Anyone who has attended a corporate event has experienced the grinding boredom of a seemingly endless PowerPoint. It’s an experience that has inspired a new way of presenting, a new kind of event: moving away from hour-long lecture-style presentations and toward an interactive, engaging atmosphere. The prime example: Pecha Kucha, which is Japanese for “the sound of conversation.”

Pecha Kucha is a simple presentation format, showing 20 images for 20 seconds each totaling 6 minutes 40 seconds. The images are presented without text, meaning the presenter must speak to each image instead of reading off the screen. The slides advance automatically, forcing the presenter to create a choreographed presentation that is concise – and ideally, compelling.

Creating Memorable Business Presentations

The reasons behind the success of Pecha Kucha are no mystery. According to a recent study from the National Training and Learning Institute, attendees retain only 5% of what is heard in lecture-style presentations. In contrast with traditional, long-form PowerPoint presentations, the Pecha Kucha length and style is much easier on the brain. Pecha Kucha creates a highly entertaining atmosphere and generates awareness to stimulate thought and action on the subject presented.

Pecha Kucha Nights started in Tokyo in 2003 and are now happening in more than 600 cities around the world. These informal and fun gatherings attract a diverse range of creative people as both attendees and presenters, from sculptors and musicians to chefs and architects, to event professionals.  The presentations tend to lean toward personal moments of enlightenment or important causes and are not always directly about a specific “work” related issue.

As you embark on your next round of business event planning, call or contact TCG Events. Our expert event planners can help you incorporate the fun, fresh concepts of Pecha Kucha!