Describe an interesting talk or speech you heard

Band 8 Sample

Today I am going to talk to you about a speech that I came across two months ago on TV called “the power of vulnerability”.

The speech was delivered by Brene Brown who is an American scholar, an author and a public speaker. She has been involved in research on a range of topics, including vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy.

I accidentally heard her speech when I was watching TV at home after a hard day at work. Her TED talk touched my spirit, evoked my sympathy and taught me many lessons. Firstly, I learnt that I cannot ignore all the negative feelings I have. If I try to avoid them, I won’t be able to feel happy, grateful or joyful, and therefore, I need to have the courage to face and solve all the problems I have in order to live happily.

Secondly, thanks to this talk, I was able to understand how powerful it is to show other people my vulnerability, and that I should dare to take risks and do the things that I am not so sure about. For example, I should be the one who says I love you first, even if I know I might be rejected.

Finally, I learnt how to love myself from the bottom of my heart and was able to give up irresponsible behaviour such as skipping meals or getting wasted whenever I was sad. And in addition to this, once I’m able to love myself, I won’t hurt other people who truly love me.

Vocabulary highlights:

1. came across – discovered
2. vulnerability – being open or exposed to being physically or mentally harmed
3. delivered by – spoken or presented by
4. scholar – academic expert or specialist
5. public speaker – someone who gives
6. touched my spirit – had a deep impression or influence on me
7. evoked my sympathy – made me feel emotional towards someone or an idea
8. have the courage to face – to be brave enough to do something
9. take risks – to do things even though you might fail
10. from the bottom of my heart – to feel deeply or strongly about something
11. skipping meals – to not eat a meal to try to lose weight
12. getting wasted – getting very drunk