"Death by PowerPoint": image from Pundit Kitchen

The invention of PowerPoint software made it possible for great strides in the way people present information to others. Unfortunately, it’s also borne the reputation for great snores when lecturers are allowed to blather on from slide to slide ad infinitum.

A technique that is being practiced to prevent “Death by PowerPoint” is the pecha kucha method of presentation delivery. Named after the Japanese word for “chit-chat”, pecha kucha (pronounced “peh-CHA-k-cha”) sets specific perimeters for slides and presentation: 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide.

To give a pecha kucha presentation, you will need to set your slides to self-advance every 20 seconds. This frees you from the need to click to advance each slide so you won’t have to pay attention to the clock — but you will need to keep up with the slides. The result is a paced presentation style that leads the presenter to get to the point expeditiously and think critically about selecting the best slides to carry that point. Not all presentation topics can or should be delivered in this method, but for speakers who are concerned about audience engagement or staying within a limited time allotment, it might be worth practicing.

This lecture method would be especially useful for online learning, both for synchronous and asynchronous lectures. In addition to aiding bandwidth issues, the frequently changing slides would ensure closer attention from students who are at greater risk of distraction online.

The following video is an example of a lecture presented using the pecha kucha method by Daniel Pink. He begins the presentation with a brief explanation of pecha-kucha before launching into his intended topic, Emotionally Intelligent Signage. The topic itself is interesting enough to merit viewing, but if you only have time to investigate the lecture technique you can turn it off after the first minute or so:

(Thanks to ProfHacker for introducing me to both pecha kucha and Daniel Pink’s presentation!)

The PechaKucha website provides more information as well as several uploaded presentations following this method.

Have you ever taught a lecture using this method? Share your experiences in our comment thread!

Related posts:

1. Archiving the Feed: November 2009 Twitter Posts by wisepedagogy [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="cc-licensed photo, DSC00948, via Flickr by...
2. Archiving the Feed: March 2010 Twitter Posts by wisepedagogy [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="cc-licensed photo, Chicks, by nickgraywfu via...
3. Creating Dynamic Presentations with Prezi Last week I led a hands-on workshop for the Faculty...
4. Archiving the Feed: September 2009 Twitter Posts by wisepedagogy [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="cc-licensed photo, Sprinkles, M&Ms and Chocolate...
5. Creating 60-second podcast/video lectures A recent article in the Chronicle for Higher Education explains...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Fun Miscellany, News in Online Education, Pedagogical Theory, Podcasting, Time Management, Video, Visual Aids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.