Grit: the power of passion and perseverance by Angela Lee Duckworth (TED 2013)

 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8&t=91s

    In this speech Angela begins her speech by telling about her past job, she said- “When I was 27 years old...” - make the audience curious about the story to be told. At this event she discussed about students. She talked about her experiences as a teacher. In this case she said emphatically that IQ in students cannot be a measure of their success- “What struck me was that IQ was not the only difference...” (00.36) this is evident from her experience teaching her best and worst students. He said that his students who had the best scores did not have high IQ otherwise, some of his bright students were not very successful. She said it with absolute confidence and her words could be proven because she had seen and experienced it firsthand. After all the things she's been through as a teacher she found that- “I came to the conclusion that what we need in education is a much better understanding of students and learning from a motivational perspective, from a psychological perspective.” (01:19)

    In her speech, Angel invited his audience to interact by asking question that did not need to be answered- “But what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?” (01:38)- this question makes the audience join in looking for answers to the questions that have been raised. After she asked the question, the statement made the audience even more curious and waited for the continuation of the story- “So I left the classroom...” (01:48)- Immediately the audience became amazed and curious about the next story's journey of Angle- “and I went to graduate school to become a psychologist…”- (01:50). Here she tells of her long journey in search of an answer about- “who is successful here and why?” (02.01).

 

Until finally, after a long story of Angel's struggle in finding an answer, she finally found a bright spot. The answer that the audience is eagerly awaiting. Then, Angel said that – “a characteristic emerges as a significant and important predictor of success.” (02:47) - Angel said with great pride that the prediction was not social intelligence, not good looks, physical health, and neither I.Q. But she found that- “It was grit.” - the answer made the audience think "ahh, she's right" which really satisfied the audience's curiosity. But on the other hand, audience also wondering "why the answer is grit?” and Angel answers it clearly. She stated that grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is also living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint. Angle also includes ideas from a trusted expert- “This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck …” (04:59)- this reinforces the idea of her speech, and makes the audience believe the authenticity of what Angle's words are.

    Angle delivered her speech very clearly, so that the audience could understand the delivery of her speech. She also seems to have carefully prepared the material he will present, as evidenced by her flexibility when delivering speeches in front of the audience. Making eye contact is also very important in delivering a speech, and she applies it to his speech very well, this is done so that the audience remains focused on the delivery of the material she is giving. Her body language and gestures use throughout the speech are excellent for example when she said- “In education, the one thing …” she also raises her index finger so that it looks like it shows the number one, and many more. From this speech shows that a good speech, must be based on careful preparation.

 

References

TED. (2013. May). Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth. Retrieved May 09,2013, from TED You-Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8&t=91s