TEDIDEASWORTHSPREADING

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Born in Nigeria in 1977

Author of three novels

Purple Hibiscus (2003)

Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)The Thing Around Your Neck (2009)

Recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including the Orange Broadband Prize for fiction (2007) and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2008)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:The Danger of a Single

Story

In her speech Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie relates her experiences growing up in Africa and then the United States and discusses the problems with looking at people and situations from a single perspective in life and in story telling.

“If I had not grown up in Nigeria, and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images, I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals and incomprehensible people, fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and AIDS, unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner.”

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

“The consequence with the single story is that it robs us of our dignity… It emphasizes how we are different rather that how we are similar.”

Introduction• Chimamanda Ngozi

Adichie speech began with an effective line, "I am a story teller, and I am going to tell you a story…”. Although her over all tone was subdued and relaxed I felt it was appropriate and relevant to the topic.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie maintained engagement with her audience with a compelling topic, fluid presentation, and occasional humor with real life situations.

Dynamism

dy·na·mismvigorous and forceful quality: a vigorously

active, forceful, and energizing quality, especially as the hallmark of somebody's personality or approach to a task

theory of forces: a philosophical or scientific theory stressing the role of dynamic forces in explaining phenomena, especially by interpreting events as an expression of forces residing within the object or person involved

Dynamism

4/5I rated Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Speech as a 4/5 because of the philosophical view and appropriate pace and tone of her presentation, I found it very effective and felt myself leaning forward and engaged in her story.

Tips from Garr Reynolds

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie used slides/animations to emhasis certain aspects of her presentation

She also left the audience with a strong feeling of infused insight and a view that people can improve

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie presentation taught me that a slow and steady pace can be just as effective as any other presentation style as long as it is appropriate for the topic.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie VS Sir Ken Robinson

• Slow pace, relaxed tone• Stands in front of podium• Minimal hand gestures and movement• Humor seems rehearsed and place for

effect

• Quick pace, conversational tone• No use of podium• Occasional hand gestures and

movement, appears very comfortable

• Uses humor well and feels spontainuous

What we can learn

• You don’t have to be a comedian to be entertaining

• Non verbal communication is just as important if not more important when presenting

• Use Visual aids to emphasis information not give the information

Public Speaking OnlineInstructor Jeffery Melton

Jeremy GoochWeek 2: TED talk Slideshow

“There is NEVER a single story”