Verbal presentation in front of a group is an area in which many students have little experience (see The Keynote Project External Audit). Projects that allow students to practice this skill and give constructive specific feedback can help in overcoming the fear of presenting in front of a group (see Consultancy Project, and Practice Oral Presentations).

It is important to assess presentations according to strict criteria to maintain assessment standards across the various types (see Project Presentation Feedback, and Verbal Presentations). It can be useful for students and tutors to negotiate the assessment criteria and the mark weighting for e.g. content or presentation at the same time as the project brief is set.

The best examples of good practice involving verbal presentations cite projects that give clear and specific advice on giving successful presentations allow practice and give constructive feedback (see Investigative Case Studies).

There is some evidence of presentation 'burn out' (see Investigative Case Studies) whereby the quality of presentations declines as the students gain more experience. This also reflects an increasing confidence in that they perceive presentations as less daunting and so prepare less.

Verbal presentations can be very time consuming for staff, especially with large groups of students. This can be minimized by using teams of staff rather than one tutor who is responsible for assessing all presentations. If students are given clear guidelines they can peer assess and give feedback to practice presentations with no staff member present, this can also reduce the stress of the first presentation. Group presentations can also reduce the time it takes to assess large numbers of students but this may not allow every student an opportunity to present.

The development of written communication skills depends on more than simply correcting the use of grammar. It is important to develop the ability to reflect on the quality of work and its suitability for end use e.g. essay, project report or technical report (see Investigative Case Studies and Product Engineering).

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