What is Pecha Kucha?
“Peh-cha ku-cha,” Peh-chach-ka,” or “Pet-shah coot-shah.” How the heck do you pronounce it and what is it anyway?
It seems there are lots of ways to pronounce Pecha Kucha- but its what you do with it that’s important. The name comes from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation, “chit-chat” in English.
Think of a quick fire presentation where someone is standing in front of you, and every 20 seconds a new visual appears just behind them. And what’s more it supports
what they’re saying. Then after just 6 minutes and 40 seconds they are done, and another person stands up to present, or the host will start a Q&A to cover points that have been raised.
That’s Pecha Kucha. Presentations with a set time frame and simple format. They are easy on the audience, and designed to create an atmosphere where knowledge transfer takes place.
In today’s blog I’ll talk about why there seems to be such a buzz about this presentation format, you’ll learn why I don’t think it will replace traditional presentations.
Here we go, so buckle up this may be a bumpy one…….
It’s a blindingly simple format, exactly 20 slides, each shown for exactly 20 second no more. I personally like the strict time format. Because anything that places restrictions on you tends to stimulate creativity.
The strict timing rules force presenters to be brief and to the point to make their presentations more interesting.
Pecha Kucha Creativity
So what do I like about Pecha Kucha?
The main point is that as the slides change automatically presenters don’t get caught out by looking at their slides. It helps them engage with their audience better, and as I’ve mentioned stimulates presenter’s creativity.
By not having to think about slide changes you find it easier to ‘talk with the audience’. The 20 second format also means an end to reading slides. Think about how much yo
u can write on a slide and read in 20 seconds? More importantly, they don’t talk to the slides. And you all know that reading slides a great short cut to Death By PowerPoint. Believe me your audience don’t want that.
Taking part in a Pecha Kucha event will help you to improve your public speaking skills. There is a second benefit. You’ll meet people who you can add to your professional network. The strict timing means presenters rehearse more. They have only 6 minutes and 40 seconds, and are not allowed to over run.
In my experience, most people don’t practice brevity enough. However with Pecha Kucha you need to hit your timing because at 6m 40secs your presentation comes to an end. Delivering a short, concise presentation means you can be creative which wows your audience.
The other great plus is that the format encourages the use of simple images rather than text. And as you will quickly realise, you just can’t talk through a lot of text in 20 seconds. In a typical presentation, most people put way too much text on their slides.
Again, because the presentations are automated, the time between speakers flows quickly. The rules for location and set-up of these events make it similar to a performance. The presenters are usually physically close to the audience (not behind a lectern) and the audience are usually seated very close to each other and to the presenter. This enhances the audience experience and improves the persuasive power of the presentations. I wish all lecture halls were set-up this way.
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The Flip Side
So what’s the down side?
Some people struggle to keep to the 6mins 40 seconds and run over time. So the flip side is it needs to be rehearsed for maximum effect. Because the timing adds to pressure for the 
presenter I’ve noticed that some people have a difficult time keeping their words and the images coordinated.
But as a flaw it’s hardly a show stopper. If anything it helps presenters understand timing better then they do currently.
Less experienced presenters can get thrown of track if they fluff their lines. This can flummox them and upset their presentation.
Is Pecha Kucha Effective?
This can be answered in two ways.
Firstly is it the format that we will all be using? I doubt it as I can’t see it replacing standard PowerPoint presentations. But it is an option to consider.
Secondly, some corporations have adopted Pecha Kucha as a standard way of presenting ideas to their peers and managers as a way of saving time.
The bottom line is “You pays your money and you takes your choice.”
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To your Speaking Success
Paul M Johnstone is a Management Communications Speaker; Public Speaking Coach, and The Public Speaking Expert. He’ll help people Overcome their fear of Public Speaking. He is n Executive Coach and Communications skills mentor.
Paul is the founder of the On The Money© an easy to master presentation system allowing you to deliver Killer Presentations every time.
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