PowerPoint Karaoke in Under 200 Words

Following up on earlier success with a couple of other “under 200 words” blog posts (about impact mapping and story mapping, respectively), here is one about an improv technique called PowerPoint Karaoke (aka Battledecks) that seems to still be relatively unknown, is a lot of fun, and can readily be done virtually or in person. And, it is also important to point out, this type of karaoke does not require singing (but bonus points to anyone who chooses to break into song ; ). So start those word counters, and away we go!

Preparation

• Put together slide decks in advance, where they can be on any topic, include 10 slides each, and are set to auto-advance after 20 seconds (for a total presentation length of 3 minutes and 20 seconds)
• Decks can be excerpted from real presentations on arcane topics, created by randomizing slides that are nonsensical when combined, or downloaded and used as is.
• You can also skip the downloads and try an online, interactive option like slidefest.com

Options for downloads include:

• pptkaraoke.co
• powerpoint-karaoke.com/ (in German)

Facilitation

• Variation 1. Announce available presentation topics at the start of the session, and let presenters choose one as they volunteer.
• Variation 2. Inform the presenter what their topic will be just before they start.
• Ask for a volunteer to present first. Remind them that they are free to improvise (ideally, the funnier, the better), and that the slides will auto-advance every 20 seconds.
• Encourage the audience to cheer them on, applaud, and simply have fun
• As far as who presents next, the facilitator can ask for a volunteer, pick a person at random, or let the audience vote
• (Unsurprisingly ; ) It’s quite common for this to be an after-hours drinking game