IELTS Speaking · Part 3
People and relationships: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions
Last updated 2 September 2026
In short
People and relationships is a common IELTS Speaking Part 3 discussion theme. After the Part 2 long turn, the examiner explores broader, abstract questions on the topic. This guide groups real practice questions from concrete to abstract, explains how to tackle each question type, and gives the vocabulary and linking language to answer with depth.
Discussion questions
The examiner usually opens the discussion with: "What qualities do people usually look for in a good friend?", then works up from concrete to abstract.
Warm-up (concrete)
Why do you think it can be difficult to keep friendships over many years?
Cause & effect
Development (societal)
Are people more influenced by their family or by their friends?
EvaluationHow have relationships between people changed because of technology?
ComparisonDo you think it is easy to make genuine friends as an adult?
OpinionWhat makes someone a good role model for others?
OpinionIs it possible to have too many friends?
Evaluation
Depth (abstract & hypothetical)
How might the way people form relationships change in the future?
SpeculationIf people never disagreed, would relationships be stronger?
Hypothesis
Useful vocabulary for this theme
Band 7+ language for discussing people and relationships.
- get on well with
- have a friendly, easy relationship with
- “I get on well with most of my colleagues.”
- see eye to eye
- agree fully with someone
- “My brother and I don't always see eye to eye.”
- a close friend
- a trusted, intimate friend
- “She's been a close friend of mine since childhood.”
- have a lot in common
- share many interests or traits
- “We have a lot in common, which is why we clicked straight away.”
- keep someone at arm's length
- stay emotionally distant from someone
- “I tend to keep new acquaintances at arm's length at first.”