PechaKucha (2018/19)
“The art of concise presentations”
This is an archived version of a page from Digital Society 2018/9, to preserve content for past participants. See the main page for the latest materials.
Manchester students: the PechaKucha presentations will take place on Monday week 7 (11th March). We will meet in the Ground Floor Seminar room of the Main library at 2 pm.
Tips for PechaKucha Presentations
In the digisoc2 assessment, you will use the PechaKucha 10x20 format to:
“address the opportunities and challenges facing an organisation or sector, using digital media and technology.”
PechaKucha is a concise presentation format. As it is fairly new, we wanted to give you some tips. We were really lucky to catch up with PechaKucha.org featured presenter Simona Zavadkyte, who very kindly shared her advice. Simona’s presentation on Japanese Tea: History and Innovation from PechaKucha night Kyoto is a nice example of the format:
Simona’s PechaKucha advice
The PechaKucha presentation format was created to make presentations more concise and to the point. It is easy to go on and on with a presentation (and sometimes wander off the topic) but if the time is limited, you start to be more selective in what to say. The official PechaKucha format is 20x20, which means the presentation is 20 slides with 20 seconds for each. Hence, normally 6min 40sec is all you have for the whole presentation.
For digisoc2, you will be using a 10x20 format, so you have 3min 20sec: 10 slides, 20 seconds each.
How to prepare for PechaKucha presentation
In the official PechaKucha format or any alternative version (like 10x20), presentation time is really short. Therefore, it is really important to be clear on what message you want to send or what point you want to make. Presenting the topic clearly and concisely is the key. Hence you may need to spend some time sifting through and selecting what to include, as setting up a logical structure will make it easier for your audience to follow.
It is always good to start with a brief introduction of the topic. Then you can go on to make 2–3 main points (that can spill over several slides if needed). Finally, a topic summary at the end will be a good conclusion.
In this style of presentation, visuals are the key. While in a standard PowerPoint, you may include a title, bullet points and images/graphs, in PechaKucha it is best to stick with images or graphs, and perhaps a title or key sentence. If you include lots of text, the audience may not finish reading before the next slide appears. Select images wisely, as they can aid carrying your message or completely confuse the audience.
For digisoc2, you must source and attribute all material appropriately. Only use images which you have permission to use, and include proof (guidance here).
Now the trick is that each slide is timed at 20 seconds. Finishing the speech of a slide early may bring out an awkward silence, while running over time will make the speech for the other slides more rushed. To avoid this, it is good to make a script and rehearse it a few times to make yourself comfortable with the content and how much time it may take you to present it. Try to time yourself: not just the whole presentation, but also each individual slide. If you find that one slide takes much more time, perhaps you can split it into two. On the other hand, if you finish way before the 20 seconds are up, perhaps it is good to combine the slide with the next one.
For digisoc2, you will include a transcript (what you will say) in the notes section of each slide, which may help you to rehearse. You will be marked on your slides including the transcript, but not on your performance — we hope you will enjoy and learn from the PechaKucha session with less pressure.
PechaKucha is a powerful presentation format that heavily relies on visuals to deliver the message. Once you master it you may find it helpful in other situations as well: such as a job interview or a future presentation to a client. Best of luck! — Simona Zavadckyte.
Thanks to Simona for sharing her advice :¬) See also the PechaKucha FAQ.
Please email digisoc@manchester.ac.uk with any questions or problems.
