I guess one of the reasons why HKEAA didn't explain what exactly the 'full range of strategies' are in detail was because communication strategies are things that you learn from daily life. They may be implying that you do not learn how to communicate from the process of preparing for this English speaking exam, but rather all the way along your secondary school life, from your day-to-day chat with your friends or teachers or parents. If that is what hkeaa is thinking, then of course they won't explain what is communication strategies, because it's not exactly sth you should be learning from here and they don't have the responsibility to explain that to candidates in this report. (My guess only, might not be true!!!) In my definition, having good communication strategies means that you should be able to radiate an energy that attracts people around u to be willing to talk with you (e.g. show up as a friendly member in the discussion, actively listen and respond to others, and be open to ideas suggested that are different from yours). For the situation of candidates fighting for the chance to initiate the discussion, I guess it is alright and understandable for examiners to see students speaking at the same time in the beginning, but what's not okay is candidates not willing to cede and allow others to speak, and in a worse situation, trying to drive other voices out by increasing their own speaking volume. That is a very unpolite act to do in a discussion and it shows that the candidate does not understand how to cooperate and cannot see the bigger picture. Instead, if a student decides to let others speak in order to build a more friendly communication atmosphere, that shows to the examiner that they are taking care of the whole group and discussion even if that means sacrificing benefits u might get in initiating the discussion. Maybe that's what we call 大將之風 in Chinese. That might leave a pretty good impression on the examiner. Anyways it's just my own opinion, good luck and add oil to everybody taking DSE English Speaking exam:)
I doubt if DSE students understand what body language is, what it consists of, how to apply this to 'win' control the conversation ang gain advantages... HKEA sucks