PUBLIC SPEAKING
PECHA KUCHA/IGNITE PRESENTATIONS
CHOOSING A TOPIC, CREATING A TIMELINE
AND RESEARCH
If you are looking at this page then we have arrived at the time of year that brings excitement to a few students and total anxiety to all of the others: Public Speaking.
At St. Mary we use a derivative of a Pecha Kucha/Ignite format with our elementary students for Public Speaking.
What is a Pecha Kucha/Ignite Presentation?
A Pecha Kucha (Japanese word for chit chat) is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total). The format keeps presentations concise and fast-paced and allows for both visual and oral components within the delivery. An Ignite is essentially the same idea except there are 20 slides with only 15 seconds of oration.
Note: To accommodate for the age of the students, we use a hybrid of the Pecha Kucha and Ignite formats by decreasing the quantity of slides to 15, but maintaining the 20 second time limit for each so that the "speech" remains the standard 5 minutes of total length.
Below is a video called "Pecha Kucha Training Bite" that explains the history, format, and advantages of this presentation style.
At St. Mary we use a derivative of a Pecha Kucha/Ignite format with our elementary students for Public Speaking.
What is a Pecha Kucha/Ignite Presentation?
A Pecha Kucha (Japanese word for chit chat) is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total). The format keeps presentations concise and fast-paced and allows for both visual and oral components within the delivery. An Ignite is essentially the same idea except there are 20 slides with only 15 seconds of oration.
Note: To accommodate for the age of the students, we use a hybrid of the Pecha Kucha and Ignite formats by decreasing the quantity of slides to 15, but maintaining the 20 second time limit for each so that the "speech" remains the standard 5 minutes of total length.
Below is a video called "Pecha Kucha Training Bite" that explains the history, format, and advantages of this presentation style.
This web link provides a good description of Pecha Kucha and Ignite Presentations and also includes several examples of each: http://bit.ly/1xXWPGM
Why Do We Have to Do This?
Many students ask, "Why do we have to do this?" For a comprehensive list of reasons why writing and delivering a speech in front of your peers is important, check out this weblink:
http://bit.ly/s0EXtS
Choosing a Topic
One of the more challenging aspects of oral speaking is choosing a topic. Fortunately for students in today's world, there is ample material available to them on the internet. By merely typing "public speaking topics" into a search engine (eg. Google, Yahoo, etc.) students are provided with pages of websites that are more than willing to share age appropriate (although some are not - judge carefully) speech topic ideas. For example, at the website
www.best-speech-topics.com "you'll find ideas listed under the three most popular types of speech topics:
a) demonstration speeches which teach your audience how to do something (see video #1 "How Cell Phones Are Taking Over the World",
b) informative speeches which convey information on your chosen topic (see the second video on "Pecha Kucha About Fat Loss Documentary" and
c) persuasive speeches which encourages your audience to come over to your way of thinking or "to take action" against what you perceive as a public injustice. See the third video on "Human Trafficking".
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What Topic is Right for Me?
Therefore the challenge now becomes selecting the right topic for you.
This really comes down to several considerations:
1. Personal preference can not be undersold.
If you're not into what you're researching (and eventually memorizing and presenting) it will result in uninspired writing (and delivery). Read over the topic lists and carefully select the ones you are willing to put time into researching.
2. Presenters should consider the interests of their audience.
You are going to be presenting to your peers, so you should consider selecting a topic that is fresh, age appropriate and will motivate you audience to listen throughout. For example, a persuasive speech arguing the merits of cell phones as an educational tool within classrooms (instead of being banned as they are in many schools now) would surely stir up strong feelings in your peers (particularly those who have had them confiscated). On the other hand, an informational speech like "should uniforms be mandatory in schools?" is overdone (and let's face it, it's not going to change at our school anyway).
3. The most important aspect of public speaking is the actual delivery.
If you have completed sufficient research, organized the writing/visuals in a logical order and you have memorized the content confidently, then you will have an impact on the audience when it is all said and done. This final component comes down to the old mantra,"PREPARATION! PREPARATION! PREPARATION!"
These videos provide a good summary of how to effectively design, organize and deliver a Pecha Kucha:
Therefore the challenge now becomes selecting the right topic for you.
This really comes down to several considerations:
1. Personal preference can not be undersold.
If you're not into what you're researching (and eventually memorizing and presenting) it will result in uninspired writing (and delivery). Read over the topic lists and carefully select the ones you are willing to put time into researching.
