Luvvie Ajayi Jones: How to be a professional troublemaker | TED

Disrupting the status quo can be scary, but sometimes it’s necessary to make the world a fairer place. Reclaiming what it means to be a troublemaker, author Luvvie Ajayi Jones shares three questions to ask yourself when tackling fear and standing up for what you believe in — and urges all of us to speak up in ways that honor ourselves and others. (This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit to become a TED Member.) Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. 0:00 Intro 0:36 Reclaiming the term “troublemaker” 02:28 Three questions for overcoming fear 05:35 Professional vs. regular trouble 05:46 Deciding what trouble is worth making 08:31 Know thyself 09:35 Putting action to your ideas 11:00 Take up space even when it isn’t given The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. Become a TED Member: Follow TED on Twitter: Like TED on Facebook: Subscribe to our channel: TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at