What’s this? Finally a breakdown of my PechaKucha presentation and only one month after it occurred? Why Sam, you are on the ball, I tip my hat to you…

I wanted to post about this much sooner, of course, but the news that it hadn’t gotten recorded dampened my enthusiasm some. It’s of no matter now, but it did upset me a bit at the time. Read on to hear a little more about the presentation and some of the “reviews”!

“Hey, I know I don’t know you but I just wanted to say that I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time, maybe ever. Great presentation! “
– Random Stranger during intermission

The reviews are in! ‘Failing Upwards or How to Succeed as a Creative Freelancer Without Really Trying’ enjoyed by all. The theatre was packed and the audience laughed in all the appropriate moments. I was somewhat nervous about being in the same set as Ace Burpee, but well, I think I actually got more laughs than him, which is amazing. And he did give me a double high five before he left at the intermission. So now I know I’ve joined the upper echelon of the arts community in Winnipeg…

“All the ladies in the bathroom at beer break agreed, Sam had the most charisma!”
– Sara Maximus

So what is PechaKucha? Well, it’s a night where a group of individuals do 6 minute, twenty second presentations (20 slides at 20 seconds each) on a variety of topics. Most of the subject matter is creative, as it is put on by the Manitoba Chapter of the Graphic Designers of Canada. I really busted my ass to get this presentation just right, as admittedly, I feel many PK presentations are lackluster, either due to lack of preparation or unfamiliarity with the format. I’ve been to a few of these events, so I knew that you really have to keep on top of the timer (20 seconds per slide, and woe be the speaker who goes over time) and let your slides speak for themselves.

“It was f*cking brilliant! I know that everyone I talked to agreed with me! It will live on in memory, we’ll talk it up, it will take on vast mythical proportions. Can’t happen with a video”
– Ian McCausland

In all honesty, I really wish I had a video of it, as I feel like those 6 minutes were my shining moment, and I’m not sure when I’ll have the chance to address a large audience like that again. I’ve included a pdf with all the slides and the basic speech here. I made some changes on the stage, but for those who weren’t there, check it out, you’ll get the drift of what I presented.

“@samposnick amazing presentation tonight @pechakucha, you were hilarous ! Loved every second of it.”
– @adesign_girl

Despite my disappointment at not being captured on stage for posterity, I would probably still do this again, if asked. Hell, I almost felt like a real “professional” up there, and I can’t really discount that. I also got interviewed by CBC for the Scene section of their site, which was very cool.

I attended the PechaKucha event last night and wanted to take a moment to commend you on your presentation. You obviously put a lot of effort into your materials and your delivery was great. I am sure you have heard nothing but wonderful and sincere comments about the great job you did and I wanted to add mine as well.

Thanks for the putting the pants on and entertaining us:)

– John (via email)

 

While I claim this post is here for those who didn’t attend PechaKucha that night, it is actually mostly for me. I don’t want to forget that I put myself out there and did something special that people really enjoyed. It will keep me warm on those cold, self-doubting nights.