What is "Pecha Kucha" and How Does it Affect PowerPoint?

To some people, PowerPoint advanced training means using animations and music. To other people it means learning to give presentations that don't put your audience to sleep. Pecha Kucha is a PowerPoint advanced technique that is becoming popular in business circles as a way to give short but powerful talks.

The Problem: Death by PowerPoint
We've all had the experience of being slowly tortured by a terrible speaker. It might be the dull monotone that slowly kills our brain cells. Maybe a cliched phrase is repeated so often that is becomes all we hear. The presenter might have a nervous mannerism like playing with his keys or nervously pacing until the audience is worn out from watching.

Too many presenters think that PowerPoint advanced training is the answer, but PowerPoint is only a tool. A poor presentation is still a poor presentation even if you add dancing puppies on every slide. Giving a good talk means learning to organize and present the information in a way that your audience walks away having learned something.

The Solution: Pecha Kucha
The term "Pecha Kucha" is a Japanese term that roughly translates to "chit chat". Technically it should be pronounced "peh-CHAK-cha" (the u is effectively silent) but most Americans have a hard time with that and say "PEH-cha-KU-cha". Whatever the pronunciation, it is a presentation method that forces speakers to be concise and distil their message down to its core.

The Pecha Kucha format allows speakers to use only 20 PowerPoint slides and each is shown for 20 seconds. This means the presenter has 6 minutes and 40 seconds to get the message across and that means no time for rambling or irrelevant anecdotes. The audience finds it easier to stay focused and retention is much higher.

Many organizations arrange regular Pecha Kucha Nights where several speakers present information in this format.

Is Pecha Kucha Right For Your Presentation?
While reading this you are probably thinking that there is no way your presentation could be distilled into 20 slides of 20 seconds each, and yet many people who thought the same way have created electrifying projects that really engaged their audiences.

Let's say you have a 45-minute slot at a conference. You could do a 45-minute, one-sided speech or you could use this PowerPoint advanced method to create a short, focused presentation and then use the rest of the time for questions and discussion. If you were in the audience, which would you rather attend?

Even if you can't trim your presentation down this much, trying to do so will make you realize just how much of your talk isn't important. Your real message won't get lost in the babble and you will have a leaner and more interesting lecture that your audience will enjoy.

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