February 15 16 2019 Pecha Kucha and communication

February 15 -16, 2019 Pecha Kucha and communication skills: Students’ perceptions Aïda EL-SOUFI Assistant Professor University of Balamand - LEBANON

Introduction • Importance of oral presentations (university level) Ø to master the content Ø to improve oral communication skills • Importance of these skills in the field of education: making oral presentations in class

Facts Students Ø do not master the techniques of oral presentation, Ø do not know how to speak in public, Ø read the contents of the slide show (blocks of text), Ø do not organize the information, Ø exceed the time allowed.

Pecha Kucha : Presentation of Concept • "Pecha Kucha" (Japanese): "conversation noise" or "chatter". • Invented by two architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (2003): fight against long and boring presentations. • Pecha Kucha or 20 x 20: imposes a limited number of slides (20 slides) which follow one another automatically in a rather short time (20 seconds each) for a total duration of 6 minutes 40 seconds. • The presentation must be simple, clear and concise

Pecha Kucha : Added Value • Create more creative slideshows - presentations that are burdened with blocks of text that do not allow students to develop their oral presentation skills (Murugaiah, 2016). • Pecha Kucha allows students Ø to use Power Point in a more interesting and creative way (Klentzin, Paladino, Johnston, & Devine, 2010; Robinson, 2015). Ø to develop creativity in the use of oral presentations: reduce text blocks and give importance to the use of illustrations (Lucas & Rawlins, 2015). Ø to develop critical thinking, to carefully plan the presentation and to present the slide show more effectively (Murugaiah, 2016).

• Only visual format: automatic slide for 20 -second duration/ illustrations or graphics (Glendall, 2007). • Attractive, engaging and enjoyable for the audience (Christianson & Payne, 2011; Nguyen, 2015). • Pleasant and useful format: focusing on the main ideas, practising more, allowing the audience to be more engaged and attentive (Beyer, 2011). • Student stress: Exercise at length in a rigid format to ensure a smooth presentation (Christianson & Payne, 2011).

Target Public • 9 French educated students - master's level • French language teachers • Course: Integration of Educational Technologies Ø innovative pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning Ø educational technologies Ø active methods Ø project-based learning • Theoretical content: wiki, Forum, Power. Point presentation • Create educational sequences

Approach and Methodology • Research: definition of Pecha Kucha (characteristics, advantages, disadvantages). • Viewing Pecha Kucha: Understanding the Principle - enriching class discussions. • Projection of 2 Pecha Kucha (highlight the characteristics of this technique, the most/least appreciated elements, their point of view) • Pecha Kucha: individually presenting a theory of learning

• Pecha Kucha: new approach (anxiety and stress) give a try to have feedback improve the presentation. • For each presentation: Ø size of the image relative to the slide, Ø image quality, clarity and understanding, Ø number of words in each slide Ø idea conveyed

Feedback: • content (choice of illustrations, illustration-content correspondence), • techniques of oral communication (pronunciation, flow, look, gestures. . . ), • Pecha Kucha format • time (6'40 - 20 seconds/slide) • evaluation criteria

Evaluation: Oral Discussion Oral discussions - last session: • evaluate the use of Pecha Kucha • compare it to previous presentations • give their point of view • present the difficulties encountered • present the added value

Evaluation : Survey 10 open questions speak freely without being influenced by the choices • advantages and disadvantages • oral skill development • use in other courses - with school audience

Summary of Discussions and Survey • Difficulty understanding Ø principle of the format: 20 slides x 20 seconds Ø presentation of the content: almost exclusively by illustrations • Need to practice • Importance of timing the duration of the presentation: Matching the slide flow with the oral content • Difficulty to respect the constraint time (20 seconds/slide): read the content – digressions • Difficulty watching the audience: fear of being overwhelmed by automatic slide show

• Difficulty finding meaningful illustrations of good quality • Difficulty creating presentations with minimal text • Difficulty to master the language, to master the techniques of oral presentation and to have an oral fluency to do a good Pecha Kucha

Appreciate this new technique: • reduce the size of oral presentations and public boredom • create dynamic and concise presentations (attract and motivate the audience) • present the content in an attractive and creative way • easily follow the presentations of others • better understand the message conveyed • better remember the most important information. Difficulty adopting this technique in all classes: preparation time required (time-consuming)

• Reduced duration (6 minutes 40 seconds) and fast flow Ø maintain the interest and attention of the public Ø present a theme in an original and concise way Ø choose the most relevant information to share with the audience. • Short duration: skip certain notions, deliver important information

Conclusion • Positive and enthusiastic opinion of the students - subjective perception and point of view • Further study and explore the influence of this technique on Ø the acquisition of technological and linguistic skills, Ø Self-confidence, Ø decrease or increase in student anxiety during presentations Ø mastery of the content presented by the students and the audience.

Bibliographie • Beyer, A. M. (2011). Improving Student Presentations: Pecha Kucha and Just Plain Power. Point. Teaching of Psychology 38(2), 122 -126. Retrieved from http: //journals. sagepub. com/doi/abs/10. 1177/0098628311401588 • Christianson, M. , & Payne, S. (2011). Helping students develop skills for better presentations: Using the 20 x 20 format for presentation training. Language Research Bulletin, 26, 1 -15. Retrieved from https: //icu. repo. nii. ac. jp/? action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&i tem_id=2660&item_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=17 • Foyle, H. C. , & Childress, M. D. (2015). Pecha Kucha for better Power. Point presentations. National Social Science Association. Retrieved from http: //www. nssa. us/tech_ journal/volume_1 -1/vol 1 -1_article 2. htm • Klentzin, J. C. , Paladino, E. B. , Johnston, B. & Devine, C. (2010). Pecha Kucha: Using “lightning talk” in university instruction. Reference Services Review, 38(1), 158 -167. Retrieved from https: //www. emeraldinsight. com/doi/abs/10. 1108/00907321011020798 • Lehtonen, M. (2011). Communicating Competence Through Pechakucha Presentations. Journal of Business Communication, 448(4), 464 -481. Retrieved from http: //journals. sagepub. com/doi/abs/10. 1177/0021943611414542? journal. Code=jobc • Levin, M. A, & Peterson, L. T. (2013). Use of pecha kucha in marketing students’ presentations. Marketing Education Review, 23(1), 59– 63. Retrieved from https: //www. tandfonline. com/doi/abs/10. 2753/MER 1052 -8008230110? journal. Code=mmer 20 • Murugaiah, P. (2016). Pecha Kucha style Power. Point presentation: An innovative call approach to developing presentation skills of tertiary students. Teaching English with Technology, 16(1), 88 -104. Retrieved from https: //eric. ed. gov/? id=EJ 1135930

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