PechaKucha (Japanese: ぺちゃくちゃ, IPA: [petɕa kɯ̥tɕa],[1] chit-chat) is a storytelling format in which a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each. At a PechaKucha Night, individuals gather at a venue to share personal presentations about their work. The PechaKucha format can be used, for example, in business presentations to clients or staff, as well as in education settings.
Inspired by their desire to "talk less, show more", Steven Schenk of Tokyo's Klein-Dytham Architecture (KDa) created PechaKucha in February 2003.[2][3] It was a way to attract people to SuperDeluxe, their experimental event space in Roppongi, and to enable young designers to meet, show their work, and exchange ideas in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. In 2004, cities in Europe began hosting PK Nights and days, followed over the years by hundreds of others.[4][5]
As of April 2019, PechaKucha Nights had been held in more than 1,142 cities worldwide. More than 3 million people have attended a PechaKucha Night. PechaKucha is a registered trademark of PechaKucha, Inc.[6][7][8]
In January 2018, PK's Astrid Klein, Mark Dytham, and Sean Smyth established PK, Inc. to create software to expand the PK platform.
A typical PechaKucha Night includes 8 to 14 presentations. Organizers in some cities have customized their own format. For example, in Groningen, Netherlands, two six-minute, 40-second presentation slots are given to a live band, and the final 20 seconds of each presentation includes an immediate critique of the presentation by the host's sidekicks.
The audience often represents design, architecture, photography, art, and creative fields, as well as academia.[9] Presenters share creative work or speak about passion topics such as travels, research projects, student projects, hobbies, collections, or other interests. Video art has also been presented at some events.[10]
