I’ve been to a number of presentations on various subjects this year, mostly from vendors/suppliers trying to sell me their product. Some have been good, some bad.
Death by Powerpoint
Some of the best presentations I’ve seen were lively, interactive events – the speaker enthused about the subject and his/her audience actively participating. One other presentation that I recall was completely the opposite though – the typical “Death by Powerpoint“. You know the sort – presenter is monotonous in tone, presenting dozens and dozens of projected Powerpoint slides quoting statistics, the speaker seemingly more interested in telling you about how many awards the vendor has won rather than letting you know how their product can actually help you do business!
So it was with interest that I read about the phenomenon of “Pecha Kucha“.
Pecha Kucha
In a nutshell, Pecha Kucha is a method of giving a presentation in a concise snappy and fast moving manner. The “rules” state the presenter is allowed to present 20 slides, each being displayed for 20 seconds apiece. Total time for presentation = 6 minutes 40 seconds! No more, no less. All questions from the audience are to be taken at the end of a presentation.
I’ve yet to see an example of Pecha Kucha live, but the format sounds exciting! I’ve been to see a couple of Pecha Kucha nights now, and they’ve been a blast! It’s certainly been taken up globally – a quick Google search shows Pecha Kucha groups all over the world!
If you get a chance, I’d encourage you to attend a local Pecha Kucha night – you’ll enjoy it!
Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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Comments
2 thoughts on What is Pecha Kucha?
MICHAEL DE GROOT
1ST APRIL 2012 17:13:10
I love the concept of Pecha Kucha and I completely agree with death of PowerPoint. PowerPoint is actually a great piece of software but misused by many. I think it's a lack of training actually. We prefer what we call 'social presentations'. We play a 2-3 minute video, or maybe 2, covering the essence of the presentation and then we engage the audience in a discussion, allowing more time for discussion and questions. Pecha Kucha, sounds very similar, but is delivered live. Let's start a revolution to change presentations!
RICHARD TUBB
1ST APRIL 2012 17:31:52
Michael - since writing this blog I've been along to a couple of Pecha Kucha evenings in Birmingham and thoroughly enjoyed them. The concept is fast paced and provides some fascinating presentations on subjects I'd never have considered investigating otherwise.