Recently I took on a new challenge. Neil Usher requested speakers for “Workstock” – nothing unusual in that except the format. It was to be a pecha kucha segment so 20 slides on a timed release every 20 seconds. This limitation intrigued me so I volunteered.
I enjoyed the rigour of developing such a short presentation. I decided early on to use my own images throughout the talk which made sourcing much easier. Next came the series of decisions about what content I wanted to share. As the brief was around health and wellbeing it made sense for me to talk about emotional and mental health. With such a small amount of time available I wanted something impactful and I realised that actually less is more in such a situation. Accordingly I wrote a talk which had plenty of room for reflection rather than bombarding people with content. In the end the running order also played in to my hands as I was the last speaker so it was appropriate for the audience to slow down and consider my presentation thoughtfully.
Luckily (or perhaps not) the session was recorded for posterity. I’ve turned my segment in to a YouTube clip. The audio and video sync is a little shaky but I hope it gives you a good idea of what I delivered.
Just recorded a 30 second song with three verses a chorus and a guitar solo. Constraints can be releasing. That said, I think the constraint of pecha kucha imposes an artificial constraint on interaction and engagement as the speaker is compelled to follow the slides and not the audience.
Nonetheless, your session is a great demonstration of the artform Jon.