A few weeks ago I came across an article in the New York Times about Pecha Kucha. Devised in 2003 by Tokyo’s Klein-Dytham Architecture Firm, it translates into “chit-chat or conversation ” and has revolutionized the dreary life of the Power Point presentation. Popular in the design and arts community as a show and tell networking event, it caused a brush fire of sorts and has traveled around the world popping up as Pecha Kucha Night in cities around the world. http://www.pecha-kucha.org

Considered to be a kind of presentation haiku, the Power Point must follow a prescribed format of just twenty slides, shown for exactly 20 seconds each. Content is an individual choice, but with roughly 14 presentations for any given Pecha Kucha event, there is an element of competition to wow the audience.

I haven’t spent much time creating Power Points nor have I been bored to tears by them. And yet, for some reason, Pecha Kucha really intrigues me. I believe it offers a great creative solution for idea sharing. Imagine the energy sparked by kicking off a conference with a series of presentations that are just 6 minutes and 40 seconds long and then opening the space up to further dialogue and inquiry. Ideally, Pecha Kucha is an invitation to engage. If you like what you see you strike up a conversation after the event.

I have no doubt that its only a matter of time before Vancouver has its own Pecha Kucha Night, but in the meantime, if your company is looking for a new way to share ideas or product innovations you might try your hand at Pecha Kucha.