Pecha Kucha Presentation Design Document

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INTE 6710 ~ Creative Designs for Instructional MaterialsProject 1: Pecha Kucha Presentation Design DocumentJohn Paul Sharp

February 19, 2012

1. Significant PurposeOne of the most annoying problems I encountered during my four-year education as a vocal

performer was forgetting exercises and much of what my teachers told me about singing from

week to week. This problem could be solved in a number of ways. Often students bring a pencil

to make marks on their music and take notes from the instructor, but it can still be difficult to

remember what all the notes mean. Students also bring in digital audio and video recorders so

they can experience their lesson as many times as they want. This isn't the most practical

solution for many vocal students who are extremely busy and not always focused well enoughto integrate new information from week to week in their daily singing habits.

The majority of students who enroll in undergraduate vocal performance training are stretched

thin with commitments to learning, commitments to performing in ensemble groups as well as

their private instruction. Even your regular, every-day, non-student person who decides to take

private voice lessons will more than likely have a busy schedule that distracts them from

remembering what they've learned about good vocal habits.

Another issue affecting all types of singers is self-confidence. In academic settings, vocal

students are routinely subjected to feedback in regard to all sorts of personal ways (e.g.,

showing personality, using one's body a certain way, quality of using one's voice). Over time,this can infect a singer's attitude about themselves as well as towards singing in general. The

situation is compounded by mainstream television shows (i.e., American Idol, X-Factor, etc.) that

promote further requirements for singers that are, at best, superfluous and pertinent only to the

realms of professionals attempting to attain a high-level commercial status. I've found in my

work with stage performers that many who sing have developed irrational attitudes about what it

means to be a great singer, which can negatively affect their self-confidence and actually

encourage them to harm their voices in the attempt to sound like mainstream music artists.

The purpose of this presentation is to deliver the most important and practical information for

living life as a great vocalist. Through breathing, relaxing, feeling and knowing, I will explore

easy behaviors and ideas that, when applied over the course of several months, should improvethe quality and tone of a singer's voice, as well as their attitudes with, and self-confidence in,

identifying as a singer.

The audience for this presentation would most likely be students enrolled in a post-secondary

vocal performance program, but other potential stakeholders would be anyone who sings and is

interested in developing their voice to a higher, more professional level. These other

stakeholders could be anyone from a stage performer to someone who mostly sings while


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showering. Individuals who will see this presentation will find it through an Internet search and

watch it from their desktops, laptops, or mobile phones on video content sites like, but not

limited to, YouTube.

Using the power of storytelling and humor, I hope to take these simple behaviors and ideas and

make them memorable and relatable to the singing community. After experiencing this

presentation, learners will have the knowledge to expand their lung capacity and develop

behaviors to allow them to control their ability to relax, which are both essential and immediately

applicable skills to have when singing on stage. Learners will be encouraged to explore their

emotions and find strength in connecting to feelings while performing. If a learner adopts the

information within the presentation, he or she should see a general improvement in their

endeavors as singers within weeks to months.

2. A Picture of the FutureIdeally, a participant who takes this Pecha Kucha presentation to heart will become a more well-

rounded and confident singer. This singer is not afraid to get on stage spontaneously or try newexperiences, like singing with a rotating jazz quartet. This singer has a thick-skin and is able to

take overtly negative criticisms with a grain of salt. This singer is not afraid to explore vocal

styles and so she or he has a solid sense of who they are as a vocalist and can communicate

that well to others. This singer understands that he or she is a performer. Perhaps most

importantly, this singer realizes that she or he can translate lessons learned as a singer into his

or her regular, daily life and vice-versa! In other words, and perhaps most importantly,

participants who take full advantage of this presentation will finally be able to call themselves a

singer and truly mean it.

This presentation address the following learning objectives:

1. Given a two-part breathing exercise to try on their own, participants will expand their

lung capacity and become more aware of what good breathing feels like. They will have

more strength to sing difficult songs with increased range of pitches.

2. Given a relaxation exercise to try on their own, participants will become attuned to their

muscles, body posture and mental state. They will use this ability to relax to help them

against stage fright.

3. Given a feeling exercise to try on their own, participants will explore how to change the

sound of their voices based on the five basic feelings: joy, sadness, anger, fear and love.

This activity will help them to become better, more dynamic performers with greater

stage presence.

4. Given a call-and-response activity, participants will have a phrase they can repeat to

themselves daily to increase and maintain their self-efficacy as singers striving to

improve their craft over a lifetime.

