I agree that WotC needs to spend more time talking about presentation. I was disappointed that Mearls didn't cover the topic more in his articles.
Just off the top of my head, questions about presentation that WotC hasn't really covered very well:
1. When/if/how to let the players know that they're in an SC. Some challenges should probably be "hidden" to prevent metagaming, other challenges should probably be disclosed.
2. How to let the players know what skills are available or unavailable.
3. Many WotC SC's allow one skill check to "unlock" another. How and when do you communicate that to the players.
4. Should the DM directly state if a check results in a success or failure?
WotC is using the skill challenge mechanic for a wide variety of different in-game acts. Convincing the Ogre chieftan not to eat you, searching for clues about the best way to destroy an evil artifact, escaping from the city guard in a rooftop chase, trekking overland in hostile terrain, all are handled as skill challenges.
The thing is, I'm pretty sure that a skill challenge for each of these different in-game acts needs a slightly different presentation, maybe even a different structure. Smerwin touches on this point below. I'd like to see more exploration of that issue, either from WotC or from the community at large.
Just off the top of my head, questions about presentation that WotC hasn't really covered very well:
1. When/if/how to let the players know that they're in an SC. Some challenges should probably be "hidden" to prevent metagaming, other challenges should probably be disclosed.
2. How to let the players know what skills are available or unavailable.
3. Many WotC SC's allow one skill check to "unlock" another. How and when do you communicate that to the players.
4. Should the DM directly state if a check results in a success or failure?
WotC is using the skill challenge mechanic for a wide variety of different in-game acts. Convincing the Ogre chieftan not to eat you, searching for clues about the best way to destroy an evil artifact, escaping from the city guard in a rooftop chase, trekking overland in hostile terrain, all are handled as skill challenges.
The thing is, I'm pretty sure that a skill challenge for each of these different in-game acts needs a slightly different presentation, maybe even a different structure. Smerwin touches on this point below. I'd like to see more exploration of that issue, either from WotC or from the community at large.