Pecha Kucha Timer

Pecha Kucha is a presentation format of exactly twenty slides, each auto-advancing after twenty seconds, giving a total of six minutes and forty seconds. The constraint is the point: slides advance whether or not the speaker is ready, which eliminates the rambling that unbounded slide decks produce.

Twenty seconds per slide is enough for two or three sentences and nothing else. It forces one idea per slide and it forces images rather than bullet lists, because nobody can read a paragraph and listen at the same time in twenty seconds.

Auto-advance changes how you rehearse

In a normal talk you control the clicker, so overrunning on one slide steals time from a later one. In Pecha Kucha the slide leaves regardless, and a speaker still talking about slide four while slide five is on screen has lost the audience.

The rehearsal implication is that each slide must be practised individually to its twenty seconds, not just the talk as a whole. Getting the total right while individual slides are out of sync produces a talk that never quite matches its visuals.

Design for the constraint

One image and at most a few words per slide is the format's natural design. Detailed diagrams and bullet lists fail because the audience cannot process them in twenty seconds while also listening.

The strongest Pecha Kucha decks treat slides as punctuation for the spoken narrative rather than as the content itself. That is a different skill from making a deck that reads well on its own, and it does not transfer in either direction.

Write the script, then cut it

Twenty seconds is roughly fifty to sixty spoken words at a comfortable pace. Writing to that budget per slide — and then cutting ten percent, because everyone speaks more slowly on stage — is what makes the format survivable.

The most common failure is a script that fits perfectly in the living room and runs three seconds over per slide on the night, which compounds into a talk one full slide behind by the end.

The 20x20 format and its common variants. All share the auto-advance constraint.

Pecha Kucha and related formats
Format	Slides	Per slide	Total	Words per slide
Pecha Kucha 20x20	20	20 s	6:40	~50–60
Ignite 20x15	20	15 s	5:00	~40–45
Short 10x20	10	20 s	3:20	~50–60
Extended 30x20	30	20 s	10:00	~50–60
Practice 5x20	5	20 s	1:40	~50–60

Rehearse each slide to its own twenty seconds — a correct total with individual slides out of sync produces a talk that never matches its visuals.
Write to about 50–60 words per slide, then cut ten percent for the slower pace everyone adopts on stage.

Source: The 20x20 Pecha Kucha format and its variants are established presentation conventions

Sources

The 20x20 Pecha Kucha format and its variants are established presentation conventions , TheTimerLab — accessed 2026-07-28

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pecha Kucha?

A presentation format of exactly twenty slides, each auto-advancing after twenty seconds, for a total of six minutes and forty seconds. The slides advance whether or not the speaker is ready.

Why twenty seconds per slide?

It is enough for two or three sentences and nothing else, which forces one idea per slide and images rather than bullet lists — nobody can read a paragraph and listen simultaneously in twenty seconds.

How is rehearsing different from a normal talk?

Each slide has to be practised to its own twenty seconds, not just the talk as a whole. Getting the total right while individual slides drift produces a talk that never matches its visuals.

How many words fit in a slide?

Roughly fifty to sixty at a comfortable pace. Write to that budget and then cut ten percent, because almost everyone speaks more slowly on stage than in rehearsal.

What kind of slides work?

One image and at most a few words. Detailed diagrams and bullet lists fail because the audience cannot process them in twenty seconds while listening to you as well.

What is the most common failure?

A script that fits perfectly at home and runs three seconds long per slide on the night. That compounds into being a full slide behind by the end, which is very visible from the audience.