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Pecha Kucha presentations explained

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Anete Ezera January 24, 2024

We’ve all experienced those lengthy presentations that are overflowing with details, yet they’re so cluttered that we hardly absorb any of the information. When it’s your turn to present, you’ll want a method that captures your audience’s attention and communicates your message clearly. This is where the Pecha Kucha technique comes into play. When you combine this with Prezi for your presentation design , you’re setting yourself up for a successful delivery.

What is a Pecha Kucha presentation? 

Many elements make a Pecha Kucha presentation different from conventional styles. Let’s look at what makes up a PechaKucha: 

• Basic concept: PechaKucha is a presentation style designed to be concise and fast-paced.
• Slide count: It uses exactly 20 slides.
• Timing: Each slide is displayed for 20 seconds.
• Total duration: This means your entire presentation will last 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
• Content approach: The idea is to make your points quickly and clearly. It’s more about the key ideas rather than lots of details.
• Purpose: The Pecha Kucha format helps to avoid long and complicated presentations. It keeps things simple and engaging.
• Common use: It’s popular in creative and professional settings. People often use it to share new ideas or projects.
• Audience engagement: With its quick pace, it tends to hold the audience’s attention better than traditional presentation styles.

In summary, a Pecha Kucha presentation is all about brevity and clarity. You get just enough time to make your point, but not so much that your audience loses interest. It’s a great way to present if you want to leave a lasting impression without overwhelming your listeners with too much information.

Where did this presentation style come from? 

The Pecha Kucha presentation style originated in Tokyo back in 2003, created by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. They noticed a common problem at meetups where speakers, often overenthusiastic or poorly prepared, would go on for too long, causing the audience to lose interest. So, they came up with PechaKucha as a solution. 

This style was created to keep presentations short and clear. It lets speakers share their ideas or work in a time-efficient and engaging way. The PechaKucha became popular quickly, as it became known for helping make presentations easier to understand.

The name ‘PechaKucha’ translates to ‘chit-chat’. A great reflection of the formats designed for simple, fast-paced presentations, where each speaker shares their ideas in a brief, conversational manner. 

Growth in popularity

Since its start in 2003, Pecha Kucha presentations have really taken off. By 2019, it had spread to more than 1,142 cities, and over 3 million people had attended PechaKucha events . This shows just how well-received and adaptable this presentation style is across the globe, resonating with a wide range of audiences.

Who might use a Pecha Kucha presentation? 

Pecha Kucha presentations are quite versatile, so they’re used by a wide range of people and industries. Let’s look at a few examples:

• Educators and students: In schools and universities, teachers and students use Pecha Kucha for classroom presentations. It’s great for keeping lectures engaging and helping students learn to express their ideas concisely.
• Designers and architects: This is where Pecha Kucha presentations started. Design professionals use it to showcase their projects or concepts in a format that’s quick and visually driven, perfect for highlighting design elements.
• Business professionals: In the corporate world, from startups to large companies, Pecha Kucha helps in pitching ideas or presenting updates without dragging on. It’s effective for keeping meetings efficient and focused.
• Marketing teams: Marketing professionals use it to brainstorm and present campaign ideas. The format forces them to boil down their concepts to the essentials, which is key in marketing.
• Tech industry: In tech, where things change rapidly, Pecha Kucha allows professionals to share updates or innovations in a fast-paced, digestible manner, which is crucial for keeping up with the industry’s pace.
• Creative artists: Artists, photographers, and writers use it to present their work or concepts in a narrative yet concise way, often to peers or potential clients.

Pecha Kucha presentations are popular in many fields because they emphasize being brief and clear. It pushes presenters to get straight to the point, which is vital in our fast-paced world. Also, its structured format brings in a creative aspect, making presentations more than just informative, but artistic too.

Pecha Kucha in the digital age

Today, where virtual settings are dominating in business and education, Pecha Kucha presentations stand out. This format’s concise nature is perfect for online meetings and webinars, where keeping the audience engaged is crucial. And with the Prezi Video functionality, you don’t need to settle for screen sharing – you can effectively showcase your slides right next to you on-screen, improving engagement.

It’s also a great tool in online education, helping to deliver compact lessons that are easy for students to digest. This blend of brevity and visual storytelling makes Pecha Kucha presentations an ideal choice for digital communication.

Tips for making the most of your virtual Pecha Kucha presentation

• Test your tech: Ensure your microphone, camera, and internet connection are stable, and your Prezi Video is connected.
• Engage your audience: Although uncommon in traditional Pecha Kucha presentations, in adapting Pecha Kucha for virtual settings, you can consider interactive elements like polls or Q&A to enhance engagement, especially in an environment where audience attention can be more fragmented.
• Practice timing: Rehearse to keep each slide to 20 seconds. Online environments demand precise timing to hold attention.
• Eye contact: Although virtual, try to look at the camera to create a sense of connection with your audience.

Challenges and tips for overcoming them in Pecha Kucha presentations

While Pecha Kucha presentations offer a unique and engaging way to convey information, they also come with their own set of challenges. Here are some common challenges that presenters may face and tips on how to overcome them:

Content selection

When it comes to picking what goes on each slide, it can be a bit tricky. The key here is to keep things focused. Stick to your main ideas and visuals that really back up what you’re saying. Avoid adding in extra stuff that doesn’t directly support your message.

Nervousness

Presenting in a fast-paced style like Pecha Kucha can make anyone feel a bit jittery. To tackle this , practice your presentation in front of friends or colleagues. Getting comfortable with your material and the timing can help ease those nerves.

Technical issues

Whether you’re presenting digitally or in person, tech problems can pop up unexpectedly. It’s a good idea to be ready for these hiccups by testing your equipment beforehand. Having a backup plan in case of any technical glitches will ensure your presentation stays smooth and professional.

Lack of detail

Pecha Kucha is all about brevity, but sometimes, you might worry about leaving out important details. To deal with this, consider offering extra resources or references for those who want to dive deeper into your topic after your presentation.

Slide design

Creating visually appealing slides that match your message can be a bit of a challenge. Don’t hesitate to use Prezi’s design tools to your advantage. And if you’re not sure about your presentation’s look, asking for feedback on its aesthetics can be really helpful.

By recognizing and getting ready for these challenges, you’ll be well-prepared to make sure your Pecha Kucha presentation delivers your message effectively.

Learn more about creating and delivering a Pecha Kucha presentation in the following video:

Prezi: the best platform to create your Pecha Kucha presentation 

Prezi is well-suited for Pecha Kucha presentations for many reasons. First, its non-linear presentation style allows for creative storytelling , which aligns with the concise and impactful nature of Pecha Kucha. The zooming feature of Prezi helps to maintain audience engagement , a key aspect of Pecha Kucha. Also, Prezi’s visual-centric approach is perfect for Pecha Kucha’s emphasis on visuals over text. And finally, Prezi’s ease of use and flexibility in arranging content helps presenters focus on timing, crucial for the 20 seconds per slide format of Pecha Kucha.

How to create a Pecha Kucha using Prezi

Creating a Pecha Kucha presentation using Prezi involves a few key steps:

• Start a new Prezi: Choose a blank presentation or a template or one that suits your topic.
• Plan your content: Since Pecha Kucha requires 20 slides, each for 20 seconds, outline your main points to fit this format.
• Choose a theme: Think about a theme such as colors and fonts that align with the message of your Pecha Kucha. You want to be consistent on every slide so be sure to use the same theme throughout the whole presentation.
• Add slides: Create 20 slides in Prezi. Focus on using images and minimal text for each slide. This will help you attain your goal of sharp, concise content, which is crucial for a Pecha Kucha presentation.
• Design your slides: Use Prezi’s tools to add visuals, keeping in mind the zoom and pan features that can make transitions more engaging.
• Time for your presentation: Practice your speech to ensure each slide is presented for 20 seconds.
• Rehearse: Run through your presentation multiple times to get the timing right.

Remember, Prezi’s strength is in creating visually appealing and non-linear presentations, which can add a dynamic element to your Pecha Kucha.

Presenting your Pecha Kucha

So, you’ve designed and created your Pecha Kucha, but what about presenting it successfully? Here’s some tips for presenting your Pecha Kucha in the most effective way: 

• Start strong: Open by saying something engaging to grab attention immediately. Your first slide sets the tone.
• Confidence: Always use strong body language to make yourself appear confident, even if you’re not. Good posture, clear gestures, and a loud voice can make you seem self-assured despite nerves. 
• Storytelling: Weave your information into a fast-paced story. Stories are easier for audiences to follow and remember.
• Visuals are key: Use strong, relevant images. Pecha Kucha is visually driven; let your pictures do the talking.
• Minimize text: Avoid clutter. Use key phrases or words only, as visuals should lead the narrative.
• Practice, practice, practice: Know your material well. This ensures smooth transitions and timing.
• Keep to the point: Focus on your main message. Each slide should contribute clearly to your overall point. During the speech, choose your words wisely to stick to the punchy, attention-grabbing method of Pecha Kucha. 
• Engage with your audience: Make eye contact. Engaging with your audience creates a connection.
• Use humor wisely: If appropriate, humor can make your presentation memorable. But keep it relevant.
• Time management: Again, it’s important to stick to the 20-second rule per slide to maintain pace and structure.
• End with impact: Conclude with a strong, memorable point or call to action. Leave your audience with something to think about.

It’s essential to understand that how you deliver your Pecha Kucha is as crucial as its design. A confident and clear presentation keeps the audience engaged and interested in your message. Preparation is key. Stick to your plan and avoid deviating or getting sidetracked, as this can disrupt the structure and purpose of your Pecha Kucha.

Final thoughts on Pecha Kucha presentations

Wrapping up, Pecha Kucha presentations are a great way to share ideas effectively, especially in the digital era. They are quick, focused, and keep audiences engaged. For creating these presentations, Prezi stands out as an ideal tool. Its features complement the Pecha Kucha style, helping your presentation make a stronger impact. If you’re planning your next presentation, give Prezi a try to bring your Pecha Kucha to life.

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Catherine Cronin

Pecha kucha: tips, resources & examples.

Some wonderful examples of Pecha Kucha presentations were a highlight of the recent Galway Symposium on Higher Education (#celt12) held at NUI Galway. If you’ve attended or delivered a Pecha Kucha presentation, you’ll know that it can be both a dynamic and challenging presentation format. Over the past two years I’ve had the opportunity to prepare and deliver four different Pecha Kucha presentations. Each time is a unique learning experience! This past year I did something I’d considered for quite a while: I assigned Pecha Kucha presentations to my students. In terms of presentation quality and the skills students developed, this was a great success. In this post I’ll share a few tips about Pecha Kucha presentations, some resources which my students and I found helpful, and a few examples of PK presentations.

I. Pecha Kucha presentation tips

A Pecha Kucha or 20×20 presentation contains 20 slides, with each slide shown for 20 seconds, for a presentation of exactly 6 minutes, 40 seconds. The format is similar to an Ignite talk, which is 20×15 (i.e. 20 slides, 15 seconds per slide, 5 minutes in length), so advice for preparing and delivering Ignite and Pecha Kucha presentations is similar.

The advantages of the Pecha Kucha format for a conference or a class are clear. Within a given time slot, more presentations can be scheduled and the schedule is predictable. In addition, the atmosphere in a Pecha Kucha session is usually very engaging. Once the “clock starts ticking”, the audience is on the side of the presenter, willing them to succeed. This is a wonderful atmosphere for both new and experienced presenters.

Tips for presenters:

• Images are the key to effective Pecha Kucha. Try to find images which are illustrations or metaphors of your key points and/or use words-as-image, as in the example above. This makes delivery of your presentation much easier, as you’re not trying to race through a list of points. It also makes your presentation more engaging. This is why Pecha Kucha is so successful, I think. It’s not the timing, as such, but the fact that it leads presenters to use best practice in creating presentations which are visually strong and appealing. Let’s banish the bullets! 🙂
• Practice, practice and practice again. I’m not a person who tends to memorize my presentations. For a Pecha Kucha presentation, however, memorizing your key points for each slide is usually the best approach. I suggest writing down the 2 key points you want to make for each slide and trying to stick to that. Then practice delivering your presentation until it flows easily. Practice really makes the difference.
• Hack the format! If you want to go into depth on one particular slide and 20 seconds just won’t be enough, repeat the slide and add text or graphics to develop your points. Your information will then be on-screen for 40 seconds, with small changes appearing midway through. This is a very graceful way to keep within the format but still go into depth.
• When delivering the presentation, don’t worry if you finish making your points on one slide before the next slide advances. Pausing will break your flow. Just start speaking about your next slide; it will likely appear midway through your first sentence. This makes for a more polished presentation rather than pausing for a few seconds to wait for the next slide to appear.
• In working with students, I found that it was important to spend plenty of time beforehand to help students to develop not just an understanding of good presentation skills, but also of copyright, Creative Commons, and how to find, use and assign CC-licensed images . Most students who completed Pecha Kucha presentations in my Professional Skills course assigned CC licenses to their presentations and uploaded their work to Slideshare, forming part of their e-portfolio and digital footprint (some examples below).

