Pride, Knowledge and Honesty

There is a "story teller" on TED TV called ChiAmandaAdichie. She is from Nigeria, and she tells the story "The Danger of the Single Story".  It is taped in July 2009. She does not claim to be great, or over confident, she just tells her story, and that's what I like about her.  When I took an English class in the summer of 2011 my fabulous instructor gave us the link to this speech. I had never really thought about how I wrote, or what influenced me when I wrote, but the way this woman speaks with passion and dedication, I can only hope to speak this well the public setting. I also like Alix Olson: "America's On Sale" and Def Poetry - Taylor Mali - "What Teachers Make" or "Totally like whatever, you know" (you can find these on YouTube!).  The thing that these speakers all have in common is confidence. They can walk out on stage, and within 5 seconds analyze the crowd, and produce their speech in a way that radiates a welcoming, and confident tone in their voice. These speakers left an imprint with me deep enough they and their 5 to 10 min. video clips I have remembered them to this day. I don't really remember the worst speaker never heard, probably because they weren't worth remembering. The speaker has to be confident, without being arrogant and standoffish. They have to be knowledgeable, believable, and have a sense of pride to be truthful.