To determine if participants have achieved these objectives, I will present my contact

information and ask them to contact me after a few months and tell me their stories. Do they feel


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I present my own life conflict to show the listener that whatever problems they face in

learning how to sing are common and natural to everyone. Reynolds states that a story

is about a problem that must be worked out. (Reynolds, 2009, p. 181). My own story

tells the same problem many singers deal with. After all, my story is not necessarily a

unique one and I think other singers can easily identify and relate to me. Heath and

Heath claim that stories are concrete, contain emotional and unexpected elements and

reflect your core message. (Heath & Heath, 2008, p. 237). At its very core, the message

in my presentation is: If I can do it, you can too. The only way I know to deliver that

simple message is through sharing my own personal story.

3) When I do use text, I will make it as succinct and large as possible, with high

contrast. I purposely will only use one word of text on slides 5, 9, 13 and 16. These

four words summarize the most important information within the presentation: breathe,

relax, emote and know. Heath and Heath state that the more we reduce the amount of

information in an idea, the stickier it will be. (Heath & Heath, 2008, p. 46) I could have

used text like, Learn how to take in and release the maximum amount of breath. I couldhave used text like, Blow your lips to relax your facial muscles. I think it is much more

sticky to summarize these messages with their core verbs: breathe and relax.

Reynolds suggests in his text that if you can't make your text big, you probably need to

re-evaluate the text so you can make it as big as possible (Reynolds, 2009, p. 35). The

text I will use in my presentation is so big that if it were to be played in a large

auditorium, even the listeners at the very back row should have no problems identifying

the core verbs. Additionally, for presentations of this nature (i.e., Pecha Kucha),

Reynolds suggests that using dark backgrounds is the best method for making sure not

to blind listeners who might be viewing the presentation in a dark room (Reynolds, 2009,

p. 82). In all my slides, if I am using text at all, the background is black with large whiteor colored text to give the greatest visual impact without hurting the listener's eyes.

4) These core verbs will act as hooks and I will repeat these verbs within the

presentation near the end. Heath and Heath present the velcro theory of memory

stating that our brains have lots of different loops and the more we introduce hooks to an

idea, the more these hooks and loops will come together and create an overall memory

that sticks (Heath & Heath, 2008, p. 110, 111). I propose that these four verbs act as the

main hooks of my idea that anyone can be a great singer and on slide 19, I review the

four core verbs that summarize the main messages of my presentation.

Many memories of information learned can easily disappear over time, but when theseideas stick, they tend to stay for good (Medina, 2008, p. 147). By reinforcing the core

verbs at the end of the presentation, I am trying to make sure the main ideas are going

to stick.

5) Some graphics employ Ken Burns motion to make a specific point within my

narration. Medina emphasizes the fact that listeners will pay special attention to

graphics in motion due to inherited traits from our ancestors, who sought out motion in


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the environment in order to survive animal attacks (Medina, 2008, p. 237). Though much

of the motion for the graphics in my presentation will be used in order to employ full-

bleed for graphics that aren't equally proportionate, in most cases, this motion is used to

depict an actual point I will make (e.g., slide 3 motions to show 'the bird' which makes a

point about just how 'at-risk' I was as a teen, slide 6 motions to show me holding my

stomach in, slide 15 motions upward to reveal me jumping high in the air to point outsomething physical someone can do to emote).

According to Reynolds, one of several reasons to add motion to a graphic in a slide

presentation is to create a change to propel your point forward. (Reynolds, 2009, p.

192). I believe the three instances in which I'm making a point with the motion of the

graphics will act as excellent transition to new points, constantly moving each idea on to

the next in a coherent way.

4. Formative Evaluation Response

In my peer reviews, I am mostly concerned with finding out what the stickiest parts of my

presentation are. In an attempt to get quality information in this regard, I posted the followinginstructions prior to asking my five review questions:

Please only watch the presentation once and do not go back to the presentation to

answer your questions unless you have to. If you do have to go back to the presentation

to answer a question, please let me know which question prompted you to do so.

Mostly likely, someone would find my presentation by stumbling onto it from an Internet search

engine out of curiosity. I believe the most practical and widely common viewing of my

presentation will happen only once, so I need to know what parts of the presentation make the

best impact and if there are any parts which are not making enough of an impression.

1) After watching the presentation, what about it do you remember the most? Thisquestions addresses my main concern about the overall stickiness of the presentation.

What's the listener's take-away after watching my presentation just once?

Reviewer Answer

Jennifer Let my fat fly! Well, maybe not fly, but don't always suck it in. I actually did the

exercise you suggested to see if my sides expand when I breathe. The point I took

away was to do this properly and dont worry about all the rest of it. And sometimes I

breathe properly and sometimes I dont. It was fun to learn a quick, easy check to

figure it out. One suggestion with the exercise would be to add a callout that points

to the exact area (obliques?) that youre focused on expanding.

