Design Studio is the key for every architecture student. Students spend days and nights on their projects, trying to impress their teachers and external judges during the “crit” – a presentation during which the students introduce their projects and take questions from the judges. The traditional academic presentation skills training does not fit the needs of architecture students, and language support for Design Studio presentation is not provided in the curriculum. In order to fill the gap, the ELTU and The School of Architecture decided to collaborate on tailor-made workshops dedicated to architecture students.

The ELTU teacher was invited to observe the first and second “crit” to get a better understanding of the studio presentations. Self-assessment sheets were given to students on their performance. Subsequently, two workshops were conducted to target at improving students’ visual communication presentation skills.

The first workshop consisted of 1) a lecture which highlighted the areas of improvement based on the previous two crits and 2) one-on-one sessions with the students to facilitate more personally-tailored interactions and answer more specific questions.

The second workshop aimed at helping students with any other issues they had just before the final crit. Students received specific feedback from the teacher.

Delivery:
– Interacting with the panel
– Time management
– Overcoming nerves
Language:
– Fluency
– Keywords,
Organization:
– Sequencing information
– Coherence and cohesion
Questions:
– Responding more to the critics
– Better preparation to face questions