An examination of oral communication education in the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (U.K.) identified four critical concerns: (1) Today's college students are not getting adequate oral communication education; (2) Oral communication education is being relegated to a "module" in another discipline-specific course; (3) When an oral communication course is included in the general education curriculum, that course tends to be narrow rather than broad in scope; and (4) An increasing number of college faculty who teach oral communication courses do not have a graduate degree in the discipline. This article first examines the essential role of oral communication before identifying four critical concerns and offering suggested solutions for oral communication education in the U.S. and, to some extent, the U.K. These concerns may be indicative of similar issues affecting oral communication regionally, nationally and even internationally. If so, then the suggested solutions offered in this article may provide direction. If not, then being proactive rather than reactive may prevent some or all of these concerns from becoming reality. (Contains 4 footnotes.)