Pecha Kucha

When did you stop dancing?
When did you stop singing?
When did you stop telling stories?
When did you stop practicing silence?

Pecha Kucha is a presentation format of 20 slides of 20 seconds each - almost a fast paced version of TED talks. Last night I had the opportunity to attend a Pecha Kucha Night at the Betelnut in Ubud, hosted by the co-working space Hubud. There were six speakers talking on education, mental health, identity and human development.

The four questions at the top are four questions that were posed by the first speaker of the night - who's name I can't quite remember - talking about personal development and theatre. The art of theatre translates into life skills: the ability to tell stories, to be creative, to be confident - just to name a few. It is interesting and quite ironic that in order to create a character that is authentic and genuine, one has to reflect on their own selves and lives, and perhaps paradoxically, this in turn allows people to get in touch with who they really are and develop self awareness.

Dancing, singing, telling stories, and being silent are all methods that express creativity and encourage self reflection. When the dancing, singing, stories and silence dries up, creativity and reflection also stops, and people find themselves lost and unaware of their identity.

So the point is to dance, sing, tell your own stories, practice silence, and act. Be creative with your own identity.

Another speaker on the night was a man named Ehon Chan, talking about a project called "Soften the F*ck Up".

With ma homie Ehon

I had originally seen his presentation and campaign on TEDxMacquarie a few months ago and so, watching him again - live this time - was quite interesting.

His campaign is directed at Australian men, who are constantly told to "harden the f*ck up", and not given the option of being weak, we are told that there is no excuse not to be "hard" and "man". As a result, there is a growing suicide rate in Australian men. The campaign aims to take away the idea of "manning up" and normalizing the idea that it is okay to be sad - because it really is.

It is a great campaign that you should all be a part of, you can see more on http://softenthefckup.com.au/

Start the difficult conversations today.

M