Darren Immediately after viewing the presentation what jumped out for me was a sense of

humor or perhaps your personality. The presentation is inviting and moves quickly.

The different techniques used to sing (breathe, relax, emote, and know) were easy

to remember due to the text connected with the visuals and the humorous pictures. I

had some background knowledge about the process of singing, but learned new

information. Suggestion: Lower the volume on the embedded sound-it can be


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distracting at times. The clapping and laughing tracks were memorable.

Jennifer's suggestion to name specific areas, other than one's sides, is a good one, but I

am choosing to not to address this in my presentation as I feel the simple act of holding

one's sides to feel breath coming in is the only purpose for the exercise (i.e., creating

awareness) and naming the specific biological and physiological aspects are best

reserved for a more detailed instructional experience outside of this Pecha Kucha.

Darren's suggestion for mixing the sound effects better with the voice-overs is one that I

am going to go back and look at. I definitely don't want to defeat the purpose of the

sound effects by making them distracting to the core messages.

2) Do you think you could be a singer, based on the presentation? Why or why

not? One of my core messages is that anyone can be a singer and the only requirement

to be a singer is to sing. This question addresses whether the presentation may have

affected the listener's self-efficacy in regard to singing.

Reviewer Answer

Jennifer Yes. Well, in my own mind. Because it's ok and a good thing to emote. I go around

trying not to show feelings - singing brings them out, so I avoid it. But with

permission and encouragement to emote, look out world! Another reason is that you

make it ok to sound goofy with the exercises. This made me think that perfection

isnt the goal, the goal is to sound as good as I can sound. And those exercises

work! I like the one where you sing with your tongue on your bottom teeth its so

much fun to feel different muscles being manipulated and the difference it makes,

even in my speaking voice. One suggestion do you have time to sing a simplesong normally (like Twinkle Twinkle) then do it with your tongue on your bottom teeth

so we can hear the difference?

Darren Funny, I use singing as a form of torture when I want to get the attention of my fourth

graders or my own children. The presentation gave me new insight on what it takes

to be a singer. In fact, I plan on sharing your presentation with my youngest

daughter. She loves to sign and was devastated when she didnt get a recent part in

the high school musical. Suggestion: Be clear with your message, are you trying to

teach people technique for singing or the importance of singing in your life? I think

both messages can be woven together.

Again, I liked Jennifer's suggestion, but through her answer, I can tell that she was able

to absorb and comprehend the act of increasing self awareness through the singing

exercise. I could make a more detailed example of the exercise to show singers the

difference, but if they are able to follow the instructions, they will hear the difference

anyway, and this presentation has such a short limit on time, that I think this is a great

idea for further expansion of an instructional experience.


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Darren's suggestion made me think about whether my core messages conflicted or

could possibly confuse the listener. I had the understanding that I was weaving the dual

messages of tricks to sing better as well as singer empowerment. I'm not sure what I

could do in response to his suggestion, but I will look over all my slides to double check

that my core messages are getting through how I intended them to.

3) What do you think is the most important issue when it comes to singing and

why?Although all four of my core verbs are equally important, I am curious to discover

how each listener related to the four sections of the presentation. Which core verb

resonated with them the most?

Reviewer Answer

Jennifer Emoting. Maybe breating. But emoting hit home for me because with Whitney's

death and hearing her voice so much this weekend, I realize she emotes, capital E,

bold. Even the Star Spangled Banner with its old-fashioned words that weve heard

hundreds of times. When she sang it, it sounded like a new song with a new and

very important message. Adele won a lot of awards at the Grammys, but I don't feel

her words. Great tone and pitch but no emotion. To me. So emoting is a point I

hadn't defined before, but it's why I like certain voices. Even if they're off-key,

weaker, unusual sounding. If the singer is telling me a personal story I listen. Are

there examples of singers you could mention that the audience would recognize and

relate to?

Darren Confidence- any performer needs confidence and a thick skin. Performers and

artists receive critical feedback often and need to be able to brush off or accept the

feedback. Being able to get back up and perform again and again connects back to

the confidence. You definitely dont appear to be lacking confidence. Suggestion:

More photographs of you singing might be helpful when creating a visual picture forthe viewer. Some of the photographs were out of focus and may need to be fixed.

Jennifer's suggestion is to mention other great singers. For the sake of helping students

to remember the core messages, I don't think it is necessary for me to tell the listener

who is a great singer and who is not. Part of the purpose of this presentation is for

students to discover themselves as great singers and to mention specific artists would

go against that message. What I love the most about Jennifer's response is that I can tell

she is processing the instruction towards a further, perhaps personal level of thinking.

This is what I was hoping my presentation would do for the listener.

