Barriers To Effective Presentation Skills Among Architecture Undergraduates

Effective presentation skills are essential for architecture undergraduates as they are required to communicate design ideas, justify decisions, and engage in critical discussions throughout their academic and professional development. However, many students still face difficulties in articulating their ideas with confidence and effectiveness, especially in a critique-based architectural learning context. This study explores the barriers affecting presentation skills among architecture undergraduates at a Malaysian public university. The study was conducted using a qualitative case study approach with 20 undergraduate architecture students who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed three interconnected themes: psychological barriers, language and cognitive organization challenges, and delivery-related challenges. Participants reported feeling anxious due to fear of negative evaluation, difficulties with communicating design concepts in English, difficulty structuring ideas under pressure, and difficulties with engaging audiences during presentations. The results indicate that barriers to presentation are interrelated among the students of architecture, where emotional, communicative, and performance factors all play a part in influencing the ability to articulate design ideas effectively. This study emphasises the need to incorporate communication development into the architectural education along with technical design training. The results offer practical implications for teachers and curriculum designers in designing opportunities for presentation practice, feedback, and confidence building, which will help students to be more proficient in their communication skills and more competent in their professional lives.

Presentation Skills; Architecture Education; Communication Barriers; Public Speaking Anxiety; Qualitative Study

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