Tips for organisers:

• If possible, schedule Pecha Kucha presentations in a room that is not too large. I’ve attended Pecha Kucha sessions in small rooms and in large lecture halls, and I’ve found the atmosphere in rooms with a higher density of people is more connected and more fun. Participants tend to feel in touch with the presenter and the presenter can feed off the positive energy of the audience.
• If you are organising a Pecha Kucha conference session, make sure all presenters send you their presentations ahead of time so that you can be sure that the timings are set correctly to 20 seconds per slide. Another approach you might consider is creating one long presentation for each Pecha Kucha session, with a transition slide (or two) between each presentation. This makes for a seamless session.
• In one conference I attended ( #ece11 ) yet another element of excitement was added by putting the presentations in each session in random order. Presenters didn’t know where their presentation fell in the running order, so had to be prepared to pop up when their name appeared. This led to much hilarity and great audience engagement and support.
• When organising Pecha Kucha presentations for a class, I took on less of the organising work. I asked students to bring their own laptops or share laptops. Students learned a lot from loading presentations, connecting to the projector system, adjusting the room lighting, etc. And in one or two cases where students had not set the slide timings correctly, it served as a great learning moment for everyone.

II. Pecha Kucha resources

Pecha Kucha 20×20 —  This page gives the basics and a brief history of Pecha Kucha.

Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk  by Scott Berkun — This terrific presentation (in Ignite format) is relevant for both Pecha Kucha and Ignite presentations. Take Scott’s advice and “hack the format” if necessary. If it’s Pecha Kucha, just be sure your presentation is 6 minute and 40 seconds long.

Creating an Ignite presentation — This article was written by presentation expert Olivia Mitchell about creating an Ignite presentation, however the guidelines apply just as easily to Pecha Kucha. This is a terrific, visual article, very helpful for careful planning of your presentation.

Choosing good images for presentations — This blog post has excellent advice on finding relevant, potent images for your presentation.

Finding CC-licensed images — the following sites are helpful in finding Creative Commons-licensed images and learning how to reference them:

• Compfight – excellent search tool for Creative Commons-licensed Flickr images
• Creative Commons Wiki – a Creative Commons image directory
• CC Search — powerful search across a variety of platforms (e.g. Flickr, Google images, YouTube) to help you find content you can share, use, remix
• Flickr images – enter search term, click Advanced Search , then tick the box “ only search within Creative Commons-licensed content”
• Content Directories — extensive list of directories of Creative Commons-licensed materials (audio, video, image, text

40+ Tips for awesome PowerPoint presentations — This is a useful checklist for all presentations, not just PowerPoint.

Prezi workshop  — Prezi videos, examples and templates

Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte — Nancy Duarte is the author of the excellent books Resonate and Slideology – unbeatable sources of ideas and inspiration for all presenters. This 25-minute video is worth viewing if you want a deeper understanding of what makes a presentation which truly connects with an audience.

III. Pecha Kucha examples

The first two presentations below are examples of student Pecha Kucha presentations. Each of these was the first presentation ever created by the student — wonderful work, I’m sure you’ll agree! Also, please check out the CT231 Student Showcase  — a collection of student work including Ignite & Pecha Kucha presentations, blogs and audio podcasts.

The final two presentations are conference presentations. The first is by Mary Loftus , an excellent presentation from #celt12 on ‘ways of being’ in the online classroom. The second is one of my own Pecha Kucha presentations, delivered at #ece11, on learning and teaching Professional Skills.

Image source: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 edmontonnextgen

• ← Galway Symposium on Higher Education #celt12
• Volvo Ocean Race, NUI Galway and online learning →

27 thoughts on “Pecha Kucha: tips, resources & examples”

• Pingback: Pecha Kucha: tips, resources & examples « catherinecronin | Profesorbaker's Blog: A Bit of Everything

Catherine, this format has been talked about a lot recently in both the business and elearning sectors. I’m wondering if you have any ideas as to how the pecha kucha presentation format might be adapted by instructors to create brief, compelling educational ‘bites’ to use as part of an online education program.

• Pingback: Ignite your audience with lightning or Pecha Kucha form talks | Sociobiology

Hey there, You have done a great job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited from this site.

excellent put up, very informative. I’m wondering why the other experts of this sector do not notice this. You must continue your writing. I am confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!

This is an app for Pechakucha Speakers. You can see Timer, Slides & Text in your hand.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/20-note/id633039864?l=ja&ls=1&mt=8

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Reblogged this on MumPhD and commented: V helpful guidance

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I have a question about the total presentation time. Does it have to strictly follow 6.6 minutes? Because my professor deducted 5 points off my grade for “not following Pecha Kucha guidelines” because my total time was 5:43. I would appreciate any advise and I can use some references that shows Pecha Kucha CANNOT fall below 6.6 minutes. I need help because we will be doing more of this sort of assignment.

Hi Grace – thanks for your comment. The best way to time a Pecha Kucha presentation correctly is to set the timer for each slide in the presentation. You should have 20 slides (including the title slide) and each slide time should be set for 20 seconds exactly. This way, you do not manually advance the slides at all; the timing of the presentation will be 20 slides x 20 seconds = 400 seconds, i.e. 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Best of luck!

Reblogged this on anagabriela904 and commented: Let’s check it out.

Reblogged this on and commented: I have been assigned to a task to present at a Teachmeet Melbourne session. One of the criteria’s is to present in 7 minutes! Here is a concept known as Pecha Kucka which is a Japanese word for chit chat. The concept is to present 20 slides for 20 seconds.

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How to Craft a Highly Effective Pecha Kucha Presentation

With their concise format and dynamic style, Pecha Kucha presentations have become increasingly popular in various fields, from design and architecture to business and education. Originating from Japan, the Pecha Kucha format challenges presenters to deliver their message in a visually engaging manner. 

In this article, we’ll explore the key principles and strategies for creating a highly effective Pecha Kucha presentation that captivates audiences and leaves a lasting impression.

Understanding the Pecha Kucha Format

Pecha Kucha, which translates to “chit-chat” in Japanese, follows a simple yet structured format: twenty slides, each displayed for twenty seconds, resulting in a combined presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. This format forces presenters to distill their message to its essence, focusing on clarity, brevity, and visual impact.

The brevity of the Pecha Kucha format challenges presenters to communicate their ideas succinctly and effectively. With only 20 seconds per slide, there is no room for long-winded explanations or unnecessary details. This laser-focused approach keeps audiences engaged and ensures that the presentation delivers maximum impact in a short amount of time.

Moreover, the structured nature of the Pecha Kucha format encourages presenters to maintain a steady pace and rhythm throughout their presentations. With each slide automatically advancing after 20 seconds, presenters must maintain momentum and keep the presentation flowing smoothly.

Tips to Craft a Stunning Pecha Kucha Presentation

1. define your message.

The first step in crafting a Pecha Kucha presentation is clearly and concisely defining your message. Identify the critical points you want to convey and structure your presentation around them. 

Remember that each slide should communicate one idea or concept, supported by concise text and compelling visuals. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much information or overwhelming graphics, as simplicity is critical.

2. Commence with Storyboarding

Storyboarding is a vital step in the creation process. It helps you visualize the flow of your presentation and ensure coherence and continuity. 

Plan the sequence of your slides, providing a logical progression of ideas and flawless transitions between topics. Once you have finalized your storyboard, rehearse and practice your presentation multiple times to improve and refine your delivery, timing, and pacing. 

Practice speaking confidently and fluently within the 20-second time limit for each slide, aiming for a smooth and polished delivery on the presentation day.

3 . Create Engaging Visuals

Visuals are central in Pecha Kucha presentations, serving as the primary means of communication and engagement. Choose high-quality images, graphics, and videos that complement your message and enhance understanding. Keep text to a minimum, using keywords or short phrases to reinforce key points. Incorporate eye-catching visuals, color schemes, and design elements to capture the audience’s attention and convey your message effectively.

4. Think Outside the Box

One of the hallmarks of Pecha Kucha presentations is creativity, innovation, and outside-the-box thinking. Embrace the opportunity to experiment with unconventional formats, storytelling techniques, and presentation styles that showcase your personality and perspective. 

Consider incorporating interactive elements, live demonstrations, or props to add depth and interest to your presentation. Remember that Pecha Kucha is as much about creativity and expression as it is about information sharing, so do not be afraid to let your imagination run wild.

5. Engage the Audience

Audience engagement is key to a successful Pecha Kucha presentation. Encourage interaction and participation by asking thought-provoking questions, soliciting feedback, or inviting audience members to share their experiences or insights about your topic. Maintain eye contact , use expressive gestures, and speak enthusiastically to keep your viewers invested.

6. Maintain Consistency

Establishing consistency in design elements such as font, colors, and layout is crucial for a mesmerizing experience for your viewers. With the rapid pace of Pecha Kucha presentations, consistency helps ensure that your audience can quickly absorb and understand the information presented without being distracted.

However, it may seem tedious to ensure consistency if you craft slides from scratch. Thus, you can use pre-designed PowerPoint templates and make your presentation look visually consistent, engaging, and professional.

Benefits of Pecha Kucha Presentations

A). cuts through the noise.

In a world inundated with information, brevity is not just appreciated; it is essential. Pecha Kucha presentations cut through the noise, offering a streamlined format that delivers maximum impact in minimum time. By dividing complex concepts into bite-sized chunks, presenters ensure their message is clear, memorable, and easily digestible for audiences with limited attention spans.

b). Keeps the Audience Actively Involved

Pecha Kucha presentations are like a whirlwind tour of inspiration, keeping the audience alert with their fast-paced rhythm and dynamic visuals. With no time for distractions, audiences are drawn into the narrative, eagerly anticipating what is next and actively participating in the presentation journey.

c). Creates a Canvas for Creativity

In the world of Pecha Kucha, there are no boundaries, only possibilities waiting to be found. Presenters are encouraged to think outside the box, pushing through the limits of imagination. Whether through clever storytelling, innovative design, or unexpected twists, Pecha Kucha presentations are all about creativity, where ideas take flight and imagination knows no bounds.

d). Increases Time Efficiency

Time is precious, and Pecha Kucha presentations respect that. With a strict time limit of 6 minutes and 40 seconds, presenters must make every second count, delivering their message with precision and purpose. This efficiency makes Pecha Kucha presentations ideal for busy professionals, conference attendees, and anyone seeking knowledge in a condensed and digestible format.

e). Opportunity for Networking

Beyond the presentation, Pecha Kucha events are a hub of collaboration, bringing together diverse minds and perspectives from across industries and disciplines. Presenters can connect with like-minded individuals, forge new partnerships, and spark meaningful conversations that extend far beyond the confines of the presentation stage.

f). Skill Development

Presenting in the Pecha Kucha format is not just about sharing ideas but also about honing essential communication and presentation skills. From crafting a compelling narrative to delivering it with confidence and flair, presenters develop valuable skills that translate seamlessly to the workplace and beyond. Whether pitching a new project, delivering a keynote speech, or simply sharing ideas with colleagues, the skills acquired through Pecha Kucha presentations are invaluable assets in today’s fast-paced world.

Creating a highly effective Pecha Kucha presentation requires careful planning, creativity, and practice. By understanding the format and embracing creativity and innovation, presenters can deliver impactful presentations that inform, inspire, and entertain. Whether presenting at a conference, pitch competition, or team meeting, mastering the art of Pecha Kucha can enhance your skills and help you become a better presenter.

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How to Create a Highly Effective Pecha Kucha Presentation

Brevity is considered the soul of wit, but it can also be a powerful technique for effective communication. When you say more with less, you capture your audience’s attention and leave a lasting impression. This is precisely what Pecha Kucha is all about.

It’s a quick-fire format presentation where the speaker tells a story using photos within strict timing.

Whether you’re a seasoned presenter or just starting, Pecha Kucha has something to offer those who want to take their presentations to the next level. In this article, we’ll dive into its benefits as a presentation style and provide tips and strategies for creating effective Pecha Kucha presentations.

What Is Pecha Kucha Presentation?

The format of a Pecha Kucha, or 20×20 presentation, is simple: the presenter shows 20 slides containing an image, each displaying for exactly 20 seconds. The images will auto-forward, so there’s no way of going back to or skipping ahead of the slides. This means each presentation is exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds long.

This style is quite similar to lightning talk, where the speakers have five minutes to present a five-slide presentation, or the ignite talk, where presenters have 15 seconds to present each slide of a 20-slide presentation.

