25 April 2008

Pecha Kucha: Still PowerPoint – just not resulting in death

Online networkers meet to try a trendy Japanese presenting style.

Earlier this week, communicators gathered in London to explore the concept of Pecha Kucha. Originating from Japan, it's an alternative way of conducting a PowerPoint presentation. Yes, that means it’s mini, it’s fast and it’s futuristic.

The London Area Communicators Group on Melcrum’s online networking site, the Communicators’ Network had its 8th meet this week at Nabarro’s offices in Holborn.

They watched fellow members give PowerPoint presentations using the Pecha Kucha technique, which allows only 20 slides, and only 20 seconds per slide. The focus here was less on the content and more on the style and technique of delivery.

A challenging new format
All presenters were new to this technique and Kasia Marianuk, (pictured above) a manager in an art gallery, was the first one up. She had only 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present her 20 slides on “Life working in an art gallery” – that's just 20 seconds per slide.

At the end of her attempt, she sighed a breath of relief and said: “That was one of the most difficult presentations I’ve done because I had to keep to the timing, I’m surprised I managed!”

 

 

Social media in 6 minutes
Next up was Nick Saalfeld (pictured left) who consults through Wells Park Communications. Saalfeld presented on “How to use new and exciting communication media (without losing your job)”.

Saalfeld used his limited time to offer the following 8 tips on using new technology for organizational communication:

1. Move at the speed of your audience.
2. Simple is best.
3. “Communication” is a goal, but “satisfaction” is Nirvana.
4. Get sponsorship from the top.
5. Match the medium to the message.
6. Match the medium to the content in which the message is consumed.
7. Familiarity always trumps functionality.
8. Remember that every company is different.

After speeding through his 8 tips, Saalfeld’s comment was: “That was tough!”

And finally, Martin Shepherdly (pictured right) presented on “What makes a good corporate video?” He summarized the 4 stages of producing a corporate video:

1. Getting the message right.
2. Capturing the content.
3. Putting it all together.
4. Publishing to the world – Making your video available.

So... did the audience fall asleep?
Not one snoozer in the audience. The presentations stirred a lot of debate among the group, especially about whether CEOs and senior management would welcome the new format, or hate it.

All the presenters agreed that the format needs to allow for some flexibility in terms of seconds per slide, as you may not need the full 20 seconds per slide and can end up silent for a long 10 seconds, waiting for the slide to change over.

However some argued that this only calls for more creativity, and that this issue could be solved by designing and planning the slides better – the strict 20/20 rule is precisely what makes this format interesting.

Definitely worth a try
Despite the debate, most agreed that Pecha Kucha was worth trying. It makes the audience pay attention as they know they’ve only got a short time. It forces them to note down and remember questions, which allows for more engaging discussion at the end. Most importantly, there's little time for the audience to drift off or worse, fall asleep!

Have your say
Have you ever experimented with Pecha Kucha? Do you think it would work in your organization? Would your CEO welcome the time saved with this short and snappy format or would they be mortified at the thought of not having a full hour?

What other alternatives have you used in to avoid dull PowerPoint presentations?

Share your thoughts on these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.

Other recommendations:

Seven ways to enhance financial reports and presentations

TOP TIPS: Building managers’ communication skills

Got a news story? Contact the newsdesk

News archive