Tell a story in six minutes and 40 seconds. That was the task five students were faced with at the third Pecha Kucha event Wednesday night.

Pecha Kucha is a presentation format in which speakers present 20 images for 20 seconds each, according to the Pecha Kucha website.

The format was first used in 2003 in Tokyo as a way to keep architects on task during their presentations, according to their website.

“The six minutes and 40 seconds formula was created for people who ramble a lot,” Alex Adewunmi said.

Adewunmi, a junior film-television-digital media major and speaker at the event, said the 20 slides for 20 seconds format was a source of accountability that helped speakers to not deviate from their presentations.

Students who spoke at the Pecha Kucha event said they were chosen to participate by various Student Affairs staff members.

The students presented their stories to family, friends and other members of the community in the Brown-Lupton University Union.

Pecha Kucha speakers can present on any topic of their choice that is meaningful to them.

Senior general studies major Gaby Jimenez based her presentation off of her experience as a first generation college student in her family.

“I decided to expand more to people who maybe didn’t know about or maybe weren’t aware of students like me,” Jimenez said. “I decided to just share my own personal stories."

Adewunmi said the strict time constraint of the Pecha Kucha presentations was stressful for speakers. 

“I was definitely overwhelmed,” Adewunmi said. “My heart was thumping as I was approaching the computer to give my presentation.”

Condensing information into six minutes and 40 seconds was not the only difficult part about racing against the clock, Jimenez said.

She said speaking in a short time period was hard, especially when she was trying to express emotions while sharing her story.

Pecha Kucha events not only allow for the audience to take new knowledge away from the presentation, but they also allow for the speakers to take a new experience away, Jimenez said.

Jimenez said writing her thoughts about her college experience were completely different from sharing her story out loud to an audience.

“Saying it to somebody, in front of people like that, you never know how you’re going to get judged or how people are going to see you,” Jimenez said. “So, it was actually a big step for me to say ‘This is who I am and this is what I feel like.’”

Adewumni, a member of the football team, gave his presentation on student athletes breaking the mold and the importance of focusing on school before athletics.

Adewunmi said he participated in Pecha Kucha in hopes that he could set an example for the rest of the university.

“I think this opportunity just gives me the opportunity to leave my mark at TCU,” Adewunmi said. "I try to get involved as much as I can on campus because I want to give student athletes a positive image."

Information on other Pecha Kucha events around Fort Worth can be found at the Pecha Kucha Fort Worth Facebook page.