Death by PowerPoint. Each of us has experienced this phenomenon as an audience member and (gasp) as a presenter. Conversely each of us has also witnessed dynamic presentations and for me these are by the best storytellers.
The Pecha Kucha presentation technique of 20 slide images auto-advancing every 20 seconds was created as a challenge for people to share their subject matter expertise, unveil ideas, and tell their stories in 6:40 minutes.
Pecha Kucha uses gaming elements to make an ordinary task of presenting more engaging for the speaker and audience. This presentation technique has rules and presents a challenge, two of the main elements of any good game. A Pecha Kucha event or even a Pecha Kucha assignment for your students is an example of a higher stakes game-based assessment.
Pechaflickr is a free web-based activity that uses Flickr images for an improvisational and humorous presentation. This is a low stakes activity where participants practice thinking on their feet and provides a safe opportunity to fail before giving a presentation.
Check out our recorded Webinar on YouTube: Pecha Kucha and PechaFlickr from our online eTech Fair last fall.
- Each presenter chooses their topic and the audience chooses the image search.
- All participants write down 3-5 topic ideas and the presenter selects a topic at random. The presenter or the audience chooses the image search.
- Present solo or in pairs.
Enter a tag, press play, and see how well you can communicate a coherent message illustrated by 20 random photos, each one on screen for 20 seconds. Advanced options let you change the number of images and/or the timing. CogDog
Pecha Kucha and PechaFlickr are fun ways for students to practice critical thinking, public speaking, and performing under pressure. The “rules” require slides be composed of image only content and therefore students will need to be knowledgeable of their topic and hone in on the most important part of the story.