The challenge for presenters is to convey their idea with the combined use of images and concise, impactful statements within this tight time frame.

Pecha Kucha, which means “chit-chat” in Japanese, was created by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, who seek to encourage a fast-paced presentation style. Since then, it has become a worldwide phenomenon, used in settings ranging from academic conferences to business meetings and even informal gatherings.

The Benefits of Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha presentations are highly engaging. The timing of Pecha Kucha presentations adds an element of excitement. Each slide changes every 20 seconds, keeping the audience engaged, and this helps hold their attention and prevents them from becoming distracted or disengaged.

Pecha Kucha helps you focus on the main topic. The time limit helps presenters stay on track and avoid going off on tangents, which can be a problem in more traditional presentations. This can be a valuable skill in the corporate world, where time is often limited, and getting to the point quickly is crucial.

Pecha Kucha presentations are highly visual. Because Pecha Kucha presentations rely heavily on visual aids, they can effectively communicate complex or abstract ideas to an audience. This helps make presentations more memorable and impactful, as the brain processes visual information more quickly and effectively than written or spoken information.

Pecha Kucha promotes creative thinking and communication. The format challenges presenters to distill their ideas into a concise and visually engaging format. So instead of running around the bush and filling in their talk with non-essential information, they focus on the most important aspects of their message. 

Furthermore, the challenge of syncing the message with images stimulates creativity by inspiring connections and associations between ideas.

How to Make a Pecha Kucha

1. define your main message.

Defining your main message, a.k.a thesis, is crucial in preparing a presentation or communication. When you can pinpoint the core message you want to convey during a presentation, it becomes easier to identify which information to include and which to eliminate.

To narrow down your presentation’s key message or idea, ask yourself the following questions.

• What is the purpose of my presentation – to inform, to inspire, to convince?
• What do I want my audience to know?
• What do I want my audience to do after the presentation?

Your main message should be a direct answer to these questions and something your audience can easily grasp and remember.

Example: Let’s say you are giving a presentation on a new diet cereal bar product. A good thesis could be, “Diet cereal bars are a convenient and nutritious snack option that can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

From here, you can start outlining and structure your presentation. Let the main message lead the way.

So, in our example, you can cite studies showing the health benefits of eating a nutritious diet and present the nutritional value of cereal bars that can help achieve that goal.

2. Select the Best Visuals

You can identify the main message of your presentation and the points that go along with it. The second step would be turning them into visuals.

Many presentation guides will tell you how important visualizations are in a PowerPoint, but Pecha Kucha takes that even further. As mentioned, it emphasizes storytelling with the use of images.

You may still use text to provide context for visual elements, but use it sparingly and avoid paragraphs. Remember, you only have 20 seconds to present each slide, so your audience won’t have the time to read lengthy texts.

Instead, you should use high-quality images directly related to your message. This will help reinforce your message and ensure your visuals are not distracting or confusing.

It’s a hard rule to avoid cartoonish and clipart photos, especially in the business setting, as they make your slide look tacky. This might mean using more modern, minimalist images for a sleek, professional look or more vibrant, colorful images for a more playful and creative feel.

It’s also important to consider the overall aesthetic of your presentation template and choose images consistent with that theme. If you represent a brand, use slides with the look and feel you are known for.

Example: In our diet cereal bar example, you may choose images that showcase the bar’s ingredients, such as images of whole grains, nuts, and dried fruits. You could also use images of people engaging in healthy activities, such as jogging or hiking, to reinforce the idea that the cereal bar is a healthy snack option for people on the go.

3. Structure Your Presentation

Like other forms of presentation, a Pecha Kucha presentation should have a clear structure – no matter how short. You may need it more in this scenario to avoid losing any of your precious time going off on tangents.

Conversely, it will be easier for your audience to follow along and understand your message if you present it organized and coherently.

You can follow several presentation structures, but for something like Pecha Kucha, we recommend a more linear style. One that has an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The Pyramid Principle has all these elements and might work in a fast-paced presentation format. In this style, the main idea or conclusion is presented at the beginning, followed by a series of supporting points that are organized hierarchically. This approach can help your audience engage in critical thinking, as they are encouraged to consider how each piece of information relates to the larger message being presented.

Example: Let’s return to our diet cereal bar example to illustrate how the Pyramid Principle can be applied in a Pecha Kucha presentation.

Open your presentation by stating your main idea or message: “Our diet cereal bars are a convenient and nutritious snack option that can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Then, discuss the supporting points that further develop the main idea.

• You may discuss the natural ingredients and X calories it contains, making it a healthy snack option.
• You may talk about the range of delicious flavors that it comes with, establishing the idea that it’s a nutritious option that does not compromise on taste.
• You may talk about the convenient packaging that makes it perfect for busy people on the go.

4. Practice, practice, practice

Pecha Kucha’s presentation is all about timing and mastery, so you must conduct a  dry run to ensure that you’d feel comfortable with the flow of your presentation on the actual delivery.

Rehearse your presentation multiple times as if it’s the real thing. This means setting a strict timer for 20 seconds per slide to ensure that you are staying on track and not going over time. Google Slide and PowerPoint have an option that automatically advances slides within several seconds.

Although 20 seconds may feel very short, speak at a moderate pace to ensure you are not rushing through the presentation. But, also avoid lingering on any one slide for too long.

Tips and Tricks for an Effective Pecha Kucha Delivery

1. using engaging storytelling techniques.

Although we did say that you may state your main idea at the beginning of your presentation , you don’t just get to drop the bomb, or it will sound dry. Using an engaging story will help you do this with finesse.

People are naturally drawn to stories – they love journeys. Structure your presentation like a story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Sharing personal experiences or anecdotes can help to humanize your presentation and make it more relatable for your audience.

Example: You can share a personal anecdote about your struggles with maintaining a healthy diet. You could talk about how you struggled to find healthy snack options while working long hours at your desk job.

2. Connecting With Your Audience and Maintaining It

Sharing a story or a personal experience is one way to connect with your audience. Still, it isn’t just about getting their attention – keeping their attention on you is far more important.

It’s common advice for speakers to keep eye contact with the audience. We’d like to add something to this – look at your audience intently and respond to what you see. Knowing your audience’s nonverbal cues can help you connect with them and respond to their needs.

Speaking of nonverbal, you should be aware of your body language too. Use intentional hand gestures, but avoid excessive movements that may take the audience’s attention from you.

Finally, don’t forget to smile. Smiling helps convey a positive and approachable attitude and shows that you like your audience.

3. Handling Unexpected Challenges Or Technical Issues

With over six minutes to present your case, there should be no room for mistakes when making a Pecha Kucha presentation. The best advice is to have a backup plan for your backup plan.

No, we don’t mean carrying 2 laptops and 2 projectors around! But it’s best practice to have a USB drive with your presentation saved on it, just in case. You may also save your presentation on the cloud if you lose both copies on your device and external drive.

In the event of a complete technology failure, be ready to present without the slides. Remember, the slides are only a visual aid, and your delivery and message are the most important aspects of your presentation.

Pecha Kucha makes it possible to deliver a compelling presentation within minutes. Remember to keep your main message at the forefront when creating this type of presentation, choose high-quality visuals that reinforce your message, and practice your timing to ensure your presentation flows smoothly. With these tips, you can deliver a presentation that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

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What is a Pecha Kucha Presentation?

Imagine this: You're in a presentation, listening minute after minute to someone reading directly from a PowerPoint . Their voice is monotonous, and without realizing it, you start disconnecting from what they are saying within a few minutes. After half an hour, you're already bored, and after an hour, you can't wait for it to end.

Sounds familiar? We've all experienced the infamous "death by PowerPoint" at some point. The good news: there is a solution. If you want your presentations to tell a story and keep the audience engaged, there is a presentation style you should know about: Pecha Kucha. Today, we will tell you everything you need to know about it.

We’ll go over the following topics:

What is Pecha Kucha Presentation?

What are the origins of pechakucha presentations, how do you do a pecha kucha presentation let’s go step-by-step.

• What do experts say? Best practices for creating pecha kucha style presentation

Ready to create your own? Check out some Pecha Kucha Presentation Examples

Pechakucha frequently asked questions, what is the difference between a powerpoint presentation and a pecha kucha, what is a pecha kucha night, what are good topics for pecha kucha presentation.

Pecha Kucha, chit-chat in Japanese, is a unique presentation style . These presentations are known for telling stories through images rather than text and are typically brief. They use the 20x20 rule, where each presentation consists of 20 slides, and each slide is displayed for only 20 seconds, automatically progressing to the next one. This results in a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

This might be a novel format and one that challenges the speaker more than regular presentations, but it undoubtedly has its benefits. The main one is the huge improvement in the audience’s experience. Why?

• It keeps presentations concise and dynamic , making them feel fast, light, and engaging. 
• It minimizes distractions and maximizes engagement. 
• Since there is no text to read from,  presenters have to be more prepared and make the effort to craft a coherent story , resulting in a seamless narrative. 
• It helps speakers stay on-topic , preventing them from going off track and adding unnecessary details to their talks.

Pecha Kucha presentations help you develop valuable skills that are beneficial in many settings . One of them is definitely the corporate world, where time constraints are common and concise communication is essential. Another one is in educational settings like classrooms, where these type of presentations can improve student’s public speaking abilities. Research strongly supports these benefits:

“One of the greatest advantages of PK is that it is often very appealing, engaging, and enjoyable to the audience (...). According to A. M. Beyer (2011) , the creative use of PowerPoint software has the potential to result in high student engagement on the side of both the presenter and the audience.”

Pecha Kucha presentations were created in Tokyo in 2003 by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham . They introduced it as a platform for young designers to come together, showcase their work, and exchange ideas through brief presentations. The core principle behind Pecha Kucha was to "talk less, show more,"

Since then, its popularity has gone beyond the design field, becoming a worldwide phenomenon . These presentations are now used in many different settings ranging from academic conferences to business meetings and even informal gatherings. There is a whole community dedicated to Pecha Kucha, who get together and organize “Pecha Kucha Nights.”

Are you ready to create your own Pecha Kucha presentation? Let’s take a look at how to do them in PowerPoint.

In the Home Tab, go to Slides and click New Slides until you get the 20 slides you need. You can also click Ctrl + M.

Now, you need to remove any placeholders they have. To do this, go to the View Tab, and in Presentation Views , choose Slide Sorter . Select all of your slides. 

Then, go to the Home Tab, select Layout , and choose Blank .

The next step is to set the slides to advance automatically. To achieve this, go to the Transitions Tab. In timing, go to Advance Slides , deselect On Mouse Click , and check After . Now, set the timer for 20 seconds .

Finally, you can add a Transition effect. It’s best to choose a simple one, such as Fade , and select a short Duration for it (such as 00.50).

And that’s all! Now, you can begin inserting your images and practicing your presentation.

What do experts say? Best practices for creating Pecha Kucha style presentation

Understanding what Pecha Kucha is about is pretty straightforward, but actually doing this type of presentation can be much more difficult than people think. But we are here to help! We have come up with the best tips and tricks from our presentation experts . Let’s take a look at what they say:

1.Before you begin…take a step back!

All experts agree on one thing: take time to prepare your presentation . Before you even open PowerPoint, you should be able to answer:

• What story will you be talking about? Why?
• What is your goal? To inform? Inspire? Convince?
• What is the impression you want to give?
• What feeling do you want your audience to stay with?

After you have all your answers, it’s time to plan. Take out your pen and paper and start drafting what you want to say. In this first draft, just let your ideas flow without trying to filter or organize them, and include everything you would like to share. 

The next step is to organize all of your ideas. To do so, group them by sections and then define the content slide by slide. Consider the following structure:

• Introduction: This is the first impression you’ll give your audience. Think about how you’ll engage with them, get their attention and connect emotionally.
• Middle: In this section, remember to keep the flow of the story, so make sure each slide is connected with the one that comes before and after.
• Closing: Consider what you want your audience to stay with. It could be an emotion, idea, or desire to do something. This is one of the parts your audience will remember the most.

Remember that achieving your perfect structure and content is not easy and definitely not something you get on your first try. It might take many attempts before you get the version you’ll be presenting , but don’t worry! It’s all part of the process.

2. Select the best visuals

Once you have defined your content per slide, it’s time to choose the images you’ll show. This is a really important step because it is the only thing your audience will see. Since these images will be the primary focus for your audience, consider the following tips:

• Choose high-quality images: Choose the highest-quality visuals, especially if they will be displayed in fullscreen. Clear and captivating images can significantly enhance the overall impression of your presentation.
• Align images with your message: Reflect on the content of each slide and ask yourself: "What story am I telling, and what type of image complements that narrative?" Make sure that the chosen images really align and reinforce your intended message.
• Maintain coherence: Establish visual coherence throughout your presentation. If you have established a theme, only choose images that seamlessly integrate with that theme. 
• Establish emotional connections: Consider the emotional impact your chosen pictures may have on your audience. A well-selected image can evoke emotions, making your presentation more memorable and engaging.

