# PechaKucha 20x20

Teams or individuals build and deliver a story using exactly 20 visual slides that advance automatically every 20 seconds. The room hears concise, fast-paced presentations running exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds each.

**Time:** 35 minutes. A single presentation takes exactly 6 minutes 40 seconds. This 35-minute plan accommodates 3 presentations, brief handoffs, and a concise debrief. Developing slides during a workshop requires an extra 60 minutes.
**People:** 4 to 24. Small teams of 2 to 6 people or individual presenters; maximum of 3 presentations in a 35-minute block.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Deliver a concise project, team, or personal narrative using strict auto-advancing visual slides.
**Use it when:** Use when teams need to report out project status, introduce their work, or synthesize workshop findings without long, text-heavy slide decks.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the session requires detailed technical debate, live line-item review, or where participants cannot prepare slides in advance or during an allotted prep block.

## Materials and tools

- Digital display screen or projector
- Computer with slide software set to auto-advance every 20 seconds
- 20 blank index cards or sheets of paper per team for storyboarding
- Markers and tape

## Before participants arrive

1. Test the slide presentation software to ensure auto-transition is set to exactly 20 seconds per slide.
2. Collect slide decks from presenters before the session starts.
3. Arrange seating so all participants have an unobstructed view of the main screen.

## Say this to open

Welcome to our PechaKucha session. PechaKucha means chit-chat. The format is exact: 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, advancing automatically. No pauses, no extra clicks. Each presentation takes 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Speak along with your images as they change.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce rules and set sequence (4 minutes)

Explain the 20x20 format constraints: each deck must have exactly 20 visual slides, and each slide displays for 20 seconds before advancing on its own. Announce the presentation order for the three presenting teams.

### 2. Deliver presentations (21 minutes)

Run three presentations back-to-back. Each presenter or team speaks for 6 minutes and 40 seconds while the deck auto-advances. Allow roughly 20 seconds between presentations for transitions. Do not stop the timer for speaking stumbles.

### 3. Gather audience reactions (5 minutes)

Invite participants to share one specific image or phrase that stood out from each presentation. Take up to two quick comments per presentation.

### 4. Debrief presentation structure (5 minutes)

Facilitate a short group reflection on how the rigid 20-second pace influenced what the presenters chose to include or omit.


## Debrief questions

- Which ideas became clearer because of the image and time limit?
- What did you have to cut that actually made your core message stronger?
- Where did the auto-advancing pace feel supportive, and where did it feel constraining?

**Finished output:** Up to three delivered 20-slide visual presentations adhering to the 20-second automatic transition rule.

## Remote

Presenters upload slides into a shared presentation file set to auto-advance every 20 seconds. The facilitator shares their screen to ensure uniform timing, or the presenter shares while keeping their software auto-advance enabled. Non-speaking participants use text chat to leave reactions without interrupting audio.

## Hybrid

Project the presentation in the physical room while screen-sharing into the virtual meeting. Remote and in-person presenters run their decks through the main host machine to maintain exact slide timing. Use an omnidirectional microphone so room reactions and remote commentary remain audible.

## Access and participation choices

- Presenters may split speaking turns among group members or designate a single voice.
- Participants may choose to contribute solely through visual design and storyboard scripting without speaking publicly.

## If the session gets stuck

**The presenter falls behind the auto-advancing slides and loses their place.**

Remind them before starting not to try to catch up. When a slide shifts, jump immediately to the topic of the new slide.

**Slides contain dense paragraphs of text, causing the speaker to read the screen.**

During storyboard prep, enforce the rule that each slide must feature an image, photo, or single phrase rather than paragraphs.


## Terms used here

- PechaKucha 20x20: A presentation format using 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each, running 6 minutes and 40 seconds total.
- Auto-advance: A software setting that shifts to the next slide automatically after a designated number of seconds.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in SessionLab and Relationship Makers Handbook. SessionLab attributes the format to Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture in Tokyo.

Retained the foundational 20 slides x 20 seconds rule and storyboarding method from the SessionLab record. UWT structured the runtime into a clear 35-minute block holding three presentations and debrief, and moved the 60-minute slide creation phase into setup notes.

[SessionLab](https://www.sessionlab.com/methods/pecha-kucha)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/pecha-kucha/