My first Pecha Kucha talk!

I have known about Pecha Kucha for some time and it's been on my to-do list since last year.

I finally booked myself book onto the Birmingham Pecha Kucha night (volume 4) which was held upstairs at The Victoria pub in the city centre.

What is Pecha Kucha? It's a night of presentations that consist of 20 slides/images where you have 20 seconds (if you time it right!) to talk about each one.

Initially I was going to do my presentation on Heartache. Unfortunately I ran out of time to prepare it, so I based my talk on the 4am Project and made it a shorter version of the presentation I gave at the Redeye Photography Network event in Liverpool I gave earlier in the month (that one was about 20 minutes long)

So with a bit of (very) tight editing and highlight selecting I managed to pare it down to about 7 minutes, and I also made some notes on a piece of paper.

It was a really well attended event! Normally when I go to events in Birmingham I already know a lot of faces, but PK night was different. I only knew about half a dozen people or so. A whole new crowd!

I had asked the organisers if I could give my presentation earlier in the evening (then I could sit back and relax).

A weird thing happened though. I suddenly got really nervous! Like butterflies in the tummy kind of nerves. It was a really weird and new feeling and I'm not sure why it happened. I've give presentations in front of strangers and I normally feel really confident. So strange!

The 3 speakers before me did really good presentations. They didn't have any notes with them, so at the last minute I ditched mine and just hoped for the best!

Despite the rare onset of nerves, it all went well and I got a great response, the audience were interested and asked questions afterwards.

I hope you enjoy my first Pecha Kucha presentation.




I'd really recommend Pecha Kucha as a night out. You'll hear interesting talks and meet new people too! And if you are up for the Pecha Kucha challenge, the next Birmingham date is the 20th July! You can also follow PK Birmingham on Twitter.

Say hello on twitter: @karenstrunks

Pecha Kucha Night in Birmingham 18th May - Volume 4

Upcoming speaking engagement!

Pecha Kucha Night - 18th May 

7.30pm - 10.30pm

Victoria Pub, John Bright Steet, Birmingham

What is Pecha Kucha?

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

I've been meaning to do a Pecha Kucha night for AGES! Time hasn't been on my side. Until now!

And now the date is approaching, I'm getting a little bit 'eeek!' about it! I thought of a subject: Heartache. I think. Though I do have another subject idea, but I had better make my mind up soon! The topic of Heartache may sound a bit depressing, but I'm hoping to suprise you ;)

I'll be speaking along with 8 other folks, all with a story to tell and entertain you with! And it's not just happening in Birmingham - events are taking place in 100's of cities across the world too.

Tickets for the event are £5 and you can buy them on Eventbrite. Pecha Kucha are donating the money to Japan earthquake relief.

See you there! :)

Say hello on twitter @karenstrunks