Helping Students Develop Skills for Better Presentations:Using the 20x20 Format for Presentation Training

Pecha-Kucha 20x20 ("20x20" below) is a presentation format that requires the presenter to deliver a highly visual presentation using 20 slides, each shown for exactly 20 seconds. The slides advance automatically with a timer and the speaker must present within these constraints. Since its inception in Tokyo in 2003, the format has been growing in popularity worldwide. 20x20 assignments were given to students in EAP classes at International Christian University in Tokyo and students in the engineering faculty of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Surveys following the 20x20 presentations revealed that students responded very positively. Almost all students agreed that the 20x20 format was enjoyable and useful because it requires them to focus their points, forces them to practice more, and helps the audience to stay engaged. In contrast, students felt that some of the main drawbacks were the higher degree of pressure to practice enough to be able to present smoothly under the time constraints and the inflexibility of the format. We report how we integrated 20x20 in four different presentation projects and explain how 20x20 can be used to help students develop skills for more effective oral presentations.