3. Practice, practice, practice

One might think delivering a short presentation is much easier than giving an extended talk, but evidence suggests the opposite. Actually, being clear and concise is a challenge most people underestimate . It is not easy to synthesize information and stay on topic, not to mention being able to tell a story and connect in under 7 minutes!

This is why practice is so important, especially in this type of presentations, so make sure you follow these practice tips:

• Practice to adjust your presentation: The first few times you run through your whole presentation, time yourself and see if you need to make any adjustments to your content to get the exact 20 seconds per slide. You may need to leave some details out or adjust your information so the content in all your slides is balanced.
• Practice to perfect your presentation: Once your content is adjusted and ready, shift your focus to memorizing the presentation. Pay attention to the flow of your presentation, ensuring a seamless connection between points. Additionally, practice your oratory skills—intonation, vocal tone, strategic pauses, breath control, body language, and eye contact. Every detail matters.

Bonus tip: You can record yourself or practice in front of a mirror. This might be uncomfortable, but it will do wonders for your presentation skills.

Are you preparing a Pecha Kucha presentation? Then don't miss these examples!

Pecha Kucha Presentation Example #1: Let’s Promote Wellness in Patients  

In this example, Mark Holder talks about using positive psychology to promote health care. What makes this presentation stand out is its ability to capture the viewer's attention, maintain interest , and communicate effectively. Images are used as visual support, and the presentation flows interestingly and engagingly.

Pecha Kucha Presentation Example #2: Our Words Can Create Sustained Change

In this example, Manisha Willms reflects on what it means to be healthy. She does this by showing us drawings of 4-year-olds about what the word "healthy" means to them. 

As for the presentation, her use of images is different, as her slides are only focused on the children's drawings , which complement her talk instead of guiding it. Nevertheless, they achieve the purpose of connecting with the audience by generating emotions such as tenderness and laughter; and totally complement the message she gives.

Pecha Kucha Presentation Example #3: Let's Put More Joy into Our Lives and Work

This example is a more personal one. In this talk, Eyoälha Baker talks about her life experiences and challenging moments, and how these helped her connect with the importance of sharing joy through her work.

This presentation shows us a great example of connecting with an audience through vulnerability and transparency. Eyoälha is not afraid of being open, showing emotion, and telling personal stories, and the audience warmly receives and embraces them.

The main difference between traditional PowerPoint presentations and Pecha Kucha presentations is their style and format. While PowerPoint presentations allow for flexibility in terms of duration and how content is presented,  Pecha Kucha presentations adhere to a specific format.

Pecha Kucha presentations exclusively utilize images without any accompanying text. They follow the 20x20 rule, where each presentation consists of 20 slides , each shown for only 20 seconds before automatically progressing to the next one. This structured approach results in a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Inspired by the success of Pecha Kucha among designers, thousands of cities worldwide began hosting their own Pecha Kucha Nights. These events consist of people getting together to present their own Pecha Kucha . The topics of the presentations can vary widely, from holiday photos to political messages, as long as presenters adhere to the 20x20 format.

If you'd like to know more about Pecha Kucha Nights or see more examples, check out this page about Pecha Kucha Nights in Dundee to get an idea about the community and atmosphere of such events.

Good topics for a Pecha Kucha presentation are those that fit well with the short format and can be represented by exclusively using images . Some of the most common topics are:

• Personal projects or initiatives
• Travel adventures
• Reflections or ideas
• Personal stories

These subjects work effectively within the 20x20 format, allowing presenters to communicate meaningful insights without overwhelming the audience .

On the other hand, Pecha Kucha may not be the best choice for some presentations, such as presentations with a lot of data , details or ones with controversial topics. Because of the time limit, presentations that require a lot of detail, explanation or discussion with the audience are not the best idea for this format.

You might also like:

• How to Deliver the Perfect Online Presentation
• 7 Essential Storytelling Techniques for Your Business Presentation
• 7 Presentation Styles to Make Your Presentation Shine
• +20 Self Introduction PowerPoint Templates: Download for free!

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4 Tips To Craft A Winning Pecha Kucha Style Presentation

• By Judhajit Sen
• May 14, 2024

Pecha Kucha, also known as “PechaKucha,” is a presentation format that emphasizes speed and visuals. Originating from Japan, the term translates to “chit-chat” in Japanese, reflecting its conversational nature.

In this style, presenters tell stories using images rather than lengthy text. Each presentation consists of precisely 20 slides, each displayed for only 20 seconds. This strict timing means the entire presentation lasts just 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

The challenge lies in conveying ideas effectively within this brief timeframe, requiring speakers to be concise and impactful. The auto-advancing slides keep the pace swift, leaving no room for going back or lingering.

Pecha Kucha isn’t just for formal settings; it’s a popular choice for various occasions, from business meetings to informal gatherings. It’s a tool for sharpening public speaking skills and fostering connectivity among participants.

Whether in academic conferences, business plan presentations , or creative disciplines, Pecha Kucha offers a unique way to share stories and ideas with energy and purpose.

Key Takeaways

• Start Strong: Select a topic that excites you and clearly defines your main message to engage your audience from the beginning.   
• Preparation is Crucial: Plan your narrative before creating slides, ensuring a cohesive and impactful presentation.   
• Structure like a Story: Craft your presentation with a clear beginning, middle, and end, using storytelling techniques to maintain audience interest.   
• Prioritize Quality Visuals: Choose high-quality images that align with your message and evoke relevant emotions, enhancing audience engagement and retention.

Origins of Pecha Kucha Style Presentations

Pecha Kucha presentations originated in Tokyo in 2003 when architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham pioneered the format. Initially conceived as a platform for young designers to showcase their work and exchange ideas, Pecha Kucha embraced the principle of “talk less, show more.”

Pecha Kucha swiftly gained traction from its humble beginnings, expanding beyond design to become a global phenomenon. It found applications in various settings, from academic conferences to business meetings and informal gatherings. The emergence of dedicated communities organizing “Pecha Kucha Nights” further propelled its popularity.

The success of Pecha Kucha also spurred innovation, giving rise to related types of presentation styles such as Ignite in 2006. Despite variations, the essence of Pecha Kucha—concise, visual storytelling —remains at the heart of its enduring appeal, fostering creativity, collaboration, and exchange of ideas across cultures and disciplines.

How Pecha Kucha Works

Pecha Kucha operates on a specific format, blending words and images, which is   designed to keep presentations engaging and concise. Here’s how it works – 

1. The Topic: Presenters tackle a predetermined topic, often related to their work or interests. They must convey their ideas using precisely twenty slides.

2. The Images: Each Pecha Kucha slide features a central image, usually with minimal text. While captions are allowed, they must be brief to ensure the audience can grasp them within the allotted time. Some events permit video art as well.

3. The Rules: Pecha Kucha is governed by strict regulations akin to haiku poetry. Speakers have six minutes and forty seconds to complete their presentation. They can speak for only twenty seconds per slide without pausing, revisiting previous slides, or skipping ahead.

This approach diverges from traditional presentations that risk “Death by PowerPoint,” where presenters merely read text-heavy slides, leading to boredom among the audience. Pecha Kucha challenges presenters to captivate their audience by telling stories with visuals rather than descriptions.

The term “Pecha Kucha,” meaning “chit-chat” in Japanese, encapsulates its essence—a fast-paced presentation style emphasizing images over text. Originating from the brainchild of architects Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein, Pecha Kucha  has become a global phenomenon since its inception in 2003, with over 1,000 cities hosting Pecha Kucha nights annually.

Studies have shown that Pecha Kucha is effective in engaging students and enhancing learning outcomes. Students exhibit higher levels of enjoyment and engagement with Pecha Kucha presentations, leading to improved critical thinking skills and better retention of material.

Benefits of Pecha Kucha Presentations

Pecha Kucha presentations offer a host of benefits, making them a valuable tool for engaging audiences and enhancing communication skills – 

1. Engagement: The timed format of Pecha Kucha presentations keeps audiences captivated, with slides changing every 20 seconds. This dynamic rhythm prevents distractions and maintains audience focus throughout the presentation.

2. Focus: The strict time limit encourages presenters to stay on topic. This skill is invaluable in environments where time is precious, such as the corporate world, fostering concise and efficient communication.

3. Visual Impact: Pecha Kucha presentations convey complex ideas in a memorable way by relying heavily on visuals. Visual presentation aids stimulate the brain and enhance audience comprehension, ensuring key messages resonate long after you end a presentation .

4. Promotion of Creativity: The challenge of distilling ideas into a concise and visually compelling format encourages creative thinking. Presenters must craft a seamless narrative, fostering connections between ideas and engaging the audience through innovative storytelling techniques.

5. Improved Audience Experience: Pecha Kucha presentations offer audiences a more dynamic and engaging experience. They are concise, prevent boredom, and require presenters to deliver a coherent story, resulting in a seamless narrative. This format minimizes distractions and maximizes engagement, making it enjoyable for presenters and audience members.

6. Skill Development: Pecha Kucha presentations help develop valuable skills applicable in various settings. From the corporate world to educational environments, communicating concisely and engaging audiences effectively is highly sought after. Research supports the benefits of Pecha Kucha in enhancing public speaking abilities and fostering audience engagement .

Pecha Kucha presentations offer a refreshing approach to communication, promoting engagement, creativity, and skill development across diverse contexts.

Tips to Craft a Winning Pecha Kucha Presentation

Crafting a Pecha Kucha presentation that wows your audience requires a mix of skill and strategy. Here’s a rundown of tips from presentation experts to help you nail your next presentation.

Start with a Strong Foundation

Creating a memorable Pecha Kucha presentation begins with choosing the right topic and defining your main message. Here’s how to lay the groundwork for success – 

1. Choose an Engaging Topic: Select a topic that aligns with your passions, talents, or interests. Your presentation should be on a subject that excites you and is likely to captivate your audience. Whether it’s something quirky like a magazine collection or a fun place to visit, your topic should reflect your enthusiasm and personality.

2. Define Your Main Message: Clarify the core message you want to convey to your audience. Ask yourself key questions such as the purpose of your presentation, what you want your audience to know, and what action you want them to take afterward. Your main message should be clear, concise, and easily understandable, guiding the direction of your presentation.

3. Take Time to Prepare: Prioritize preparation by thoroughly planning your presentation before creating slides. Consider the story you want to tell, the impression you want to leave, and the emotions you want to evoke in your audience. Draft your ideas freely, allowing them to flow without filtering, and refine them into a cohesive narrative.

Set yourself up for success with a solid start and create a Pecha Kucha presentation that resonates with your audience.

Structure Your Presentation

Creating a captivating Pecha Kucha presentation requires careful structuring to keep your audience engaged. Here’s how to craft a compelling narrative – 

1. Start with an Outline: Outline your presentation using a basic essay structure. Start with a clear thesis statement, support it with evidence in the body of your presentation, and summarize your main points in the concluding slides. This presentation outline will provide a roadmap and ensure your message is cohesive and well-organized.

2. Use Engaging Storytelling: Structure your presentation with a clear beginning, middle, and end, just like a story. Incorporate personal experiences or anecdotes to humanize your presentation and make it relatable for your audience. People are drawn to stories, so leveraging storytelling techniques can help you capture and maintain their attention.

3. Establish a Clear Structure: Ensure your presentation follows a clear and coherent structure. Organize your ideas into sections and define the content of each slide. Aim for a linear style with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Consider using frameworks like the Pyramid Principle, which presents the main idea upfront and supports it with hierarchical supporting points. This approach encourages critical thinking and helps your audience understand the larger message.

4. Refine Your Content: Take the time to refine your presentation structure and content. Group your ideas into cohesive sections, ensuring each slide flows logically from the one before. Pay special attention to your introduction, middle, and closing sections, as critical elements will leave a lasting impression on your audience. Remember that crafting the perfect structure and content may take several attempts, so don’t be discouraged by the iterative process.  With practice, you can create a   persuasive presentation that your audience can relate to.

Select Images To Maximize Visual Impact

Choosing the right images for your Pecha Kucha presentation is crucial for engaging your audience and enhancing your message. Here’s how to make the most of your visuals – 

1. Prioritize Quality: Opt for high-quality images that are clear, captivating, and visually appealing. High-resolution visuals, especially when displayed full screen, can significantly elevate the overall impression of your presentation and grab your audience’s attention.

2. Align with Your Message: Ensure that your chosen images align with your presentation’s narrative. Reflect on each slide’s content and select visuals that reinforce your intended message. Establish visual coherence by choosing images that seamlessly integrate with your theme and support your story.

