A comparative study of hiring managers’ expectations and undergraduates’ challenges in oral presentation competence

Purpose This study aims to explore and compare the extent to which undergraduates’ perceived challenges in oral presentations align with the expectations of hiring managers in workplace communication settings. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory approach was used, combining semi-structured interviews with 4 hiring managers across banking and corporate sectors and open-ended responses from 112 final-year undergraduates from a Malaysian public university. Thematic analysis was applied to examine how oral presentation competence is experienced by students and evaluated by hiring managers. Findings Thematic analysis revealed a clear mismatch: while hiring managers prioritised clarity, confident delivery and audience engagement, undergraduates were preoccupied with linguistic accuracy and error avoidance. Notably, language proficiency was only cited as a barrier by students, which suggests different conceptualisations of presentation competence. Originality/value This study offers a theory-informed, comparative analysis of oral presentation competence from the perspectives of undergraduates and hiring managers in Malaysia. It explains how differences in how presentation competence is understood, experienced and evaluated contribute to the persistence of this gap in oral presentation contexts.