Maroutchka 

When I was searching for must-see TED talks, I came across Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with the danger of a single story very quickly. I had no idea what the subject of her TED-talk was going to be, but I thought the title was intriguing. Presenting herself as a storyteller, I was curious about the rest of her talk.

She begins her speech with a story, obviously, of when she was young. A little boy was staying in her house. Her mother used to say that his family was very poor. When she finally got to meet the family of the boy, she was shocked. The mother made a stunning basket for them to take home. She didn’t realize that just because they are poor, they are still able to be creative and joyful. The problem was that she only listened to one story: her mother telling that the family was poor.

Present a people as one thing, and only one thing over and over again and that is who they become in the eyes of the unknown. A single story creates stereotypes and the problem is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete. One story becomes the only story and this is our mistake. We have to learn to engage in other stories. Because if you don’t learn to do so, you will misjudge a lot of things. So for example when you hear a story about a girl that was rather rude to someone you know. Try to get to know the girl more before you decide not to be friends with her.

Stories matter, and many stories matter even more. It’s not enough to have one piece of the puzzle. When you want to create a complete picture, you need all the pieces of the puzzle.

She concludes with a beautiful quote: when we reject the single story, we regain a kind of paradise.