Three minutes need a clear map
In Part 2 (Teil 2) you present a topic for about three minutes. The task sheet sets out several aspects, for example personal experience, the situation in your home country, advantages and disadvantages, and your own opinion. The challenge is not to talk for as long as possible. You have to show your listeners where you are and why the individual thoughts belong together.
A good presentation has five stations:
- announce the topic and the plan;
- personal experience;
- the situation in a familiar environment or in your home country;
- advantages and disadvantages;
- your own opinion with a reason, plus a closing.
This map is flexible. It adapts to the topic without turning into a memorised all-purpose text.
Preparation notes that actually help you speak
Do not write sentences. For the topic „Online einkaufen“ (shopping online) your sheet could look like this:
Erfahrung: Bücher/Technik – schnell – falsche Größe
Umfeld: sehr verbreitet – ältere Eltern lieber Geschäft
- Auswahl, Zeit / – Rücksendung, lokale Läden
Meinung: praktisch für Standardprodukte, Kleidung lieber vor Ort
In English, those four lines read: experience — books/electronics, fast delivery, wrong size; surroundings — very widespread, older parents prefer the shop; plus — choice and time, minus — returns and local shops; opinion — practical for standard products, clothes rather in person.
Four lines give you enough orientation and leave you linguistic freedom. Add arrows or numbers in case nerves make you lose the order.
An introduction with no empty seconds
„Ich spreche heute über das Thema Online-Einkaufen. Zuerst berichte ich kurz von meiner eigenen Erfahrung. Danach beschreibe ich die Situation in meinem Umfeld und nenne Vorteile und Nachteile. Zum Schluss sage ich meine Meinung.“ — Today I am speaking about online shopping. First I will briefly talk about my own experience. Then I will describe the situation around me and name advantages and disadvantages. Finally I will give my opinion.
This introduction is clear, but it is not magic. Once you can do it, go straight to the content. Do not spend 40 seconds on several greeting formulas.
Telling your personal experience concretely
„Ich kaufe manchmal online ein“ (I sometimes shop online) is a start. A small event makes it speakable:
„Vor zwei Monaten habe ich Wanderschuhe online bestellt, weil mein Modell im Geschäft nicht verfügbar war. Die Lieferung kam schnell, aber die Schuhe waren zu klein. Die Rücksendung hat fast eine Woche gedauert.“ — Two months ago I ordered hiking boots online because my model was not available in the shop. Delivery was fast, but the boots were too small. The return took almost a week.
Now you own material for an advantage, a disadvantage and an opinion. Your own examples do not have to be dramatic; they only have to be concrete and comprehensible.
If you have no direct experience, say so honestly and use an observation: „Ich selbst habe noch nie ein Auto gemietet, aber meine Schwester macht das oft im Urlaub.“ — I have never rented a car myself, but my sister often does it on holiday.
The situation in your home country without clichés
You do not have to speak for a whole country. Phrase it carefully:
- „In meiner Heimatstadt beobachte ich, dass …“ — in my home town I notice that …
- „In meiner Familie ist es üblich, …“ — in my family it is usual to …
- „Bei jüngeren Menschen ist … verbreitet, während …“ — among younger people … is widespread, whereas …
- „Das ist je nach Region unterschiedlich, aber …“ — that varies from region to region, but …
This is how you avoid absolute claims such as „Bei uns machen alle …“ (where I come from, everyone does …), which are rarely true and hard to justify.
Developing advantages and disadvantages
Use a mini chain for each point:
Aussage → Grund → Beispiel oder Folge — statement → reason → example or consequence
„Ein Vorteil ist die große Auswahl. Man kann Produkte verschiedener Anbieter schnell vergleichen. Das ist besonders hilfreich, wenn man in einer kleinen Stadt lebt.“ (One advantage is the wide choice. You can quickly compare products from different providers. That is particularly helpful if you live in a small town.)
„Ein Nachteil sind komplizierte Rücksendungen. Wenn ein Produkt nicht passt, entstehen Verpackung und zusätzlicher Transport.“ (One disadvantage is complicated returns. If a product does not fit, packaging and extra transport are the result.)
One fully worked-out advantage and disadvantage are stronger than five nouns: „billig, schnell, bequem, Umwelt, Betrug“ (cheap, fast, convenient, environment, fraud).
Opinion instead of repetition
The ending should make your decision visible:
„Insgesamt finde ich Online-Einkäufe praktisch, besonders bei Büchern oder standardisierten Produkten. Kleidung kaufe ich aber lieber im Geschäft, weil ich sie dort anprobieren kann. Für mich ist deshalb eine Mischung die beste Lösung.“ — All in all I find online shopping practical, especially for books or standardised products. But I prefer to buy clothes in a shop, because I can try them on there. For me a mixture is therefore the best solution.
Your opinion may be nuanced. However, es kommt darauf an (it depends) only becomes a position once you explain what it depends on.
Transitions that really carry
- „Zuerst möchte ich von meiner Erfahrung berichten.“ — first I would like to talk about my experience.
- „In meinem Umfeld sieht die Situation so aus: …“ — around me the situation looks like this: …
- „Das hat mehrere Vorteile. Besonders wichtig ist …“ — this has several advantages. Especially important is …
- „Auf der anderen Seite darf man nicht vergessen, dass …“ — on the other hand, one must not forget that …
- „Aus diesen Gründen denke ich, dass …“ — for these reasons I think that …
Choose four or five transitions you are sure of. Too many memorised formulas make the presentation longer, but not more informative.
What to do if you run short or long
Finished after 90 seconds: add a personal example, a consequence or a qualification to your most important point. Do not repeat the same sentence.
Still on your experience after three minutes: cut immediately — „Zu den Vor- und Nachteilen: …“ (now to the advantages and disadvantages: …) — and name one strong point for each. Covering the breadth of the task matters more than a perfect first half.
Train with a visible clock, but do not look at it after every sentence. Set time markers: introduction plus experience roughly in the first minute, surroundings plus arguments in the second minute, opinion plus closing in the third minute.
Blackout and the missing word
Use a repair instead of silence:
- „Einen Moment, ich formuliere das anders.“ — one moment, let me put that differently.
- „Mir fehlt das genaue Wort. Ich meine einen Ort, an dem …“ — I can’t find the exact word. I mean a place where …
- „Ein konkretes Beispiel hilft vielleicht: …“ — maybe a concrete example helps: …
- „Ich komme jetzt zu meiner Meinung.“ — I am now coming to my opinion.
Paraphrasing is a B1 skill. If the word Rücksendung (return of goods) escapes you, say „Man schickt das Produkt wieder an den Verkäufer zurück“ (you send the product back to the seller).
Think about Part 3 in advance
After your presentation, your partner can react and ask a question. So stick to statements you can explain. If you invent a statistic, a follow-up question can block you unnecessarily. Your own experience and clear reasons are more stable.
Listen actively during your partner’s talk, too. Note one keyword for feedback and one genuine question. The whole process is described in Speaking: format and set phrases.
A training format in three runs
- Without a time limit: build the map and speak through all the stations.
- With three minutes: adjust the length and record yourself.
- Without notes: rephrase the same topic anew, do not repeat it from memory.
When you evaluate, mark the stations, the concrete examples, the clear transitions and the long pauses left unrepaired. Then choose a single improvement and re-record only that section.
New topics for presentation and follow-up questions are available at Goethe B1 Sprechen. A good B1 presentation does not sound like a perfect talk from the internet. It sounds like a person showing their listeners a clear path through their own understandable thoughts.