How do you greet the IELTS Speaking examiner?
Quick answer
Greet the examiner the way you would greet anyone in a short, polite English exchange, and have your identity document ready. Official pages describe the opening only as the examiner introducing themselves and checking your identity; no particular greeting is prescribed, and the four published marking criteria do not include politeness.
Part of The IELTS Speaking test, answered
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What officially happens first
The official description of the opening is one sentence, and it describes the examiner’s actions rather than yours:
Part 1 – Introduction and interview (4–5 minutes): the examiner introduces him/herself and checks your identity. Then the examiner asks you general questions on some familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies or interests.
IDP’s own preparation guidance fills in the practical sequence around it: the examiner calls your name or candidate number, the recorder is already running, they ask for your identity document, read out your details, and then start asking about who you are and where you are from.
Nothing in any of that specifies a greeting from you. There is no required phrase, no form of address to learn, and no step where a greeting is evaluated.
Why there is no script to learn
This is the part worth sitting with, because the search for a “correct” greeting usually comes from the belief that the test starts formally and then relaxes. It does not. The published criteria are fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation — four descriptions of how you use English, none of which mentions courtesy, confidence or rapport.
An elaborate opening line therefore gains you nothing, and it can take something away. Memorised language tends to come out at a different rhythm from spontaneous speech, and starting the test with your most rehearsed sentence sets exactly the wrong pattern for the four to five minutes that follow.
The identity check, handled calmly
The document check is administrative, and it is the one part of the opening you can genuinely prepare. Have your identity document out and open at the photo page before you sit down, so that handing it over does not become a scramble through a bag.
Which documents are acceptable varies by country and by test centre, so confirm that with the centre you booked with rather than with a forum. That is also true of what you may bring into the room at all.
A normal opening, not a performance
In practice, the useful version of this is short. Respond when your name is called, say hello or good morning, sit when invited, hand over your document, and answer the first questions in complete sentences rather than single words.
The value of that is momentum, not manners. A candidate who speaks in ordinary, connected sentences from the first exchange usually keeps doing it; a candidate who opens in a whisper often spends the next two minutes climbing out of it. If the first minute is where your nerves land hardest, rehearsing the situation rather than the words is what helps — the guide to practising Speaking alone covers ways to do that, and a full mock test puts the opening under a clock where it belongs.
What this means for your score
The opening matters, but not for the reason candidates assume. Nothing you say in the first ten seconds is marked as etiquette — yet it is inside the assessed part of the test, and it sets the register for everything after it. A whispered, over-rehearsed formal greeting tends to be followed by stiff, careful Part 1 answers. A normal one tends to be followed by normal speech, which is the thing the criteria are actually measuring.
Frequently asked questions
How do you impress the IELTS Speaking examiner?
By speaking the way the criteria describe, not by managing the examiner. The published criteria are fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. Compliments, formal flourishes and memorised opening lines are not assessed, and rehearsed-sounding language can work against the coherence you were trying to demonstrate.
What do you need to bring to the Speaking test?
The identity document you booked with — IDP's guidance is to have your passport open at the photo page so it is easy to hand over. Exactly which documents are accepted varies by country and test centre, so check the requirements with the centre you booked with rather than assuming.
Should you shake hands with the examiner?
No official page describes a handshake or any physical greeting as part of the procedure. Follow whatever the examiner does and whatever is normal at your centre. Nothing about it is scored, and hesitating over it is more likely to unsettle you than either choice is to help.
How do you introduce yourself in Part 1?
Give your full name as it appears on your identity document, then answer the questions that follow in ordinary sentences. Official pages place this inside Part 1 — introduction and interview — so treat it as the start of the conversation rather than as a separate speech about yourself.
Sources
- IELTS Academic: Speaking test format — IELTS.org
- IELTS Speaking: How to perform at your best in part 1 — IDP IELTS
Last verified 17 Sep 2026
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