Pecha Kucha: the Holy Grail of presentation skills training?

Philip Saxon – Corvinus University & IATEFL BESIG

Philip Saxon 2

Who this talk is for

Anyone who wishes to help students give presentations in English!

This might be because:• It’s a course requirement at your place of work;• You have been asked to give learners specific help in this area.

It may also be the case that:• You’re not fully satisfied with “textbook solutions” and want

to explore alternatives;• You need to achieve results quickly.

Philip Saxon 3

Is presenting easy for students?

Not often! And especially not if they must use a second language.

Without guidance, students who suddenly have to present in class can seem ill-prepared in a host of different ways.

They may also not be too interested in their audience. Not everyone finds presenting motivating if it’s an externally imposed obligation.

And their audience can seem equally uninterested in them. Often the teacher is the only person with questions. An uninvolved audience is an apathetic audience: you might as well try teaching in Death Valley!

Philip Saxon 4

So how can we escape Death Valley?

Philip Saxon 5

Arguably, “cardinal rules” are needed!

So here are mine…

5 CARDINAL RULES

Philip Saxon 6

1) Speakers must connect with the audience!

Philip Saxon 7

2) The talk should feel like a conversation!

Philip Saxon 8

3) The audience should never have to read and listen at the same time!

Philip Saxon 9

4) Visuals should speak for themselves!

Philip Saxon 10

5) The audience should want to know more afterwards.

Philip Saxon 11

One approach might be to teach from a great course book…Mark Powell’s “Dynamic Presentations” (Cambridge University Press, 2010) is certainly a good course book to work with. It’s packed with technical advice.

But you’d need several weeks (e.g. 8 x 90 minutes, plus regular homework) to deliver significant improvements that way.

What if you need results faster than that?

Philip Saxon 12

Fortunately, help is at hand!

Philip Saxon 13

Pecha Kucha: the basics

Pecha Kucha was originally devised in Tokyo in 2003 and is today a global phenomenon!

The format is easy to understand:• You show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. • The images advance automatically.• You talk along to the images.

That’s it! There’s almost nothing to it.

Philip Saxon 14

The benefits

Pecha Kucha is great because:• Speakers have to be concise!• A picture speaks a thousand words!

This makes the presentation interesting and easy to follow!

And it’s not hard for people to do. Anyone can have a go. It’s a bit like Karaoke, in fact.

Philip Saxon 15

So can we use it with our learners?

Yes, why not? It’s task-based learning at its best.

Students can get going really quickly with this approach. Teachers can concentrate on coaching them.

One possible alteration to the format might be:• 10 slides, each 30 seconds in length.• This means each talk lasts exactly 5 minutes!

Spending slightly longer on each slide may work well with EFL learners who perhaps aren’t as fluent as native speakers.

Philip Saxon 16

A good local example!

Philip Saxon 17

So why not join the fun?

The benefits are potentially huge:• Concise talks, students get to the point!• High audience interest levels!• No time overruns or extended class sessions!

Do you have any questions at this point?

You can all have a go yourselves in just a minute!

Philip Saxon 18

Budapest Tourism Presentation

Now here’s your task.

In groups, decide how you would narrate each of the ten pictures that make up the presentation.

You’ll get a handout – just add notes. However, the first and last slides should also introduce and sum up the talk.

When everyone’s ready, we can give our own Pecha Kucha talk, inviting the world to Budapest!

Philip Saxon 19

Philip Saxon 20

Philip Saxon 21

Philip Saxon 22

Philip Saxon 23

Philip Saxon 24

Philip Saxon 25

Philip Saxon 26

Philip Saxon 27

Philip Saxon 28

Philip Saxon 29

So is Pecha Kucha the Holy Grail?

Well, maybe not in every situation, but it has a LOT going for it:

• Concise presentations with quality visuals!• High audience involvement!• No time-overruns!• The teacher can focus on feedback!• It’s simple to understand and implement!• And everyone can appreciate everyone else’s contribution.

Philip Saxon 30

Or to put it another way…

Games with simple rules are easy to play! And lots of fun, too.

Philip Saxon 31

Acknowledgements

“The Art of Concise Presentations”: http://www.pechakucha.org