Celebrating it’s 20 year anniversary today, PechaKucha - an informal fast-paced presentation format created in 2003 by two architects in Japan - has exploded into a global phenomenon now being used at 1,300 PechaKucha Night cities creating over 10,000 events in 140 countries with 100,000 presenters to over 3 million attendees. The presentation format is simple and powerful - presenters show 20 slides for 20 seconds each, or 6 minutes and 40 seconds total. As each presenter speaks, the slides (using imagery versus bullet points) change automatically as the presenter speaks.

PechaKucha (Japanese for “chit chat” and pronounced peh-CHAK-sha) reimagines long dull presentations into a powerful, fast, visually compelling “Show and Tell“ that can move and connect with audiences in less than 7 minutes. The original architecture firm created the format as a way to give their creative people a forum to efficiently share their ideas, projects, and voice their challenges. The format teaches discipline by forcing the presenter to learn how to "get to the point" and stay on topic when communicating their ideas and translating their talk into a focused, informative presentation.

Today schools and businesses use PechaKucha to creatively and effectively engage students and employees on a range of subject matters. Open, spontaneous, fun, informal, and silo-breaking, PechaKucha brings people together to laugh, learn, and connect. It is a simple and nimble way to inform and spark co-worker connectivity.

Regional PechaKucha Nights gives the community a chance to learn about new ideas, new trends, or new ways to look at a problem and reflect the interests and diversity of a community. They become a place for people to meet, network, and show their work in public. I highly recommend that you find a PechaKucha Night near you to experience your community in a new way.

You can also incorporate PechaKucha into your business conferences or events by scheduling these presentations during an evening social to educate and entertain, with food and drink available while the presentations go on. Consider also reserving time right after the presentations for the presenters to lead small group discussions of their topics and where attendees can move between groups. It is a way for conference attendees to connect and learn in a fun, fast-paced environment.

Feel free to Join them online today Monday February 20th  for the momentous occasion of PechaKucha’s 20th Birthday Bash. It’s a chance to experience the world’s fastest-growing storytelling platform from the comfort of your home.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oypyrUBdQsI (background on PechaKucha starts at 17:50)