The Danger of a Single
Story
Speaking is
inherently more powerful than writing (Whalen, 2007). Telling a story with oral
communication is highly effective to pass a whole message, explained by McKay,
Davis and Fanning (2009) to a message that involves the four kinds of
expression.
Looking at
Adichie's speech with a technical perspective (not analyzing the context), the
first reason why I believe her message was effectively passed, is the type of
communication she chose, as 93% of the factors impacting on the meaning of a
message are visual and audial (tone of voice), according to Whalen (2007). Being
able to include grooming, face expression, tone of voice and all other
paralanguages (as per Whalen, 2007), played a role in favor of Adichie, in my
opinion, which assisted her on achieving her goal successfully.
To
illustrate my point of view, follow my analysis according to the context of
communication skills:
Kinds of expression (McKay, Davis & Fanning, 2009)
Kinds of
expressions are defined by communications categories, which requires different
styles of expressions. On Adichie’s speech I believe she managed to combine all
kinds, although some being more present than others.
* Thoughts
Thoughts
are conclusions and inferences based on the experienced lived, intended to
synthesize observations and provide an understanding of the events. I believe this
was the main expression on Adichie’s speech, as the message is based entirely
on her experiences and her perceptions of them. She used her observations, as
facts, to reinforce her thoughts, but her point of view was the base of her
speech.
* Observations
As
mentioned, to reinforce her message, Adichie worked with facts she observed or
experiences she lived. Although she included her thoughts, feeling and need,
her observations illustrated her message, empowering it and bringing more
relevance to the “table”.
The speaker
observations, as a whole, was a biproduct of her thoughts, feelings and needs,
but it was crucial for the meaning of the message and the effectiveness of the
speech, linked with the purpose of the story.
* Needs
When people
supportively and clearly express their needs, they get a closer relationship
with the audience. Adichie was the protagonist of her story, which involved a
message that impacted direct in her life and involved values. As part of the
audience I could bond easily with her message. Although it does not involve
directly my reality, I could empathize with her needs, as she was clear about
it and presented in a way to inspire change.
Being a
victim of judgement and pre concepts created by mass media, inspired her to
actively support the idea of the importance of holistic perspectives. Her needs
became her engine, her inner-motor, so important as a protagonist of a story
(Denning, 2011) and so influential in oral communication, as it impacts on the
speakers attitude, considering that 90%
of what a person communicates is based on the way he/she feels. (Whalen, 2007)
* Feelings
As
inferred, Adichie’s feeling is intrinsically related to her needs (not only as
an individual, but as part of a group of people, acting as the protagonist).
She does not focus on her feeling, neither show it to the audience, but it is
clear, in my opinion, that her feelings drove her to speak, and led her to
provoke a thought, communicate a new idea, and possibly inspire action towards
it.
Storytelling (Denning, 2011) linked with Expression Categories
On chapter
3 of Denning’s book Storytelling, he
presents a way of motivating others to action. The most effective tool for
business narrative, in Denning’s opinion, is a Springboard Story, which means a
story that springs the listeners into a new future. We can see Denning’s idea
not only on this book, but in other resources (see references) from the author.
Although
Adichie was not using a narrative focused in business, she was trying to spark
action, consequently her speech had some similarities of a springboard story,
as follow:
1. A clear and worthwhile change idea - (thoughts, feelings
and needs)
2.
A single protagonist’s (and
probably typical to the audience) - (feelings and needs)
3.
Time and places where it
happened - (her observations)
4.
The consequences of not
applying the change idea (thoughts)
5.
Positive tone with
authentically happy ending (thoughts and feelins)
6.
A story linked entirely with
the purpose - (thoughts and observations)
Communication Effectiveness
I do not
believe she has shown superb vocal tones, neither wise nor animated facial
expressions. In my opinions she did not have any outstanding body posture and
gestures to boost her presentation, which are all important aspects for message
delivery, related by Whalen (2007), but still, I believe Adichie was successful
on passing her message
Adichie
effective communication, in my perspective, was led mainly for her desire to
deliver the message she has mastered and passion to deliver (Whalen, 2007). She
was enthusiastic about her message, and this was the winning move Adichie made.
References
Adichie, C. N.
(2009). The danger of a single story. Retrieved
from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story, on May 30th, 2019.
Denning. S. Master Business Narrative. Retrieved from http://www.stevedenning.com/Business-Narrative/springboard-story.aspx, on June 5th,
2019.I don’t
Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to
Storytelling. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Denning, S. (2011). The Springboard: How storytelling ignites
action in knowledge-era organizations. New York, NY: Routledge.
McKay, M.,
Davis, M., Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: the communication skills
book. (3rd edition). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Whalen,
D. J. (2007). The Professional Communications Toolkit. Thousand
Oaks, Ca: Sage.
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