Versant Story Retelling (Part E): What to Do in 30 Seconds
A practical retelling framework for BPO candidates who want to stop losing marks on Part E.
Part E is one of the two parts where you do all the talking. You hear a short story — around 60 to 90 seconds — and then you have 30 seconds to retell it in your own words. The microphone opens and the clock starts. There is no pause button.
What Versant is actually scoring in Part E
The AI is listening for four things simultaneously:
- ✓Content coverage — did you mention the main character, what happened, and how it ended?
- ✓Structure — did the events come out in a logical order?
- ✓Fluency — are you speaking smoothly, without long pauses or repeated restarts?
- ✓Pronunciation — clear delivery matters throughout, not just on hard words.
The biggest mistake candidates make is trying to repeat the story word for word. This almost always backfires. You cannot accurately memorise a 90-second passage under pressure, and the attempt makes you hesitate, restart, and lose fluency. Paraphrasing in your own words consistently scores better.
The four-part framework
Use this structure every time:
Name or describe the main character in one phrase. “A man named David...” / “A woman working at a hotel...”
The main event or problem in one sentence. “...forgot his car keys at home.”
The action taken in response. “He searched everywhere before remembering he had been gardening the night before.”
The result or lesson in one sentence. “He found the keys in the garden and decided to be more careful in the future.”
That is a complete retelling. Four sentences, under 30 seconds, all four scoring criteria covered.
Example retelling
Story played
David was in a hurry to leave for work when he could not find his car keys. He searched his apartment thoroughly but could not locate them. He then remembered that he had been gardening the previous evening. He went outside and found the keys in the flowerbed. He made a note to himself to be more careful with his belongings in the future.
Strong retelling
"A man named David was late for work and could not find his keys. He searched his apartment but had no luck. Then he remembered he had been gardening, went outside, and found them in the flowerbed. He decided to be more careful with his things."
22 seconds. All four criteria covered. Natural, paraphrased, no hesitation.
Weak retelling
"David... he was going to work and... um... he could not find his keys and he was... he searched everywhere and then he... he remembered the garden and found the keys and... yeah."
Same content, much lower fluency score. The hesitations and restarts are what the AI catches.
Common question types
The stories in Part E tend to follow one of three patterns:
- ✓Problem and solution — someone loses something, misses something, or makes a mistake, then resolves it. Focus on the mistake and the fix.
- ✓Decision or change — someone decides to do something new, move, change jobs, or try something different. Focus on the reason and the outcome.
- ✓Lesson or discovery — someone learns something unexpected. Focus on what they expected, what actually happened, and what they took away.
Recognising the pattern early helps you know which details matter and which you can leave out.
Timing: use all 30 seconds
Finishing in 10 or 15 seconds does not show efficiency. It shows that you ran out of content. A short retelling almost always signals a fluency dip — either you forgot too much, or you stopped when you could have kept going.
Aim for 25 to 30 seconds. If you finish your four-part structure early, add one more detail from the story. Do not add invented details. If you genuinely cannot remember more, repeat the outcome in slightly different words rather than going silent.
Five things to practise this week
- Listen and retell. Play any short audio — a podcast clip, a news story, a YouTube video. Stop after 60–90 seconds. Retell what you heard in 30 seconds, out loud, using the framework above. Do this every day.
- Time yourself. Record your retellings on your phone and check the length. If you are consistently under 20 seconds, you are losing points. Practise expanding.
- Paraphrase, do not repeat. If you catch yourself using the exact words from the passage, stop and reword. This trains the skill the test is actually measuring.
- Use transition words. First, then, after that, finally. These do two jobs: they signal structure to the AI, and they give you a fraction of a second to gather the next thought without going silent.
- Practise Part E sets in the app. Each set gives you a real retelling task with a 30-second window. Review your recording on the review page after each attempt and listen for hesitations.
What score is Part E worth?
Part E contributes to your overall Versant score alongside Parts A, B, C, D and F. It is not scored separately in isolation. However, because it is one of only two parts requiring extended, structured speech, it carries more weight in revealing fluency and coherence than the shorter-answer parts do.
Candidates who prepare specifically for Part E consistently report feeling more confident across the whole test, because the skill it builds — speaking clearly under a time limit without a script — transfers to every part.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to retell the story in Versant Part E?
30 seconds. The window opens immediately after the story ends. Use all of it.
Do I need to repeat the story word for word?
No. Paraphrasing in your own words scores better. Word-for-word repetition usually causes hesitation and restarts, which hurts your fluency score.
What if I forget part of the story?
Keep speaking. Cover the parts you remember using the four-part framework: who, what happened, what they did, how it ended. Finishing early hurts your score more than an incomplete retelling delivered confidently.
How many stories are in Part E?
The current Versant Speaking & Listening Test includes two story retelling tasks in Part E.
Is Part E the hardest part of Versant?
It depends on the candidate. Part E and Part F are the two parts that require extended speaking, so they tend to reveal fluency gaps that shorter-answer parts do not. Preparation specifically for Part E makes a noticeable difference.
Ready to practise Part E in the real test format?
Start free practice and review your retelling recordings immediately.
Grant Prentice
Founder, Kōjō Communication Academy
Last updated: September 2026
Grant is a native English speaker from the UK with over 25 years of experience in business English training and Versant test preparation. He's helped thousands of professionals improve their communication skills and achieve their career goals.