3. Evoke Emotions: Consider your images’ emotional impact on your audience. Choose visuals that resonate with your viewers and evoke emotions relevant to your message. Well-selected photos can make your presentation  more engaging, leaving a lasting impression on your audience.

4. Avoid Distractions: Avoid cartoonish or clipart photos that may detract from your presentation’s professionalism. Instead, opt for modern, minimalist images for a sleek, professional look or vibrant, colorful visuals for a more playful and creative feel. Ensure that your images complement the overall aesthetic of your presentation template and align with your brand’s identity, if applicable.

5. Use Available Resources: Use stock images and Pecha Kucha templates from various online sources. These resources can inspire and streamline the image selection process, helping you create a visually stunning presentation that captivates your audience from beginning to end.

Master Your Presentation With Practice

Practice makes perfect, especially when delivering a flawless Pecha Kucha presentation. Here’s how to hone your skills and ensure a polished delivery – 

1. Rehearse for Natural Delivery: Practice your presentation’s content and timing to convey your enthusiasm and expertise on the topic. Rehearse multiple times to familiarize yourself with the flow of your presentation and ensure a natural delivery. Avoid reading from a script, as it may signal unfamiliarity or disinterest in your topic.

2. Timing is Key: Pecha Kucha presentations are about timing and precision. Conduct your presentation’s dry runs to ensure you feel comfortable with the flow and pacing. Set a strict timer for 20 seconds per slide to stay on track and avoid exceeding the time limit. Utilize features in presentation software like Google Slides or PowerPoint to automatically advance slides at set intervals.

3. Speak Clearly and Moderately: While 20 seconds per slide may seem short, speak at a moderate pace to ensure clarity and comprehension. Avoid rushing through your presentation, but also refrain from lingering on any one slide for too long. Find a balance that allows you to cover each point effectively within the allotted time.

4. Practice Techniques for Clarity and Conciseness: Short presentations require clear and concise communication, which can be challenging. Practice adjusting your content to fit the 20-second-per-slide format, making necessary adjustments to ensure balance and coherence across all slides. Focus on perfecting your delivery, including intonation, vocal tone, pauses, breath control, body language , and eye contact .

5. Utilize Recording and Mirror Practice: Record yourself delivering the presentation or practice in front of a mirror to evaluate your performance. This may initially feel uncomfortable, but it’s an effective way to identify areas for improvement and refine your presentation skills. With consistent practice and feedback, you’ll enhance your ability to captivate and engage your audience during the actual delivery.

Crafting a Winning Pecha Kucha: Key Tips Unveiled!

Pecha Kucha presentations are all about speed, visuals, and concise storytelling. Originating from Japan, this format challenges presenters to convey ideas effectively within a strict timeframe of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each. But fear not! Here’s a rundown of key takeaways to help you craft a winning Pecha Kucha presentation.

Starting strong is key. Choose a topic that excites you and clearly defines your main message. Preparation is crucial, so plan your narrative before creating slides. Structure your presentation with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Prioritize quality visuals that align with your message and evoke emotions relevant to your audience.

Practice, practice, practice! Rehearse for a natural delivery, focusing on timing and clarity. Use recording and mirror practice to refine your skills and perfect your delivery. With these tips in your toolkit, you’re ready to wow your audience and nail your next Pecha Kucha presentation!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Pecha Kucha?

Pecha Kucha is a presentation style from Japan that focuses on speedy, visual storytelling. Presenters use precisely 20 slides, each displayed for 20 seconds, making the entire presentation last only 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

2. How does Pecha Kucha differ from traditional presentations?

Unlike traditional presentations with lengthy text, Pecha Kucha emphasizes concise storytelling with captivating visuals. Speakers have strict time limits, promoting engagement and preventing boredom among the audience.

3. Where can Pecha Kucha presentations be used?

Pecha Kucha isn’t limited to formal settings; it’s popular in various contexts, including academic conferences, business meetings, and informal gatherings. It enhances public speaking skills and fosters connectivity among participants.

4. What are the benefits of Pecha Kucha presentations?

Pecha Kucha presentations offer several benefits, including higher audience engagement, improved focus, enhanced visual impact, promotion of creativity, and skill development. They provide a dynamic and enjoyable experience for both presenters and audience members and foster effective communication across diverse settings.

Create Captivating Pecha Kucha Presentations with Prezentium

Crafting a Pecha Kucha presentation that captivates your audience is a breeze with Prezentium by your side. Our AI-powered business presentation service specializes in delivering stunning presentations tailored to your needs.

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Mastering pecha kucha presentation - A definitive guide

Master the essence of this unique style, craft impactful Pecha Kucha presentations.

Supriya Sarkar

Building presentations

Are you ready to dive into the world of Pecha Kucha presentations and ignite your audience's interest with a dynamic and concise presentation style?

Pecha kucha, often referred to as PK, is a presentation format that originated in Tokyo and has taken the global stage by storm. It's closely related to the Ignite presentation method and has gained popularity for its fast-paced, creative approach to sharing ideas and inspiration.

What is Pecha Kucha?

Pecha Kucha is a presentation style that follows a strict structure: 20 slides for 20 seconds each, resulting in a total presentation time of exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The format was created by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham in 2003 and has since spread to cities around the world. In fact, many cities host Pecha Kucha nights where presenters showcase their ideas and stories using this unique and engaging format.

The 20×20 presentation method

The heart of a Pecha Kucha presentation lies in its 20×20 format. Each slide is displayed for 20 seconds, and there are precisely 20 slides in the entire presentation. This constraint forces presenters to be concise, focused, and to the point. It's a refreshing departure from lengthy PowerPoint presentations that can sometimes leave audiences feeling overwhelmed.

Why did Pecha Kucha presentation gain popularity in the business world?

Pecha Kucha was designed to engage the audience during a presentation. The presenter has to deliver the lesson or presentation in the form of a story instead of making it feel like a lecture. Pecha Kucha gained popularity in the business world because of its unique style and efficiency with which time-sensitive information gets delivered.

Also, the Pecha Kucha presentation is versatile since it is used for various industries or topics. A presenter can render a valuable piece of information quickly without eliminating the essence of the information.

How can Pecha Kucha benefit your business presentation?

Pecha Kucha style of presentation is being used around the globe by various industries. It has shown many advantages in the business world that make it unique and useful. Some of the advantages are:

• Time efficiency: With 20 slides displayed in just 6 minutes and 40 seconds, this concise format saves time. It aids in quick and efficient communication, enabling swifter decision-making by employees and management.
• Engagement: The rapid format keeps audiences captivated and focused. This high level of engagement ensures the core message remains impactful without losing its essence.
• Clarity in communication: Pecha Kucha focuses on clear and concise messaging and promotes straightforward communication, enhancing understanding and retention of information.
• Visual storytelling: This format emphasizes strong visual impact and integrates storytelling powerfully with visuals. Connecting verbal content with impactful visuals makes information more memorable and enhances retention among the audience.

Overall, Pecha Kucha’s time efficiency, engagement, clarity, and strong visual impact make it an effective tool for business presentations across various industries.

What key factors to keep in mind when preparing a Pecha Kucha presentation?

Pecha Kutcha’s uniqueness is in the definite number of slides and time in which you present. Therefore, you need to ask yourself three important questions:

What details do you want to tell in 6 minutes and 40 seconds?

Identify the critical and essential details or key points you plan to communicate within the allotted duration of a Pecha Kucha presentation. This response would include outlining the core messages or primary information intended for delivery within the concise time frame.

How can the information be sequenced to weave a cohesive storyline?

You can sequence the information in a Pecha Kucha presentation to craft a cohesive storyline, enabling a logical and engaging flow. This involves arranging the details, key points, or visuals in a structured sequence that naturally progresses, ensuring a coherent and engaging narrative throughout the concise duration of the presentation.

Which parts are unnecessary and can be removed to streamline the presentation?

Scrutinize the presentation content to identify sections or details that may be deemed redundant, excessive, or less crucial. These parts can be modified, condensed, or eliminated to streamline the overall presentation, ensuring a more focused and impactful delivery within the limited timeframe of a Pecha Kucha session.

After you know the answers to these questions you will be clear on the content you want to present. Keep the following things in mind before delivering your Pecha Kucha presentation:

• Precision: Maintain concise and straightforward content to optimize time usage. Ensure that despite time constraints, the core message remains intact.
• Practice makes perfect: Rehearse your presentation multiple times to identify any shortcomings or areas for improvement in your delivery.
• Storytelling mastery: Hone your storytelling abilities. Crafting a well-structured narrative is an art, and a compelling story is memorable. Focus on shaping your presentation to construct a captivating storyline within the allotted time.

How to deliver a Pecha Kucha presentation perfectly?

Your efforts can go to waste if your presentation isn't delivered effectively. So here are a few tips to help you enhance your presentation skills.

• Visual cues: As you prepare your slides, jot down the key points you intend to convey. You should employ visual cues whenever possible, as it becomes easy to retain information if you associate content with images or graphics. You should review your slides to ensure they align with your intended narrative flow. Adjust the presentation's trajectory as needed, enabling these visual cues to guide your focus.
• Avoid scripts: Refrain from relying on scripts or cue cards during your presentation. Depending on such aids might create a disconnect between you and the audience. Instead, familiarize yourself with the overarching story you wish to convey. It's acceptable if your words don't precisely match your planned script. If you miss specific details on a slide, resist the urge to force that information into another slide. Embrace the flow and embrace the storytelling process as it unfolds naturally.
• Repetition is key: Keep in mind the saying, "Practice makes perfect." Rehearse your slides multiple times to achieve mastery. Practice with a friend or family member who can offer constructive feedback similar to that of an audience. Pay close attention during these practice sessions to your timing and the narrative flow of your storyline. This dedicated practice will significantly enhance your presentation readiness.

Creating an effective Pecha Kucha presentation using Prezent

Now, you might be wondering how Prezent, fits into this Pecha Kucha equation. Well, Prezent offers a set of tools and features that can greatly enhance your Pecha Kucha experience.

Using Prezent for your Pecha Kucha presentation offers several significant advantages. First and foremost, Prezent provides a vast library of brand-approved designs that can elevate the visual appeal of your presentation. You can choose from a wide range of professionally designed templates, ensuring that your slides look polished and engaging. Additionally, Prezent facilitates real-time sharing and collaboration, making it easy to work with team members and co-presenters during your Pecha Kucha night. This feature ensures a seamless and synchronized presentation flow, enhancing the overall quality of your delivery.

Managing your Pecha Kucha slides is a breeze with Prezent's document management capabilities. You can easily organize and access all your presentation assets in one place, streamlining your preparation process. For those moments when time is of the essence, Prezent offers an overnight presentation service. You can submit your content, and by the next business day, you'll receive a professionally designed presentation, ready to impress your audience.

Personalization is key in Pecha Kucha, and Prezent allows you to tailor your presentation to your audience's preferences and your brand's identity. With customization options at your fingertips, you can make each slide uniquely yours. Lastly, Prezent ensures 100% compliance with your brand's guidelines, guaranteeing that your Pecha Kucha presentation is on-brand and visually consistent. This feature ensures that your presentation not only captivates but also aligns perfectly with your brand's image.

Ready to create your Pecha Kucha presentation? Try our free trial or book a demo today with Prezent!

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Tips For Giving Your First PechaKucha Presentation

The average human attention span is eight seconds. That’s shorter than the average attention span of a goldfish, and probably less time than it would take to introduce yourself on stage. In a survey, 4 out of 5 professionals claimed that they shift their focus away from the presenter during any given presentation they’re watching. If you’re going to lose your audience before you even really begin, what’s the point? In an effort to be more successful, presenters are constantly testing new formats to package their message in a way that both resonates with their audience, and keeps them engaged from slide to slide.

Basically, we’re all trying to solve the infamous “death by PowerPoint”? The solution: Beautiful.ai meets PechaKucha.

PechaKucha is a presentation format that has been adopted by many. From PechaKucha nights with friends, to new curriculum standards at universities, PechaKucha has changed the way people present. But what is it, exactly?

What is PechaKucha?

Not to be confused with Pikachu (any Pokémon fans out there?), PechaKucha— which is Japanese for chit-chat— is a particular presentation style. In 2003, architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Tokyo’s Klein Dytham architecture invented PechaKucha in an effort to bring “More show. Less tell,” to life in presentations. Essentially, the duo wanted to streamline the process and delivery of long design presentations to make them more digestible to audiences. The format follows a simple 20x20 rule in which each presentation is 20 slides, and each slide is shown for only 20 seconds each. Think of it as a speed presentation, where the presenter has to make their point— beginning to end— in 7 minutes total. 

