A funny thing happens when you give most people—even creative professionals—an opportunity to present their work or ideas. Surprisingly often, their presentations can turn into long-winded slogs that prevent audiences from engaging with, let alone getting excited about, the material being presented.
However, there’s a presentation format that’s rapidly gaining popularity which prevents drooping eyelids and stifled yawns. It’s called PechaKucha 20×20 and the concept behind it is staggeringly simple: every presentation, in its entirety, consists of 20 images/slides that are each displayed for 20 seconds, with supporting commentary by the presenter. That’s it—no more, no less.
PechuKucha (peh-choo kuh-chah; roughly translated as “chit-chat” in Japanese) was originally created by an architecture firm in 2003 as a way to help young designers show their work and share ideas. The beauty is that it provides a fixed 6:40 timeframe that’s long enough to gain a basic understanding or appreciation of any subject, yet short enough to prevent tedium or restlessness from setting in.
To get an idea of what it’s like, here’s a presentation of a woman’s eating adventures in Japan, and another on “North America’s Fastest Growing Sport.” Today, there are PechuKucha Nights being coordinated in over 800 cities around the world that allow people to share their passions, creative works, hobbies, and causes.
Clearly, the rules for PechuKucha also provide valuable guidelines for business presentations. It compels presenters to tell their narratives in a visual manner, yet be clear and direct on the content as well. Think of it as a perfect antidote to DbPP (Death by PowerPoint).