A521.2.3.RB - Danger of Stories
View the TED video Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story.
Adichie uses several episodes from her own life's story to deliver her powerful
message. Use your blog to reflect on Adichie's message. How do you view her
message in terms of what you have learned in this module?
Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk was fascinating and quite a revelation
to me. She articulated what I’ve often thought about so beautifully. She said
that the single story is limiting and creates stereotypes. It flattens our life
experiences. The danger of the single story is that it creates a feeling and
opinion about a place, a culture, a song, a person’s story that is based on
very limited information. Essentially what Adichie is talking about is critical
thinking…and reading with a critical mind. This statement especially touched
me, “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.” (Adichie, 2009) When the one story becomes the only
story…that is a powerful statement.
At Boeing, a single story that I hear all the time, and so
far, in all of the major business units that in which I’ve worked: “We’ve
always done it this way.” This is just a sentence but within our organization,
it speaks volumes about what can and cannot be done regardless of the drive for
values such as “Finding a way,” and the culture of innovation. “We’ve always
done it this way.” Tells a story of a company that is stuck and that hasn’t
changed in 100 years. This is obviously false. “So that is how to create a
single story, show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over
again, and that is what they become.” (Adichie, 2009) My reaction to this story
is: “Wrong. If we’ve always done it this way, we’d still be making airplanes
out of canvas and glue. Try again.” I work in workshops to try to innovate and
improve processes in our factory. I work with mechanics, mechanical engineers,
production engineers, programmers, etc. and we come together with our single stories
in an effort to expand them into a multi-level narrative of success and forward
motion. This is not an easy task and all departments have that same single
story: “We’ve always done it this way.” But it isn’t true. “The consequence of
the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition
of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than
how we are similar.” (Adichie, 2009) I’ve worked with all of the departments in
some form or another and underneath this stubborn suit of armor lies a very
diverse and capable group of individuals who have, in fact, done amazing
things. New things. And this is the story that should be carried into the next
century of Boeing. I do see people trying to change the story and that makes me
proud and excited to be a part of this company. I think the multi-faceted story
will prevail.
What Adichie’s examples spoke of is a lack of critical
thinking and a lack of literary analysis that I think is common in most
cultures. Her example of the house boy that worked for her family was
incredibly touching because when she visited his village and saw that his
family was not just poor but hardworking – it was such an important
thought-shift for her that she still remembers it into adulthood. “It had not
occurred to me that anybody in his family could actually make something. All I
had heard about them was how poor they were, so that it had become impossible
for me to see them as anything else but poor. Their poverty was my single story
of them.” (Adichie, 2009)
The message itself was presented in a way that was easy to
understand. Adichie clearly had rehearsed this speech but didn’t come across as
wooden or as if she were reading it off of cards. It was obvious that she had a
copy of her speech on the podium making it somewhat extemporaneous in nature, but
again, it didn’t feel like she was reading
it. Her message was honest, concise, had great examples to back up her point,
and was delivered with confidence and charm. She understood what the purpose of
the speech was and conveyed it clearly to her audience. “The basic rule of
style is that your language must be appropriate to the audience, the subject
matter, the occasion.” (McKay, et al, 2009) She also knew that everyone there
had their own single story situations and they would be thinking of those
moments while she was giving her TED talk. “Communication is meaning. Remember,
communication takes place in your listener’s mind.” (Whalen, 2007)
This was a very thought provoking TED Talk. Adichie is a
skilled story teller and creates an environment of understanding and brings
everyone together by giving her personal life experiences and epiphanies about
the single story. She creates a critical thinker in every one who experiences
her TED Talk and to me, that is greatness.
References:
Adichie, C. N. (July 2009). The Danger of a Single Story.
TEDGlobal 2009.
McKay, M., Davis, M., Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The
Communication Skills Book. Oakland, CA. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Whalen, J. D. (2007). The Professional Communications
Toolkit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
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