Communication, meetings and presentations
Choose communication that fits its audience and purpose, prepare useful meeting documents and plan and evaluate a presentation.
Section Component 2 · Coursework
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454, examinations 2026–2029. This lesson maps syllabus topics 10.1, 10.2. These are original study examples, not Cambridge questions, pre-release case studies, coursework submissions or official marks. Use Cambridge's current pre-release material only as directed by your centre; prepared notes are not permitted in the written examination. Component 2 is assessed by the centre and externally moderated. Learners must plan and produce their own assessed project and evidence under centre rules; this site does not write, mark or certify coursework.
Before you begin
- Distinguish a stated fact from an estimate or assumption.
- Use the case details in the question before making a judgement.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should an agenda help participants understand?
What you will learn
- Distinguish formal and informal communication
- Compare verbal and non-verbal communication for internal and external stakeholders
- Plan meetings and prepare notices, agendas and minutes
- Organise and evaluate a presentation
Fit communication to audience and purpose
Communication can be formal or informal depending on the audience and purpose. A report for investors and an email to a friend need different language. Verbal communication includes spoken interaction; non-verbal communication such as body language can affect face-to-face exchanges.
Choose a method suited to internal stakeholders such as managers, employees, owners and shareholders, or external stakeholders such as suppliers, customers, banks, the local community and government. Check that the intended audience can access and understand it.
Make meetings and presentations useful
Plan a meeting or presentation by setting a clear focus, deciding who needs to attend, sharing when to arrive and what to bring, keeping to time and giving everyone a chance to contribute. Formal meetings may use a notice, agenda and minutes; presentations may use visual aids and handouts.
A presentation should support the purpose rather than overload listeners. Evaluate success by checking the intended outcome, audience understanding, decisions made and follow-up actions. Candidates present as part of the enterprise project; online rehearsal does not assess a live performance or official coursework.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 subject page
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus for 2024–2025 · Version 2
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus update for 2024–2025
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus for 2026 · Version 2
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus update for 2026
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus for 2027 · Version 2
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus update for 2027
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus for 2028 · Version 1
- Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 0454 syllabus for 2029 · Version 1
Pause and explain
How can a team evaluate a presentation?
Worked example
A team must ask a bank for information about a small loan. Explain how its communication should differ from a message to its classmates and what it should prepare for a meeting.
Show the worked solution
- Use a clear, formal message with the purpose, relevant figures and specific questions for the bank.
- A class message can be more informal but should still make the task and deadline understandable.
- For a meeting, prepare a notice, agenda, budget figures and a record of decisions and actions.
Answer The audience and purpose determine register and detail. A bank meeting needs relevant evidence and a clear record; classmates need a concise, accessible task message.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Prepare a short agenda for a team deciding whether to expand a project after its pilot.
Give me a hint
Order the discussion from evidence to decision and action.
Compare my reasoning
- Review the objective, pilot results and customer feedback.
- Discuss costs, risks and alternatives before choosing whether to expand.
- Record the decision, responsible person, deadline and information still needed.
An agenda could cover the objective, sales and feedback evidence, costs and risks, options, decision and next actions. This order helps the team use evidence before choosing and makes follow-up responsibilities clear.
Look for these in your work
- Evidence comes before decision
- Alternatives included
- Actions and owners recorded
A presentation to a community group includes 20 dense slides and no time for questions. Suggest two improvements and an evaluation measure.
Give me a hint
Reduce load, make the main point clear and check audience understanding.
Compare my reasoning
- Choose the key decision or message and remove detail that does not support it.
- Use readable visual aids and leave time for questions or discussion.
- Check understanding through audience questions, a short response or whether the intended decision is made.
The presenter should simplify the slides around the decision and leave time for questions. It can evaluate success by asking participants to summarise the proposal or by checking whether the meeting reaches its intended decision, not by counting slides alone.
Look for these in your work
- Two relevant improvements
- Audience interaction included
- Outcome-based measure
A volunteer misses an important task because it was mentioned only in an informal conversation. Explain how communication could be improved without making every message formal.
Give me a hint
Use a method that creates a clear, accessible record for that task.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify which detail was missed, such as owner, deadline or location.
- Confirm it in a shared action list or concise follow-up message suited to the team.
- Ask the volunteer to confirm understanding and update the record if plans change.
The team can keep discussion informal but record important tasks with an owner, deadline and location in an accessible shared list. A short confirmation check helps catch misunderstandings without turning every conversation into a formal report.
Look for these in your work
- Missing information identified
- A suitable written method chosen
- Understanding and updates considered
Common mistakes
- Assuming formal means complicated
- Using visual aids that distract from the key message
- Holding a meeting without an agenda or action record
- Judging a presentation only by whether it finished on time
What can you explain now?
What is the main reason to vary communication style?
Compare with the explanation
Audience, purpose and situation differ
Every audience prefers the same level of formality
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
How do audience and purpose shape communication, meeting documents and presentation evaluation?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.