PechaKucha

The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has adopted a new format for its breakfast forums called PechaKucha. The response from our members, event attendees and presenters has been overwhelmingly positive. If you haven’t yet attended one of these events, you might be wondering what is PechaKucha? PechaKucha (pronounced: pe-cha-ku-cha) is the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat.” PechaKucha was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

PechaKucha rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a PowerPoint format that makes presentations concise and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. Also, the slides move on their own, so the person presenting must keep up with their slides and stay extremely focused. The presentations are also focused primarily on images, not text, so for the audience it is like listening to a story. Each presenter has only six minutes and 40 seconds to tell their story and then they are done. At the end the audience has a chance to interact and ask questions.PechaKucha has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the globe, inspiring creatives worldwide. There are already events being held in Portsmouth, Boston, Portland, ME and Providence, RI. The Chamber had to apply for the licensing from Tokyo to host PechaKucha events in Manchester.

The way the Chamber uses this format is somewhat adapted from traditional PechaKucha Nights. The Chamber picks an overarching topic or theme and then selects presenters that can each present an aspect or piece of the chosen theme.Typically the events begin at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and networking. There are six presenters who begin at 8 a.m. and go until 8:45 and then there is 15 minutes left at the end for questions and interaction with the audience.