remotely—I haven’t met any of them in person. I’m okay with that; it’s just different from what I was used to. I do feel like I need to brush up on my communication skills when it comes to talking with people, though. It’s been a while, but I still try to keep things professional while being friendly, which is rare for me now.
Do you enjoy talking to new people?
I’d say, for the first 10 days, I enjoy talking to people. But once we start working together, I tend to rub people the wrong way because I’m very particular about my job. After a few days, people usually stop talking to me because they don’t like my working style or find me too strict. So, I tend to push people away. But I do enjoy the initial conversations, just not so much when it comes to work. I’ve learned my lesson—work and friendships don’t mix well for me. Even with my friends, things got complicated when we started talking about work. So now, when I meet new people, I try to avoid talking about work or money. I’d rather keep the conversations light, like sharing stories or catching up. That, I enjoy.
Where can you meet new people?
I live in the countryside now, so the main place to meet people is in the plaza. Most of the people here are older, retirees, or very young. I usually end up with the older crowd, but we don’t always connect because they grew up in the countryside, and I’m from the city. We’re on different wavelengths, especially with my humor, which can be a bit dark. I’ve found that British people tend to get my jokes, but others, not so much. Besides that, I could meet people at fast food places or convenience stores, but that doesn’t happen often. Now that my daughter goes to school, I sometimes meet people there, but it’s rare. We usually don’t talk much, especially on school days.
Do you like meeting new people?
It depends. I like meeting new people if there’s something beneficial, like work or learning something new. I’m always happy to learn from others. But I don’t enjoy meeting people who might become a burden. I think a lot of people can relate to that. Meeting new people is good, but not if they’re going to ask for help all the time. That’s something I don’t really look forward to.
What do you often talk about with your new friends?
When I was closer with my friends, we mostly talked about our struggles or missed opportunities, like things that happened back in high school. For example, one friend would always talk about the time he missed his chance to talk to a girl. These are stories we’ve all heard before, but we just keep talking about them anyway. Sometimes we’d also talk about politics, but that often led to disagreements, especially since some of my friends had extreme political views. That made things awkward because I didn’t always agree with them, and it’s caused a few friendships to end. So, we try not to talk about politics anymore.
Have you made any new friends recently?
It’s been a while since I made a new friend. I’m not really a friendly person, to be honest. I’m kind of like the character Shrek—like an onion, with layers you have to peel back. Once you get through those layers, you can tell if we’ll be friends or not. The last time I made a friend was before the pandemic. But that friendship got a bit sour because we started talking about work, and we had disagreements. Now, we’re not really in touch.
Did you make a lot of friends when you were a child?
No, I was very antisocial as a kid, probably because of some childhood trauma. I didn’t let people into my life easily. Growing up, I struggled to make friends. Even if someone genuinely wanted to be my friend, I’d always think they would take advantage of me later on, so I avoided putting in the effort. Eventually, I met some real friends, but by college, we went our separate ways. I’ve had friends who stayed stuck in their high school mindset, and since I didn’t want to be around that, we drifted apart.
Do you like making friends?
Not really, because most friendships I’ve experienced are one-sided. People tend to be friends with you because they need something. It’s interesting because I talked to my wife about it, and she pointed out that I seem to attract the wrong type of people, which ends up leaving me disappointed. It was a good perspective because I thought people didn’t like me, but it turns out I just didn’t notice the pattern. So, I don’t actively try to make new friends anymore.
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Ian Tanpiuco is an ESL and virtual assistant. With a decade of experience, he has become an expert in his field. Dedicated to helping others achieve their goals, Ian works tirelessly in the classroom or as a virtual assistant.
