TEF Canada Speaking Section B: how to persuade and handle objections

Section B is the longer, harder speaking task: for around ten minutes you must convince the examiner — playing a friend, colleague, or neighbour — to do something, and they will push back. The examiner's objections aren't hostility; they're the test. Every objection is an invitation to show concession, counter-argument, and persistence in natural French. Candidates who understand this dance score well; candidates who repeat their opening argument louder do not.

The persuasion framework

• •Open with the proposal and enthusiasm: « J'ai découvert quelque chose qui pourrait vraiment te plaire… »
• •Give two or three distinct benefits, personalised to the listener: health, money, time, social life, learning.
• •Anticipate one obvious drawback and defuse it before they raise it.
• •Invite the objection: « Qu'est-ce que tu en penses ? »
• •Handle each objection with concession + counter (see below), never flat denial.
• •Close by lowering the barrier: propose a small first step — « On pourrait juste essayer une fois, pour voir. »

The concession-counter pattern (your best weapon)

The highest-value structure in Section B is conceding the point before countering it. It shows sophisticated French and keeps the exchange warm:

• •« Certes, c'est un investissement, mais si on calcule le coût par mois, c'est raisonnable. »
• •« Je comprends que tu manques de temps ; cela dit, il suffit d'une heure par semaine. »
• •« Tu as raison sur ce point. Néanmoins, il existe une solution simple… »
• •« Même si cela paraît compliqué au début, on s'y habitue très vite. »

Common objections to rehearse

• •Too expensive → cost per use, comparisons, promotions, sharing costs.
• •No time → small time commitment, flexible schedule, replacing a less useful habit.
• •Not interested / not my thing → connect to something they already enjoy, social angle, trying once costs nothing.
• •Too difficult / too old / not fit enough → beginner options, progression, support and supervision.
• •Already have something similar → what's different, what's complementary, what they're missing.

The mistakes that cost points

• •Monologuing — Section B is an exchange, not a speech. React to what the examiner says.
• •Repeating the same argument with different volume instead of producing a new one.
• •Agreeing too quickly — if you accept the objection and give up, the task collapses. Persist politely to the end.
• •Zero connectors — d'abord, ensuite, par ailleurs, en revanche, donc are the skeleton the examiner listens for.

How to practise

Pick a topic, list three benefits and three likely objections in one minute, then record a full ten-minute attempt: proposal, benefits, invite pushback, answer imaginary objections aloud using concession-counters, close with a small step. Compare with the model objection-rebuttal pairs, then re-record. The framework transfers to every topic — after a dozen recordings, no objection on exam day will be one you haven't already handled in practice.