IELTS Speaking: Taking advantage of forgetting something

In your IELTS speaking test, you might forget a specific detail, like, say, a number or an actor's name. This is not something to worry about—it's totally normal to forget things if you are speaking spontaneously, especially in stressful situations.

If you do, you can say "... this actor, I forget his name, ... ." Or you can treat this moment as an opportunity to use a cool lexical item.

Here are some words that will come in handy if you can't name something quickly.

1️⃣ I can't remember (the name) offhand. / I can't give (an example) offhand.

2️⃣ I can't give (an example) off the top off my head.

3️⃣ (His name) is on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember it right now.

4️⃣ I'm blanking on (the name) right now / I'm drawing a blank on (the name) right now.

5️⃣ (The exact number) just slipped my mind for some reason / because I'm a bit nervous right now.

6️⃣ I'm really bad with names. (So the name just slipped my mind.)

Say one of these, relieve yourself of the burden of remembering, and keep speaking.

Any other phrases? Share in the comments.