Chimamanda Adichie describes the danger of a single
story in her 2009 TED video. Right away,
she paints a vivid picture of her childhood and how stories impacted the way
she viewed the world. Since she began
reading American and British children’s books at an early age, stories consisting
of characters who were white and blue-eyed, played in the snow, and ate apples
(2009) was normal to her. She instantly
had my attention because she formed a connection that everyone has experienced:
childhood. I briefly escaped to memories
of lying in bed reading children’s books and falling asleep to my mother’s soft
voice reading them aloud. Adichie
secured my attention and I was eager to hear her story. Whalen (2007) discusses that “when you work
with sensory memory, you don’t have to become a master storyteller” (p.
36). It is possible Adichie may already
be considered a master storyteller when taking into account the opening remarks
of her speech declaring “I’m a storyteller” (2009). Regardless, she uses sensory memory
stimulation wonderfully and had me wanting to hear more.
Some speakers cannot get away with just standing
behind a podium to communicate their point effectively. Adichie does not fall into this
category. She does not use many gestures
or other nonverbals to keep her audience engaged. No visual aids were used at all. However, none of these were necessary. She told her stories so well and mixed a bit
of humor at the right times that all she needed was her voice. She was herself, comfortable with her style,
honest, and kept her stories simple and clear (Denning, 2011). Adichie defines a single story and the
dangers they pose throughout her presentation.
She is able to communicate her personal stories beautifully. These stories reveal the dangers of buying
into a single story. For example,
Adichie says, “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” (2009).
Adichie is also no exception to being guilty of believing a single story. Such was the case when she made immigration
in the U.S. synonymous with Mexicans being abject immigrants. Denning (2011) discusses how it is imperative
to link the change idea to the story using phrases such as “What if…”, “Just imagine…”
or “Just think…” (p. 77). Adichie
applies this technique numerous times (ten times to be exact) to link her
change idea that single stories are dangerous.
One example to make the connection would have been good, but it is
almost impossible not to make the connection to the audience with ten
scenarios. This technique invites the
audience to dream and provides an invitation to imagine. Denning (2011) states, “The listeners have to
make the decision as to whether to dream and whether to decide to live that
dream” (p. 78). I can say without a
doubt that I have decided to live it by not buying into a single story.
Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en
Denning,
S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline
of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/A Wiley
Whalen,
D. J., & Ricca, T. M. (2007). The Professional Communications Toolkit.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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