Darren's suggestion related to out-of-focus pictures might or might not be related to the

connection he had with YouTube or there might have been an issue in the conversion

process either from my end into the .mov file or on YouTube's end. I'm not sure what

resolution he watched the video in. Also, some of the graphics I used aren't all of the

highest resolution possible, but from viewing the presentation myself, I didn't see any

that stood out as unacceptable. My first childhood picture has a graphic filter on it that I


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can't remove, but the original photo was blurry. In my personal opinion, I don't think

personal photos always need to be commercial quality as part of the charm of personal

photos naturally lends to less-than-perfect resolution. Still, I am going to go through all

my photo slides and make sure they are the best they can be. I appreciate the

connection Darren made between knowing that one is a singer and having confidence to

face rejection.

4) What did you like the most about this presentation and why? By knowing what

the listener enjoyed the most, I can figure out how to incorporate that into more of my

slides, if possible, or at least confirm what part of the presentation provided the most

entertainment. I believe when the listener is entertained, they are most receptive to

learning information.

Reviewer Answer

Jennifer Your enthusiasm and passion about singing comes through with every word. That

excitement is catchy and encouraging! You talking directly to me (do this, now let'sdo it together, email me with questions or comments).

The one point I didnt feel like I was in the room with you was when your cat was

with you! I love cats, so a suggestion there would be to mention your kitty and

introduce him/her to the audience? Especially when youre snuggling in for a good

sleep. So cute!

Darren The humor and pictures that connected back to your message. The snapshots of

you weaved in with the text attached a face with the message. The sound effects

were cued at the appropriate times which often made me chuckle. Suggestion:

Explain emote further-is this an actual term in the singing world?

Jennifer's suggestion to name my cats is extremely tempting, but I don't feel there's

enough time in the presentation to give them the introductions they deserve. I also feel

like it might distract from the core messages to do so. Her comments make me consider

whether having them pictured in the presentation is a distraction in the first place and I

have considered removing them. After some thought, I believe they add to the

entertainment value of the presentation and will leave them in.

I like Darren's thoughts about how using my face in most of the photos helped him to

relate to the core messages. His suggestion to explain emoting tells me that the

presentation has sparked his curiosity. During my presentation, I do explain and by that

(emote) I mean feel! As I've explained previously, I don't feel the purpose of this Pecha

Kucha is to give extreme informational details, but to give the listener enough instruction

to discover answers to their own questions. I believe Darren's suggestion is a perfect

example of how I have accomplished that goal. Even though emote is in no way a

singer's term, the listener here was curious enough to wonder if it was.

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5) What did you like the least (or not like at all) about this presentation and why?

While seemingly obvious, I do want to know if there's anything within the presentation

that turned off the listener. These would be problem areas to give serious consideration

as the moment the listener turns off, the listener stops listening.

Reviewer Answer

Jennifer At first, it was the sound of the audience because I was afraid they were going to

drown out your voice and I'd miss something. But by the end, I was used to it and

trusted them to quiet down. Then one grammar thing that's such an easy one to

miss: in the credits most of the photos were taken by "my partner or me" rather than

"my partner or I."

Darren What I liked least about the presentation is the fact your rough draft seemed

polished and ready to submit. Obviously, you are comfortable with the medium and

are able to manipulate the message easily. You set the bar higher and that makes

me envious. Now, I feel like I need to rework several things in my own presentation

after seeing your example. Thanks for helping me learn. Suggestion: The text font

you chose seemed to be an odd choice for the presentation; I would suggest a

cleaner font that jumps off the page.

Jennifer's suggestion is an additional reminder to go back and make sure all thesound effects are as noninvasive as possible. Also, I plan to go back andcompletely rework the last page in regard to citing photographs used. The firstslide I should have credited the professional photographer and for the rest ofthem, I can credit those I can remember who took all the pictures.

Darren's suggestion for changing the font is one that I will seriously consider. Iused the Synchro font for the first slide and thought because Garr Reynoldssuggests that fonts be consistent throughout a presentation, I hesitated tochange it. The only slides that particularly bothers me is slide 18 with all the coreverbs presented together. Not only is the text unavoidably off-center, I think it'snot very attractive to look at in general.

To summarize all the suggestions, I will 1) go through my presentation and rework all

the sound effects to make sure the voice-overs are not invasive, 2) make some

decisions about the general font choice, 3) review all graphics and make them as clear

as possible and 4) credit photographs on the last slide.


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BibliographyHeath, C., & Heath, D. (2008). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive. NewYork: Random House.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, andSchool. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.

Reynolds, G. (2009). Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques toEnhance Your Presentations. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

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Pecha Kucha Presentation Design Document