The PechaKucha format is used among friends for PechaKucha nights (similar to the TikTok-famous PowerPoint nights ), in business, and at schools. It’s an elevator pitch for your topic. The short-form presentations keep distractions to a minimum, and engagement at a maximum. Specifically, teachers have found the format to be extremely useful when trying to engage students and encourage critical thinking in the classroom. “This presentation style was designed to help people tell a story instead of lecturing to others,” Jim Ave, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Kinesiology at Fresno Pacific University said in an interview . “This keeps students engaged. It’s another tool to use in class to foster learning.”

Tips for giving your first PechaKucha presentation

Now that you have a little bit of background on the ever-popular PechaKucha, here's how to nail your first 20x20 presentation .

Be passionate about your topic

Because of the nature of a PechaKucha presentation, presenters have to be quick on their toes. Providing commentary for each slide in under 20 seconds is no small feat, and in order to do it well presenters need to be knowledgeable in the topic. It’s considerably easier to make your point quicker when you’re passionate about the topic. If you’re planning a PechaKucha presentation, choose something that genuinely interests you and that you can speak on with little-to-no effort. 

Know your story

As with any presentation, you should know your story before you even think about designing a slide. But this is especially true when you’re trying to scramble to hit your point in under 20 seconds. With a firm stance on your positioning, it will be easier to structure your story and touch on all key points. If you’re going through each slide like you’re telling a story to your best friend, it will be more seamless and you’ll be a lot less likely to slip up on your words or get stuck mid-slide. 

Let your slides do the talking

When you’re on a time-crunch, your slides have to pull more weight. Let them say what you can’t in 20 seconds. Images are your friend here. Nobody wants to attempt to read (and comprehend) a big block of text in 20 seconds before it’s gone, so lean into visual storytelling. In fact, most PechaKucha presentations don’t include any text at all and simply use images for each slide. Your image should be relevant to the point you are trying to make, and have an obvious connection to your topic. Beautiful.ai’s free image library boasts an impressive collection of hundreds of thousands of quality photos and icons. Regardless of your PechaKucha topic, there is truly something for everyone. 

Keep your takeaways to a minimum

Obviously with such limited time, you have to be intentional about your key takeaways. At its core, PechaKucha forces you to say more with less. Keep your main points to a minimum so you can easily zip through each slide in the allotted 20 seconds. You should be able to make your point easily and quickly, and then be ready to move on to the next one. In order to do so without giving your audience whiplash, make sure you structure your presentation in a way that flows and makes sense. Your story should be easy to follow, even if it’s fast. 

Timing is everything

A PechaKucha presentation is all about timing— obviously, that’s the whole basis of the format. To make sure you’re prepared to run (literally, run, don’t walk) through your presentation in less than 7 minutes, you’ll need to practice. And then practice again. We recommend going through your presentation a minimum of three times to ensure you can stay on track with the 20-second per slide limit. 

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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Pecha Kucha Presentations: The Ultimate Guide to Engaging Presentations

Dive into the world of Pecha Kucha and discover how this unique presentation format can transform your storytelling and audience engagement. Find out how this innovative presentation format can help you convey ideas more effectively and keep your audience hooked from start to finish.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

• Nostrum non voluptas alias sit ut corporis perspiciatis nihil molestiae. Vitae quidem aut aut quia quia porro explicabo. Similique occaecati sit quo. Enim enim dolor ut. Et error alias nam fuga voluptas inventore placeat et. Eligendi similique officia provident magni aut quasi soluta qui.
• Deleniti totam eius similique repellendus. 
• Deleniti totam eius similique repellendus. Doloremque sunt nihil et. Tenetur delectus velit ut. Pariatur velit ipsa.

3 Static and dynamic content editing

4 static and dynamic content editing.

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

5 Static and dynamic content editing

6 static and dynamic content editing.

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any pa ge and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

"Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system."

How attentive is your audience? Some of you may say that it depends on a variety of factors, but we have a surprise for you – most of the viewers are less attentive than a goldfish. You've read it right. According to recent studies, the average human attention span is around 8 seconds . What's more important is that it is dropping as we stride into the brighter future.

Pecha Kucha presentation is your chance to make the most of the time to deliver the main message and leave a lasting impression. Why is that? The concept of Pecha Kucha relies on dynamic and engaging presentation. It is a perfect case of where less is more.

Pecha Kucha is a Japanese presentation style and literally translates as "chit-chat." The main task of the presenter is to dilute a complex concept into small, digestible bits that capture the audience. Today, we'll discuss the main pillars the format relies on, present effective tips, and outline the shady areas to stand away from. If you want to master the art of concise communication – you have come to the right place!

The Essence of Pecha Kucha Presentations

Many professional presentation design services and reliable corporations use Pecha Kucha presentations because of the perks it has over traditional presentation styles. First things first, the style has a well-defined time frame and layout – 20 slides, 20 seconds per each. All in all, you have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to introduce and explain your ideas so that they leave a lasting impact.

While it may seem like an impossible mission to fill the whole presentation in such a short period, we want to stress that Pecha Kucha relies on the visual aspect of the presentation. It takes a well-chosen and compelling image to complete or support the primary narrative. Here comes the second critical component of this presentation format – a resonating story.

Advantages of Pecha Kucha style presentation

Pecha Kucha format comes with multiple perks and benefits. They are the following:

• No room for digressions. All the points are delivered with clarity, conciseness, and impact.
• Creative thinking and innovative means of presenting complex concepts and ideas.
• A fresh alternative to longer presentations .
• Limited chance of deviation while presenting for the speaker.

History and Evolution of Pecha Kucha

The first Pecha Kucha presentation example ever was delivered in Tokyo at the art space – SuperDelux. The two devout architects – Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham – wanted to share the work of their colleagues creatively and concisely. They gave each presenter a chance to share their thoughts and ideas through dynamic presentations. The strict time frame was used to ensure that even the most complicated ideas weren't lost on the audience.

Since the first Pecha Kucha Night turned out to be a success, the founders decided to repeat them on a regular basis. As the word about the innovative presentation style spread, other communities around the world started to test the format. Starting off as a one-time thing, originating from a creative hub, the Pecha Kucha style has taken over countless industries. All because of the conciseness and creative take on traditional communication and delivery of innovative concepts and solutions.

How to Create a Compelling Pecha Kucha Presentation

Effective examples of Pecha Kucha presentations usually rely on three main pillars:

Let's discuss these primary aspects of the presentation in detail, shall we?

Content Suggestions

One of the main elements of a successful slide deck presentation is relevant content. Whitepage experts have rounded up the most effective planning tips that will help you deliver the primary message.

• Point out the main idea you want to focus on. Outline the most critical details that you want to share to keep the message concise but informative.
• Build a compelling narrative that intensifies emotional connection with the audience. You can use personal stories, anecdotes, and witty metaphors to keep the viewers interested and engaged.
• The visual component of a Pecha Kucha slideshow is critical for a lasting impression. So, you should ensure relevant and high-quality visualization, whether you use images, videos, or graphics.
• Minimize the use of text on your slides. It takes a lot longer for the audience to process loads of text, and you are limited in time.

Pecha Kucha is surely a short presentation, but it does not mean that you don't have to practice the delivery to make sure that everything goes as planned, and here's why:

• You are on the clock. Relevant rehearsals will help you define if you can make it within the given period. You must present all the planned information so that there are no holes in your story.
• You get more confident . Practice helps you to work on your presentation body language so that you can intensify the lasting effect without saying a word. The more confident you get, the smoother the actual presentation will be.
• You will eliminate weak spots. Presenting without the pressure of the actual audience will help you define problem zones that can be fixed. You may spot some weak wording or unnecessary details that take up time without bearing any significant role.

Engagement 

Pecha Kucha's presentation format implies audience interaction. Surely, you can't spend much time on engagement, but there are a few practical tricks you can use:

• Make eye contact with the audience to build an individual bond with the viewers.
• Work on positive body language that instills confidence and enthusiasm.
• Spice your presentation with good humor to lighten up the mood. Timely jokes will surely break the ice and make your delivery memorable.
• Don't hide your passion. Enthusiasm can be contagious. Once the audience starts to feel your energy, they will follow your lead and pay attention to everything that you are willing to share.

Examples of Successful Pecha Kucha Presentations

Real-life Pecha Kucha presentation examples always contain the inspiration that theory lacks. We've gathered a couple of successful Pecha Kucha presentations you may find interesting while working on your project.

Let's Put More Joy into Our Lives and Work - Eyoälha Baker's Health Care Pecha Kucha

In this Pecha Kucha presentation, Eyoälha Baker , a dedicated artist, shares her thoughts about the future of health care. She delivers a self-based presentation that tells her story, which is filled with ups and downs. The personal narrative, open and friendly body language, and pace of the presentation make it resonate with every member of the audience. Eyoälha Baker crafts a captivating narrative with a clear and concise introduction, a middle part, and a grand finale. The artist bases her presentation on an intense feeling – a feeling of vulnerability – and shares her emotions openly, which warms up the audience and leaves a desired and genuine impact.

Let's Promote Wellness in Patients – Mark Holder's Health Care Pecha Kucha

Dr. Mark Holder is a famous teacher and researcher who has dedicated his life to the science of happiness. His Pecha Kucha presentation differs from the one we've discussed above. Instead of relying solely on personal experiences, the professor captures the audience's attention through corresponding visuals that resonate with his speech. Dr. Holder maintains a steady flow of the presentation that allows the viewers to submerge into the narrative. Although the topic of the presentation is quite serious, the speaker uses timely jokes supported by real-life stories and matching images to lighten up the mood without deviating from the subject.

Tips for Mastering the Pecha Kucha Format

The best Pecha Kucha presentations are an expert mixture of dedication, creativity, practice, and skill. Surely, it is an easy task for a professional pitch deck design company , but if you are new to the field, you may require some practical advice on how to master this presentation style.

• Start with a story. A compelling story based on the central message of your presentation will engage the audience and keep them alert, let alone thirsty for more.
• Aim for balance . Your speech should be in perfect harmony with the visual aid. Moreover, the visuals you use should correlate with one another, complement one another, and be stylized accordingly.
• Find your pace . You have 20 seconds for a slide, but that does not mean that you should be in a rush. All you have to do is define a piece of information to deliver during the given period without speeding or dragging. You can use pauses to stress important points.
• Practice, practice, practice . Make as many rehearsals as needed. Ask your friends and colleagues to provide feedback on your presentation. Use a timer to make sure you stay within a 20-second range while delivering. Add revisions to your presentation before you present the final copy.
• ‍ Always be prepared . Sometimes, things don't go as smoothly as you've expected, no matter the amount of practice. Technical issues arise and whatnot. You have to be ready to adapt and improvise. Work on your focus and confidence, not to mention the material for the presentation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Pecha Kucha Presentations

Just as it helps to know how to make a presentation outline , it is useful to be familiar with the common pitfalls to avoid. There are a few mistakes you may want to steer clear of when working on your Pecha Kucha presentation. They are the following:

• Clutter . Whether the first, middle, or presentation final slide you are working on, none should be overcrowded. Minimize the textual component of the slide and bet on the visual impact.
• Timing . You have 20 seconds at your disposal – no more, no less. Don't ignore the rule, or you will disrupt the whole pace of the presentation, which will negatively affect viewer perception.
• Practice . No matter how well you know the material, you should rehearse the presentation to ensure that everything runs smoothly, including but not limited to timing, pace, and transition.
• Interaction . Even if you know how to speak eloquently , you must establish a strong connection with the audience. A smile here, a joke there, direct eye contact, and relaxed body language will keep the viewers alert and attentive.

Pecha Kucha for Business and Education

We've mentioned that initially, Pecha Kucha slides were only for the creative circles. However, these days, the format is widely used throughout the business and education field, and for a good reason.Pecha Kucha's ideas have found their place in the business environment primarily because of their conciseness and effective time management. You can use the presentation style to deliver various updates and progress and even share new ideas. The format allows it to cut a complex concept into tiny, digestible pieces, which makes it easier to absorb and provoke a desired reaction.As for the educational sphere, Pecha Kucha projects suit lecture formats perfectly. You can introduce new, complicated topics to the students without overwhelming them with the complexity of the subject. Besides, students can use the style to deliver their projects as well. The tight time frame teaches students how to use their time effectively and how to figure out the main points and deliver them.

What is a Pecha Kucha presentation? It is a dynamic mini-presentation that offers a chance to deliver an important message concisely and with an impact. Whether you plan on pitching an innovative solution to investors, sharing critical updates on your business project, or want to introduce a new subject to your students – Pecha Kucha is the format to refer to.We've shared handy tips, provided inspiring examples, and outlined critical mistakes to avoid when working on a Pecha Kucha presentation, but the style is trickier than it seems. If you want to save time and effort, it is always a good idea to entrust the task into the hands of trained professionals. The Whitepage team is only a call away!Care to learn how to make handouts for a presentation , choose the best font size for presentations , and master the art of an accessible presentation ? Check out our Blog section!

