Powerpoint-Karaoke is a spin-off from the traditional Karaoke, however instead of singing songs, the participants must present an impromptu presentation based on a random presentation, projected on a screen, to an audience. The presentations can come from a sampling of images collected locally or by randomly downloading from the Internet.
The name Powerpoint-Karaoke is based on the title of Microsoft Powerpoint, the world's most ubiquitous presentation software. In theory, other similar software can be used for this purpose. Powerpoint-Karaoke can be considered a training game that allows the participants to hone their rhetorical presentation skills with a flair for dialogue. It is also considered to be a form of improvisational theatre or as a type of Theatersports game.
Note that this term is also sometimes derisively used to refer to presenters who face the screen where their Powerpoint slides are being projected and proceed to read them, boring and effectively ignoring their audience.
Powerpoint-Karaoke made its world debut in January 2006 in Berlin, as a creation of the Zentrale Intelligenz Agentur, a collective of writers and artists in Berlin. It is also known as Battledecks or Battle Decks.
Spanish conceptual artist Rubén Grilo used Powerpoint-Karaoke as a title for a show at MARCO in June 2011.
Powerpoint-Karaoke offers the possibility to improve one's rhetorical abilities. It is a parody that highlights the absurdity of many presentations.