The presentation I chose was “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, age 32 at the time of the presentation (2009). I retrieved it from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story. The presentation did not have any slides or any other material, just her addressing a live audience. I chose it because the title intrigued me.
It affected me by exposing my biases for being a victim of single stories, which are one-dimensional descriptions of cultures, countries and peoples which focus on differences and not similarities, create stereotypes and are incomplete.
The presentation was effective because:
- Chimamanda used anecdotes from her own life to explain how she had been taken in by single stories and how they affected her development and life. These were simple yet powerful illustrations of her theme.
- She was well prepared for her presentation. She did not read from her notes and engaged the audience with good eye contact throughout. She expressed her ideas with passion and came across as a confident and strong speaker.
- She used humour during the delivery of the speech.
The things I can use in the delivery of my own presentations is to know the subject well, rehearse, and speak clearly and confidently.
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