Another presentation? Consider a PechaKucha!
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EmailA PechaKucha is a concise presentation format designed to inform, entertain and promote conversation.
The word PechaKucha means chit-chat or chatter. A PechaKucha is a presentation style that originated in Japan (2003) and was designed by Astrid Klein and Mark Dythan as a way for architecture designers to share their work in a quick format. Since then, PechaKuchas have been used in a variety of settings to educate, inform and entertain.
Essentially a PechaKucha consists of 20 PowerPoint slides that are timed to run for 20 seconds per slide; each slide progresses automatically every 20 seconds. The total presentation lasts 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Each PowerPoint slide is generally a picture, with very little, if any text. The presenter talks through each slide – using the picture as a cue to identify what they are sharing with the audience.
There are a number of illustrations on the PechaKucha 20X20 website. For example, in less than 7 minutes Gary Chen takes his audience on a personal journey through 30 years of structural change within his Hong Kong apartment.
During a recent leadership workshop, my colleagues shared enlightening PechaKucha presentations about their planning, excursion and lessons learned while exploring Chicago. And, several members of Michigan State University Extension provided PechaKuchas that demonstrated how their programs interfaced with community resiliency.
Cities around the globe offer PechaKucha nights and people are encouraged to start their own PechaKucha forums. PechaKucha’s can provide astonishing insights, unexpected talent, original ideas, poignant stories and they are seldom boring!