2. Presenters should consider the interests of their audience.
You are going to be presenting to your peers, so you should consider selecting a topic that is fresh, age appropriate and will motivate you audience to listen throughout. For example, a persuasive speech arguing the merits of cell phones as an educational tool within classrooms (instead of being banned as they are in many schools now) would surely stir up strong feelings in your peers (particularly those who have had them confiscated). On the other hand, an informational speech like "should uniforms be mandatory in schools?" is overdone (and let's face it, it's not going to change at our school anyway).
3. The most important aspect of public speaking is the actual delivery.
If you have completed sufficient research, organized the writing/visuals in a logical order and you have memorized the content confidently, then you will have an impact on the audience when it is all said and done. This final component comes down to the old mantra,"PREPARATION! PREPARATION! PREPARATION!"
These videos provide a good summary of how to effectively design, organize and deliver a Pecha Kucha:
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Completing the Pecha Kucha
The students in this class will be given an opportunity to work in small groups (3-4 students) and create anchor charts of elements that make a good speech. Each group will be provided with an Ipad that has a public speaking app downloaded onto it that the students will use for assistance. The completed charts will then be hung around the room as a reminder of the key elements the students feel make an effective speech.
At the end of this period, they will also be asked to come prepared with a narrowed list of (maximum of 3) potential Pecha Kucha topics to begin researching for the next class.
The students will then be given time to work on researching and preparing an outline of their speech at school. Each student will have access to a laptop computer in which they can do their independent work.
The students will then be allotted 2 additional weeks to complete their project at home before we take a week to present them in class. The top 3-4 Pecha Kuchas will be given the opportunity to represent our class in the annual St. Mary Elementary Public Speaking Contest (usually held in mid-December).
The students in this class will be given an opportunity to work in small groups (3-4 students) and create anchor charts of elements that make a good speech. Each group will be provided with an Ipad that has a public speaking app downloaded onto it that the students will use for assistance. The completed charts will then be hung around the room as a reminder of the key elements the students feel make an effective speech.
At the end of this period, they will also be asked to come prepared with a narrowed list of (maximum of 3) potential Pecha Kucha topics to begin researching for the next class.
The students will then be given time to work on researching and preparing an outline of their speech at school. Each student will have access to a laptop computer in which they can do their independent work.
The students will then be allotted 2 additional weeks to complete their project at home before we take a week to present them in class. The top 3-4 Pecha Kuchas will be given the opportunity to represent our class in the annual St. Mary Elementary Public Speaking Contest (usually held in mid-December).
Examples of Pecha Kuchas
Below are a series of Pecha Kucha Presentations that vary in style and the age of the presenter to help you to get an idea of how this presentation style looks and sounds.
The first is an informational speech completed by a 10 year old girl from England who uses her grandparents pet dog Alfie as a backdrop to describe the history of Greyhound dogs, their place in the annals of racing and how to adopt a retired Greyhound racing dog:
http://www.pechakucha.org/channels/kids/presentations/alfie
The next is also an demonstrative speech completed by an adult male animator and it is entitled, "So How Do You Make Comics?"
Below are a series of Pecha Kucha Presentations that vary in style and the age of the presenter to help you to get an idea of how this presentation style looks and sounds.
The first is an informational speech completed by a 10 year old girl from England who uses her grandparents pet dog Alfie as a backdrop to describe the history of Greyhound dogs, their place in the annals of racing and how to adopt a retired Greyhound racing dog:
http://www.pechakucha.org/channels/kids/presentations/alfie
The next is also an demonstrative speech completed by an adult male animator and it is entitled, "So How Do You Make Comics?"
The next Pecha Kucha example was one of the first of this genre that I found in my research, and it hooked me on this format as being the best choice for students in middle school. Not only does the presenter discuss what a Pecha Kucha is (beginning of presentation), he goes on to provide and example of a Persuasive Speech entitled "Emotionally Intelligent Signage":
Creating a Pecha Kucha Presentation Using Power Point
Finding CC-licensed images — the following sites are helpful in finding Creative Commons-licensed images and learning how to reference them:
- Compfight – excellent search tool for Creative Commons-licensed Flickr images
- Creative Commons Wiki – a Creative Commons image directory (check under Featured Image Sites)
- Flickr images – enter search term, click Advanced Search, then tick the box “only search within Creative Commons-licensed content”
- Content Directories — extensive list of directories of Creative Commons-licensed materials (audio, video, image, text
There are literally thousands of Pecha Kucha examples on line, and if you are struggling to come up with an idea, I suggest you spend some time watching some examples. To finish, here is one of my favorite Pecha Kuchas about "Overcoming an Irrational Fear of Sharks":
http://www.pechakucha.org/presentations/the-fear-of-sharks
http://www.pechakucha.org/presentations/the-fear-of-sharks