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Pecha Kucha Presentations: Spice Up PowerPoint Slideshows with Stock Photos

A memorable pecha kucha presentation requires nothing more than photos. here’s the what, why, and how of the pecha kucha method..

How many times have you sat through a business presentation only to have the speaker read bullet point after bullet point, slide after slide? Probably way too many times to count. Text-heavy PowerPoint presentations can all start to blend together. What’s a presenter to do when they want to ensure their slides stand out?

Next time you’re presenting, try Pecha Kucha instead.

By prioritizing brevity and visual storytelling, Pecha Kucha is a 180-degree departure from traditional presentations—instantly making any topic more memorable, effective, and engaging.

Here’s what you need to know to become a Pecha Kucha presentation pro.

What Is a Pecha Kucha?

Originating from the Japanese phrase for “chit chat,” the Pecha Kucha method revolves around a single principle: Speak less and show more. 

To do that, Pecha Kucha presentations follow a strict format: 

• No text—only photos!
• 20 seconds per slide

No matter how complex your topic might be, you’ve got exactly six minutes and 40 seconds to get your point across. By working within these specific limitations, presenters are challenged to be  extremely  intentional about every aspect of the presentation—proving that less really is more.

3 Quick Tips for Effective Pecha Kucha Imagery

If you had to answer the question, “What is Pecha Kucha about?”, the answer is simple: imagery, imagery, imagery. Follow these three best practices to make sure your imagery makes an impression.

1. Choose High-Quality Stock Photos

When the sole focus of your slides is imagery , those images had better look great! It’s not only important to look for quality in the  authenticity of your stock photography , but also quality in resolution.

Make sure your images are high resolution and won’t look blurry or pixelated even when displayed on a large screen. This is especially important if you’re giving your presentation onstage.

2. Don’t Be Too Literal

One of the biggest mistakes Pecha Kucha presenters make is being too literal with their imagery. Extremely on-the-nose photos (think: a marketer looking frustrated at a computer when talking about marketing challenges) often come across as cheesy or low effort.

Instead of choosing exact representations, go with images that are more evocative, emotional, conceptual, or metaphorical. 

An image about marketing challenges, for instance, might be better served with a person walking forward with determination on a long road. Select images based more on  color , mood, undertone, or vibe, as much as literal content.

3. Keep It Simple

With only 20 seconds on the clock for each slide, simple imagery works best. You want people to “get it” right away instead of struggling to analyze what’s on the screen while also trying to hear what you’re saying. 

Keep images clear and recognizable, so they’ll serve as a natural, non-distracting backdrop for your speech.

Pecha Kucha Example: Slides & Speaker Notes

Pecha Kucha presentations are most common in creative fields like design, architecture, and photography—but their innovative visual approach is also perfect for business!

To see what we mean, check out the fully built-out Pecha Kucha example below, speaker notes and all.

In this  beautiful PowerPoint presentation , we’re announcing a hypothetical product launch of Organic Home Cleaner, using stock imagery  to tell the story, communicate objectives, and gain buy-in.

Slide 1 Speaker Notes 

License these images via ImageFlow and Sarunyu_foto .

Thanks for joining us! Today, I am thrilled to announce the launch of Organic Home Cleaner, an eco-friendly cleaning product that actually works.

Slide 2 Speaker Notes

A few months ago, I was walking in the cleaning aisle with my seven-year-old. She picked up a blue bottle of spray cleaner (you know the one) and tried reading the ingredients.

Let’s just say it didn’t go well. . . . If I’m being honest, I didn’t fare all too much better.

Slide 3 Speaker Notes

And we’re not alone. As recent sales reports have shown, our customers’ preferences have significantly changed in recent years. Folks who were once happy to use anything and everything are now much more judicious in what they buy.

They’re looking at labels, and asking questions.

Slide 4 Speaker Notes

Our customers not only want cleaning products that kill the germs and smell nice—they want to know every single ingredient in that product (and trust that they can pronounce them).

They want products that are 100% safe for their kids and pets . . . without compromising on effectiveness.

Slide 5 Speaker Notes

As we know, this has been a huge challenge for our industry. I myself have often wondered, “What on earth is perchloroethyl. Huh?”

Effective cleaning ingredients can seem caustic and overly chemicalized, while more natural ingredients (let’s face it) often fail to do the job beyond adding the nice, natural scent of lemons or lavender.

Slide 6 Speaker Notes 

Organic Home Cleaner fills a critical market gap and speaks to the growing number of consumers who care about safety and environmental impact, just as much as a clean and tidy home.

What good is a fresh scent and clean appearance if it’s just making harmful germs and bacteria? 

Slide 7 Speaker Notes

Unlike the competition, Organic Home Cleaner comes with independent lab testing for every ingredient, along with peer-reviewed scientific studies. This product line is based on radical transparency and evidence-based R&D.

It may cost more and take a bit more effort to execute, but this is something I wouldn’t compromise on—for my family or yours. 

Slide 8 Speaker Notes

At the same time, though, it smells great (hint hint: lemongrass) and feels familiar. If you walked through the lab like I did, you’d never be able to tell which product was “different.”

They all felt like something I already have under my kitchen sink. Minus the harsh chemicals. 

Slide 9 Speaker Notes

The brand feel is both natural and scientific—leaning on beautiful plant/nature imagery while also feeling lightly technological. It’s natural for folks who wouldn’t call themselves “granola.”

Slide 10 Speaker Notes

Organic Home Cleaner is really an extension of our customers’ deepest values. It was born out of a question we’ve all asked at some time or another in our lives: Aren’t some things—like family—worth investing in?

Slide 11 Speaker Notes 

Our customers are savvy to typical “marketing speak” and won’t let the wool be pulled over their eyes. They’re tired of greenwashing and (without knowing it) are looking for something exactly like Organic Home Cleaner’s brand-new cleaning product.

Slide 12 Speaker Notes 

License these images via nazarovsergey , Cast Of Thousands , and 5PH .

So, how will we get it out there? Our marketing roadmap includes three key components: a national paid media campaign, a social media influencer program, and partnerships/direct sales with key local grocers.

Slide 13 Speaker Notes

Paid media budget will be allocated to podcast ads, YouTube ads, and PPC. We’ll create cohesiveness by using one (or similar) stock photos , and editing them directly from there.

This will help create recognizability for Organic Home Cleaner’s product, reaching our customers during the best moments of their days—catching up on favorite shows or driving to meet friends after work.

Slide 14 Speaker Notes

I would also see Organic Home Cleaner as I’m scrolling through my daily feeds, from Instagram to TikTok (#CleanTok). I’d see my favorite influencers breaking it down, ingredient by ingredient—earning my trust as a consumer, who always spends time researching before buying.

Slide 15 Speaker Notes

While social media will be a critical component of our go-to-market strategy, retail partnerships are likely to drive the most sales.

That’s why we’ve carefully selected independently owned local grocers—the kind of shops that sustain my community. The ones that love seeing my kids grow up year after year.

The ones where family comes first.

Slide 16 Speaker Notes

In line with our target market and USP, pricing for Organic Home Cleaner is notably higher than our competitors, which reflects the rigor of our safety testing.

As an Organic Home Cleaner parent, I firmly believe that quality should cost more—and my kids are worth it.

Slide 17 Speaker Notes

Post-launch, we will host a series of focus groups to measure market response and customer satisfaction. We expect to use these results as social proof for future marketing campaigns. (And, as my browsing history attests, there’s nothing like a great review to make me hit that “buy” button.)

Slide 18 Speaker Notes

Of course, no launch is completely hitch-free, so we’ve drafted mitigation plans for the top-two threats: disruptions in manufacturing (due to supply chain issues) and delays in online order fulfillment.

Slide 19 Speaker Notes

With these strategies in place, Organic Home Cleaner is poised to capture significant market share among increasingly conscientious, eco-focused consumers. 

Slide 20 Speaker Notes

License these images via LukeProject , naulicrea , and AKaiser .

It’s been tested, patented, and validated by hundreds of focus group participants. Join me in getting it out into the world—starting with our own homes.

As you exit the room, you’ll see a freshly stocked table with Organic Home Cleaner, please take one home and share it with your family. 

Breathe Life into Your Presentations with Pecha Kucha

Your turn! From product launches to creative pitches and process reviews, Pecha Kucha is the fresh approach your marketing and business presentations need. 

Looking for a quick and easy place to begin? Get started with Shutterstock’s library of 600 million images. With more than 200,000 new stock photos added daily, you’ll never be at a loss for great imagery!

License these cover images via Westend61 on Offset , fotaro100 , Westend61 on Offset , images72 , and Eloisa Ramos / Westend61 on Offset .

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Guide to Making a Pecha Kucha Presentation: Overview

History of pecha kucha.

Pecha Kucha , the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (“chit chat”) began in Tokyo, back in 2003. Conceived by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham , their original goal was to create a space where designers could share their ideas/passions with others.

However, knowing how dangerous it is to give a designer a microphone… they decided to put some checks in place. In order to prevent speakers from droning on and on, the Pecha Kucha format has restrictions: namely, 20 slides, on display for 20 seconds each. Because of this constraint every single Pecha Kucha presentation, regardless of speaker or topic, is exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds in length.

Since its inception, the Pecha Kucha format has spread to multiple cities around the world. As of June, 2009, more than 200 cities hold their own Pecha Kucha events, where people across multiple disciplines and fields of study share the things that interest and invigorate them. Visit pecha-kucha.org for more info, and to find an event near where you are.

About This Guide

My name is Felix Jung, and I gave my first talk at Pecha Kucha Chicago, Volume 9 . I thoroughly enjoyed the event and had a fantastic time preparing for my talk. On looking back, I wanted to write up a summary of my process, and to share any tips or hints to others who are planning (or considering) participating in their first Pecha Kucha event.

A few caveats: I’m no professional speaker, nor do I profess to have any kind of secret insider knowledge. I’m a guy who gave a talk, and maybe my notes will be of help. The suggestions I make here are just that – suggestions. Take them or leave them, as what worked for me might not necessarily work for you.

Like design or poetry or cooking, there’s no one way to do this right (and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something).

When I was first doing my prep, I spent time looking around on YouTube for examples of Pecha Kucha talks . I wanted to see what others had done, and wanted some basis for comparison.

To that end, I’m posting up my slides and videos of my talk in the hopes that they might be of some help to you. There are two videos of my talk: one that shows the event live, and another that has audio from the evening superimposed over my slides.

Additionally, if you want a closer look at the slides themselves… check out the downloads section for .zip files of both the individual slides, as well as the main .PSD.

Again, I want to stress that I’m not suggesting you copy what I did. Completely the opposite, in fact. I encourage you to come up with your own style, your own approach.

When I was working on my own presentation, I wanted specific examples of how others set up their talks. In that spirit, I hope these pages provide a good starting point. Good luck in your prep, and if this was a useful resource… I’d love to hear about it (and I’d love to see your presentation too, if it’s online). Break a leg!

Next: Getting Started

This Post Has 5 Comments

It’s so great you’ve prepared such a guide because it encourages people to take part in Pecha Kucha and makes it easier for them to, one day, prepare a presentation themselves. I am a big fan of Pecha Nights and love to share my passion as well. I’ve recently wrote an article: 20 Reasons Why Pecha Kucha is Great for You , drop in and let me know what you think. All best from Oslo.

I have a question about the total presentation time. Does it have to strictly follow 6.6 minutes? Because my professor deducted 5 points off my grade for “not following Pecha Kucha guidelines” because my total time was 5:43. I would appreciate any advise and I can use some references that shows Pecha Kucha CANNOT fall below 6.6 minutes. I need help because we will be doing more of this sort of assignment.

Hi Dedes – There aren’t a lot of specific rules to Pecha Kucha, but the one thing that seems a constant is the overall time for each presentation. If you look at the official PechaKucha website , they oftentimes refer to the format as “PechaKucha 20×20.” Meaning: 20 slides, 20 seconds each.

At public performances, no one is really holding a stopwatch to each presenter. But the general expectation is that all presentations , regardless of content, will fall around 6 minutes, 40 seconds in length. Hope this helps, and good luck with your future presentations!

Hello, I followed your tips for my recent Pecha Kucha in Barcelona (Design Museum of Barcelona auditorium with 320 people). I just wanted to say thank you for all your tips and ideas. I really enjoyed your Pecha Kucha too!!! This is mine. I speak in catalan but I have added english subtitles. I would like to hear a comment from you. Thanks

https://youtu.be/zQdtxdlKs3Y

I think Pecha Kucha is the bomb! I recently had to give a presentation and chose the pecha kuccha format because it allowed me to be myself and convey the contents of my heart without the pressures of slide to slide combat.

