Speak your mind means to say openly and honestly what you think. It describes someone who doesn't hide their opinion, even if others may not like it. The idiom is neither rude nor very informal: it sounds natural both in conversation and in IELTS Speaking, and in an essay you can replace it with express their views openly.
When would you say speak your mind?
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speak + my/your/her + mind; speak your mind + about + noun; speak our/their + minds
- At the team meeting, Anna spoke her mind about the unrealistic deadlines.
- My grandfather always speaks his mind, even when nobody wants to hear it.
- Our tutor encourages us to speak our minds in seminar discussions.
What changed
First versionAt the meeting, I finally spoke one's mind about the new schedule.
RevisionAt the meeting, I finally spoke my mind about the new schedule.
Dictionaries list the idiom as speak one's mind, and learners often copy it as it is. But one's is only a placeholder for a possessive word, which must match the speaker: I spoke my mind, she spoke her mind. In the corrected sentence, one's was replaced with my.
Speak up can also be about giving your opinion, but more often it is a request to talk louder: Could you speak up, please? Speak your mind always means saying openly what you think, even if it is unpleasant to hear. The opposite is hold your tongue: to stop yourself and stay silent.
Your turn
Kate thought the plan was a mistake, so she ___ and told the whole team why it wouldn't work.
Show the answer
spoke her mind — Kate thinks the plan is a mistake and explains to the whole team why it won't work. So she spoke her mind. Held her tongue means “stayed silent”, which contradicts the second half of the sentence.
Think of a time when you said openly what you thought, even though it was awkward. Say where it happened and what exactly you disagreed with.
At a family dinner last year, I spoke my mind and told my uncle I didn't agree with his plan to sell the house.
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