Pecha Kucha - What?

​by Kathie Niesen

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Pecha Kucha, what is it? It’s a presentation style that features 20 slides in 20 second increments that allows the speaker to paint a picture or tell a story. And the story is told in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The slides are auto advanced so the presenter has no choice but to stay on time and on target.
 
Some benefits of Pecha Kucha are:

• Ensuring the relevance of each and every slide
• Speakers cannot dwell on one area for the sake of the other areas
• PK requires speakers to edit their talk and slides which is crucial when you have faculty who use the same lecture several times
• Speakers have to pay attention to slide transitions so their words synch with their slide content
• The technique ensures that presentations have boundaries

 
One speaker new to Pecha Kucha mentioned the impact that the style had him reconsidering the importance of each and every slide in his talk, a talk that he normally would have put together without much thought previously.
 
Pecha Kucha speakers stress the importance of rehearsing their talk prior to the presentation. Those 20 minutes and 20 slides can fly by in an instant and while you may be on slide 19, your verbal content may still be on slide 9 which can be a disaster.
 
Pecha Kucha nights are popular in cities all over the world. A typical Pecha Kucha Night (PKN) includes 8 to 14 presentations. In each presentation 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each. PK is mainly being used in the design, architecture, photography, art and creative fields although more and more academics, scientific and medical organizations are incorporating it.
 
So try Pecha Kucha at your next event.

Kathie Niesen, CMP is the Owner of KMN Meetings and Events. She plans meetings of all sizes. Consulting services include instructional design, working with volunteers and faculty development. You can contact her at kathie@kmnmeetings.com

 
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