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• Presentation Science

How to Give a Great Pecha Kucha Talk

• By: Kelly Allison

Pecha Kucha is an innovative and effective presentation method designed by a pair of architects that’s completely transformed the way presentations are delivered.

The rules for a Pecha Kucha presentation are simple: The presentation must contain exactly 20 slides that are displayed for precisely 20 seconds each, making the total presentation time six minutes and 40 seconds. That’s why Pecha Kucha presentations are also frequently called 20×20 presentations.

But just because the rules of this format are simple doesn’t mean their application is. If you’re interested in designing one of these groundbreaking presentations yourself, then apply the following tips to make it a whole lot easier.

Say Your Topic in a Sentence When giving this type of presentation, it’s critical that your topic is concise and straightforward. If you try to say too much, you’ll end up not really saying anything at all. To be sure your topic is tight and to-the-point, try to say it in one sentence. If you struggle to do this, you’re probably trying to present too much information that’ll get lost in this short format.

Keep Slide Text to a Minimum We always advise using minimal text on each slide, but this is especially important for Pecha Kucha presentations. Because the slides automatically advance every 20 seconds, your audience won’t be able to process more than a few words on each slide, so don’t include any more than that. Instead, focus on compelling slide imagery and design.

Find the Story in Your Topic It’s nearly impossible to engage an audience in six minutes using dry facts and figures alone. In fact, research suggests that good storytelling is key to making any audience pay closer attention, no matter the format. That said, to really engage your audience here, you need to find a compelling story behind it that conveys the importance and value of your topic.

Tell a Story With Images Speaking of storytelling, rather than focus on adding a lot of text to each slide, focus on adding beautiful images that enhance your narrative instead. However, keep in mind that what’s beautiful up close can often look fuzzy and confusing from the perspective of your audience. Your images should be as clear and straightforward from afar as your content.

Use Just a Few Main Points It’s really challenging to present more than a small handful of main points in this short format. Generally speaking, try not to present more than three main points and fill the rest of your presentation with facts and examples that support those points.

Practice Your Timing In addition to practicing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it, you must also pay close attention to the timing of what you’re saying. Since the slides are moving forward at 20-second intervals, you need to make sure that your speech is perfectly in line with the timing of those slides otherwise you’ll leave your audience incredibly confused.

Give Yourself Some Visual Cues To help ensure your speech coincides with your slides, it’s a good idea to include visual cues on each slide that serve as subtle reminders for what to say next. This will also help diminish the panic and anxiety that comes with worrying that you’ll forget what to say.

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Five Presentation Tips for a Pecha Kucha or Ignite Presentation

by Olivia Mitchell | 7 comments

Photo by Olly Barrett

This week I went to my first Pecha Kucha night in Wellington, New Zealand.

Pecha Kucha and Ignite are two time-limited and slide-limited presentation formats. Pecha Kucha was developed as a presentation format to allow design and creative types to share their passions and show off their work. The format is very tight. You have to present with 20 slides and each slide is shown for 20 seconds. Ignite is the equivalent for geeks (20 slides in 5 minutes, 15 seconds per slide). Both these format have the great advantage of keeping presentations short and concise – perhaps accounting for it’s popularity around the world. However, it’s challenging to prepare a good Pecha Kucha or Ignite presentation and even more so to deliver it well.

From my observations of the Pecha Kucha night I went to, here are my tips :

1. Have a theme

Photo by Meena Kadri

I get that this is not a standard business presentation where you would have a key message supported by three points. But nevertheless I think there should be a theme which ties it all together. The presentations that I saw which had a theme were far more effective. One in particular stands out. It was by Meena Kadri and was an exploration of the creativity of what she called “lo-fi” folk in India. We saw a series of stunning photographs but all tied together by the theme of the creativity and artistic flair of poor people.

Those that didn’t have a theme seemed like an unorganized slideshow “Oh here’s this piece I made…[waffle about it for 20 secs] and here’s something else I made”. If you’re an artist presenting at Pecha Kucha think of yourself as the curator of your slides – explain to us the ideas that bind them together or show us how your ideas developed from one piece to the next.

2. Plan your outline before the slides

Pecha Kucha does tend to revolve around the imagery, but that doesn’t mean the images should come first in your planning. Here’s my suggestion as to how to go about planning a Pecha Kucha or Ignite presentation.

1. Plan your rough outline first focused on your theme

2. Storyboard the slides to fit with the outline

3. Plan and carefully time what you’ll say for each slide.

Unless you’re speaking in limericks, though, I would generally avoid a script, as you’re likely to come across as stiff an unnatural.

Felix Jung has put together a most amazing and detailed guide How to make a Pecha Kucha presentation . This is a must-read if you’re doing a Pecha Kucha presentation. Mike Rohde has a great post on using an excel spreadsheet to prepare your Pecha Kucha presentation

3. Spend more than 20 seconds on a point

Garr Reynolds has commented that the format makes it difficult to go deep. I agree. Many of the presenters the night I went felt they could only spend 20 seconds on each “point” or “image”. That meant there was never enough time to fully develop a point. By contrast, Meena Kadri  sometimes developed a point over two to threes slides. The set of slides would show different perspectives of the same thing. For example:

• First slide – picture of two Indian brothers – she told us about two brothers who had a thriving business as artists. People came from far and wide to buy their art.
• Second slide – image of their art – they paint scenes from Bollywood movies – name them a scene and they can paint it.
• Third slide – zoom out to show that painting is on a mud flap of a truck!

4. It’s better to finish earlier than later

Many presenters found themselves overrunning the 20 seconds that they had for each slide. That meant they were still talking about a slide after it had left the screen.  The classic was a picture of a rather ordinary step ladder that had been used for painting. We learn that it’s in a gallery and that it’s considered a great work of art … that’s when the slide transitioned. She then tells us “Those paint spatters are actually inlaid crystals.”  Wow – do we want to see it again!

As you can imagine, once you’ve gone overtime on one slide, the problem compounds itself and you tend to go over on the others. The presentation becomes a confusing out-of-sync race.

A couple of times some presenters did finish talking about a slide a few seconds short of the 20 seconds. They were impatient to move on. But we, the audience were fine – it gave us more time to look without having to process words at the same time.

So prepare your narrative so that you’re a little bit short of 20 seconds rather than a bit over.

5. Rehearse

The value of rehearsal applies to any presentation, but it doubly applies to a Pecha Kucha or Ignite presentation. It’s a dance with a partner who you have no control over. You need to have your side of the choreography – the narrative – down pat.

If you’ve done a Pecha Kucha presentation do add your tips in the comments.

And if you’ve found this post because you’re preparing for one – go well!

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Excellent observations all, just one question: you say that there is no room for waffle, but that you should avoid a script. What’s your thinking there?

I haven no direct experience with PK, but I’ve helped many clients put together 5, 8 and 10 minute presentations and, given the relatively low wordcount that’s going to be involved in something that short, why not work to a script?

You’ve zeroed in on the point that I haven’t developed very well :-). The reason is I’m in two minds on this. You can see Pecha Kucha as twenty 20-second presentations strung together. If you had 20 seconds to make your point – you would script it to make sure you were able to make your point in the best possible way in that time. On the other hand, if you script it, you tend to read your script (and a number of presenters did that at the Pecha Kucha night I attended). Not many people are good at reading a script in an engaging way.

I think it also depends so much on your personal style. If I was doing it, I would prepare a rough script but then reduce that to notes. I know that I can stay succinct and I have a pretty good short term memory. But it were my husband Tony – well he’s a great speaker and has the gift of the gab (gets inspiration while he’s on his feet) – but that would get him into trouble with this format – I’d suggest to him that he stick pretty closely to a script.

Final answer – it depends!

Personally, I don’t like reading from a script. To me it doesn’t seem engaging (it seems robotic). Granted this presentation style might make using a script suitable but then again, why not just practice? Practice to the point that you don’t require a script… This way your presentation flows much more naturally.

I totally agree Ricardo – I really don’t like people reading from scripts.

But the Pecha Kucha format is incredibly constraining. It requires a huge amount of work just to put together. I’m not happy saying it, but having observed people struggling, in this situation reading from a script may be the best option. Olivia

we are not all good orators, some of us are shy and can’t stay focused in front of an audience. in this case, it’s better to read than to mumble. anyway, 20 images are enough and if you want people to learn more, you can always offer hand-outs or send e-mails to those interested.

Olivia – another great post. I look forward to trying to find some more examples of this online. It reminds me of when I found the Lessig method via Garr Reynolds’ site (a method I would promote only to anyone who was prepared to learn the thoughts and timings so well that they didn’t need to stare at the slides for help as they went past; or read from a script that was synchronised with the slideshow.)

This is a great exercise in discipline, and must be very effective if done well.

I suggest people deliver thoughts rather than a script. If you know that 20 secs means around 60 words, and that you can express a thought in 20 words, then three thoughts per slide should fit.

It certainly would help keep things concise – rather like a poet “constrained” by metre actually expresses themselves better as a result.

If you are reading, then read from an autocue; that can work. Otherwise, if you learn the ideas, and their order, the words should come naturally.

Think Short Thoughts is my advice!

Das ist bekanntlich großartig, Besten Dank! Das hat mir gefallen und ist wirklich interessant. Die Einfällefinde ich eingängig. Solche Eingebungen sind mir gleichermaßen allerdings durch die Rübe gegangen. Denn ich beachte, dass dies zusätzlich für meinen Viellesern ein informierendes Anliegen bezeichnet.

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Better student presentations using the pecha kucha format.

Dec. 9, 2020

Students Communicated Better Using Pecha Kucha 

How to implement pecha kucha in your classroom.

• Go to the “Transitions” tab.
• Set the “Duration” at 00.01 so the transition time between slides is less than one second.
• Uncheck “On Mouse Click” and check “After.”
• In the window next to “After,” enter 20 seconds.
• Clicking “Apply to All."

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Pecha Kucha Presentation Guidelines

Pecha Kucha is a unique and engaging presentation format that emphasizes conciseness and visual storytelling. Derived from the Japanese term for “chit-chat,” it involves presenting 20 slides, each shown for exactly 20 seconds, resulting in a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Here’s how to create an effective Pecha Kucha presentation:

• Craft a Clear Storyline

Start with a Strong Opening: Capture your audience’s attention from the beginning. A personal anecdote, a striking fact, or a provocative question can set the stage effectively.

Develop a Narrative Arc: Ensure your presentation has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Each slide should seamlessly transition to the next, contributing to the overall story.

Conclude with Impact: Finish with a memorable takeaway or a call to action. Leave your audience with something to ponder.

• Design Visually Appealing Slides

Keep It Simple: Use minimal text on each slide. Aim for one key idea or image per slide to maintain focus.

High-Quality Images: Use high-resolution images that complement your narrative. Visuals should enhance your message, not distract from it.

Consistent Style: Maintain a uniform design throughout your slides. Consistent fonts, colours, and layouts create a cohesive look.

• Practice Your Timing

Rehearse Thoroughly: Practice your speech multiple times to get comfortable with the 20-second per slide format. Ensure you can convey your message clearly and succinctly within the time limit.

Pace Yourself: Maintain a steady pace throughout your presentation. Avoid rushing through slides or lingering too long on any one slide.

Use Cues: Familiarize yourself with the slide transitions as cues for advancing your narrative. This helps in maintaining a smooth flow.

• Engage Your Audience

Speak Naturally: Use a conversational tone to make your presentation relatable. Avoid reading from notes or the slides.

Make Eye Contact: Connect with your audience by making eye contact. This helps in establishing rapport and keeping their attention.

Be Passionate: Show enthusiasm for your topic. Your energy and passion can be infectious, making your presentation more engaging.

• Prepare for the Unexpected

Technical Check: Test the equipment before your presentation to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Backup Plan: Have a backup of your presentation on a USB drive or accessible online in case of technical issues.

Stay Calm: If something goes wrong, stay calm and composed. Your audience will be more forgiving if you handle issues gracefully.

Final Thoughts

Pecha Kucha presentations are a powerful way to communicate ideas concisely and creatively. By following these guidelines, you can craft a presentation that is not only informative but also captivating. Remember, the key to a successful Pecha Kucha is practice, passion, and preparation. Good luck!

You can explore more about Pecha Kucha presentation in https://www.pechakucha.com/ or other sources.

IEEE ANZSCON 2024 invites all interested delegates to participate in this competition to be held during the congress to be held at Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand on the 6th-7th of July, 2024.

It is a unique opportunity for engineering students to demonstrate their research, projects or business ideas to a community of world-renowned industry experts, faculty and IEEE professionals in addition to fellow students.

There will be separate tracks and prizes for Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.

Participate and WIN exciting Prizes!!!

Please contact:

The Chemistry Beyond Haber-Bosch

• Conference: Pecha Kucha Seminar @ IFSC-USP

• University of São Paulo

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