I teach communications/speech and by far the best projects I've had were: -- Analyzing a favorite tv show, movie, book or video game for communication styles or concepts that we'd discussed in class. -- I've done this as a paper, and as a powerpoint. The powerpoint was better received since it didn't require formal writing, but it did require a polished presentation to the group. -- A how-to demo where they teach the group how to do something related to the profession- within a set time limit. They were allowed to cook and/or use the "magic of television" to accomplish this. -- I found that for most students the freedom to discuss a passion reduced anxiety, which helped them follow the presentation format and engage the audience much more naturally. --A group project where the team selects a topic within the culinary field, and they present the information, persuade the group, and finish with a call to action -- project was done in stages, and group had to assign roles equally while meeting deadlines. -- Created a commercial for a "new" product in the culinary field-- worked on persuasion, denotation/connotation, audience awareness and allowed the group to be creative, professional, and have fun. -- Have the group "create" catering companies, imagine customer types, advertising approaches and bid for particular jobs with well defined "customers". On the back end they must document how the process went and connect what they're doing to various communication concepts we've discussed during the term. (Particularly relationship building/working in teams/conflict resolution and problem solving) I've done this individually, in pairs, and as small groups. I've found the pairs version typically works best.