Chimamanda did a very good job of using her personal stories to tell a story. All too often we use a single story to define a group of people, a geographical location, a style of music, or even a type of food. I don’t think that it’s because we want to use the single story, but rather the only choice that we have. Stereotypes exist in every facet of our lives, and it is very hard to distinguish fact from fiction when they encompass so much of what we do, how we think, and how we act.
I am not ashamed to say that I have fallen victim to a single story. When I first relocated to Saudi Arabia, I quickly realized that the Saudi nationals had a single story about Americans that involved the way we dress, the way we eat, our entire culture. It was then that I realized that I had a single story about them as well. It came from the movies I watched, the pictures and stories I heard in the news, and even the stories that were told by people who knew nothing more than what I knew of the country of Saudi Arabia. I’m sure it was the same for the Saudi nationals.
This coincides quite nicely with the lessons we learned about stories in this module. As we tell stories and use them to motivate others and change the way we think about something, the stories should be genuine, factual, and free from the single story stigma. We have to know that single stories have no room in the world of leadership communication. The people we communicate the stories to are going to be using the stories as a foundation of assurance and trust, free from stereotypes and judgment. I think that stories are very effective when used as tools for change, but they have to true stories that do not paint a group of people or countries in a light that could be questionable. Open-mindedness and trust are essential when telling and listening to these stories
I am not ashamed to say that I have fallen victim to a single story. When I first relocated to Saudi Arabia, I quickly realized that the Saudi nationals had a single story about Americans that involved the way we dress, the way we eat, our entire culture. It was then that I realized that I had a single story about them as well. It came from the movies I watched, the pictures and stories I heard in the news, and even the stories that were told by people who knew nothing more than what I knew of the country of Saudi Arabia. I’m sure it was the same for the Saudi nationals.
This coincides quite nicely with the lessons we learned about stories in this module. As we tell stories and use them to motivate others and change the way we think about something, the stories should be genuine, factual, and free from the single story stigma. We have to know that single stories have no room in the world of leadership communication. The people we communicate the stories to are going to be using the stories as a foundation of assurance and trust, free from stereotypes and judgment. I think that stories are very effective when used as tools for change, but they have to true stories that do not paint a group of people or countries in a light that could be questionable. Open-mindedness and trust are essential when telling and listening to these stories
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