1

Author Isabella Allende

This actually was the first TED Talk I ever watched and I go to it again and again because it serves as a reminder that living passionately is not just for the young. In Allende’s personal stories you’ll find plenty nuggets of wisdom that you can immediately put to use.

2

Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Everyone has read, heard or seen Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s classic talk, The Danger of a Single Story. It’s a classic and one of the most popular talks delivered by any speaker on the Ted stage. But this riveting chat by Adichie on feminism will speak to your heart for this line and plenty more like it: 

 “ We teach girls that they can have ambition, but not too much … to be successful, but not too successful, or they’ll threaten men.”  

Adichie questions how we can begin to dream about and plan for a different, fairer world — of happier men and women who are truer to themselves.

3

Finance Executive Melody Hobson

This talk is engaging and persuasive with direct call to actions. The subject of race relations is so explosive now and it almost seems that Hobson’s presentation on how to be colour brave was better fitted for a time when we felt more optimistic.

But that’s exactly why I’ve included it in my top 5 TED Talk list by women. Hobson’s story about how her mother teachings made her want to excel is also a plea to be less colour blind, to look past differences and stop “otherising” those who appear and speak differently. Her case for diversity, particularly increasing black hiring and how it makes for better business and a better society is especially relevant given her new appointment as the Vice Chair of Starbucks.

4

Writer Roxanne Gay

Roxanne Gay is the latest addition to my top Ted talk female speakers. If you ever follow this self-proclaimed bad feminist, (the title of one of her books)  on Twitter you’d know that she handles the trolls who shame her size, politics and writing with the finesse of a sous chef in possession of a very sharp blade.

That why her TED Talk on feminism is so good. In it, she is vulnerable but she is also funny, sharp-witted. In short, everything her legions of fans love about her.

Gay argues that being brave enough to build inclusive environments has the power to “trickle upward to the people in power — editors, movie and music producers, CEOs, lawmakers — the people who can make bigger, braver choices to create lasting, meaningful change.”

5

CEO Arianna Huffington

When Huffington Post and Thrive founder Arianna Huffington said that all women should sleep their way to the top, we stopped and took notice. Her talk was particularly interesting and life-changing for me because when it was released in 2010, I was going through one of my worst sleep deprived periods. Her viewpoints helped. Backed by science, research and lots of interviews, Huffington believes that sleep deprivation is a global crisis and it is robbing smart people of their best ideas.

In this TED Talk, Huffington says that by getting more sleep, people can live a more productive, inspired and joyful life. Seven years onward, I agree.