Eric Demay

I was at the fourth edition of Pecha-Kucha Montreal last night. And all I want to say is: I’m impressed.

I remember walking in the SAT a little less than a year ago, the evening of the first edition. In a glance I had easily spot the familiar faces in the small crowd. A single screen was up at the front of the room and for the following couple hours, the crowd stood quiet, listening attentively to the speakers presenting their projects the best they could given the set constraints¹. Going to the restroom while a speaker was talking would have had seemed impolite. It was quirky, like a first date—which is obviously normal for everybody was new to the concept: organisers, speakers and listeners alike.

Fast-forward to yesterday, it was something else. The SAT was packed, loud and energized with lots of people wanting to hear good stuff. They had put up screens in different parts of the space, making sure people could see and hear the speakers and the slides no matter where they were in the room.

However, the most beautiful thing of all, are the new social dynamics of being in a huge crowd. People now fully understand the concept and know how to conduct themselves: you can speak to your neighbor, you can get up to get another beer, you can move around… However, if the presentation is clear, compelling and engaging enough, you won’t, you’ll listen diligently. And that’s the beauty of it. And a few key speakers made it happen a couple times last night: 400+² people suddenly quiet and all-ears, as attentive as the very few that were present the night pecha-kucha was launched in Montreal a year ago. That sudden silence was beautiful to hear.

So, all I can say is: I’m happy people like to get together and learn something new. The word has got out, the concept has picked up and it looks like were gonna need a bigger room.

1. Rules are: presentations are made of 20 slides, lasting 20 seconds each.
2. I have no idea exactly how many poeple were there last night, but that’s my guess. It was packed.