When the word "poacher" is mentioned, typically, the first thought to come to mind is "killer". Poachers are known for killing different types of animals, such as elephants and rhinos, illegally in order to sell prized items like ivory on the black-market. In February of 2010, John Kasaona challenged the image of poachers in his TED Talk "How Poachers Became Caretakers". In this video, Kasaona talks about the problems poachers presented to the wildlife in Namibia, Africa and introduces the program that was put into place to help reverse the negative effects. This program not only worked to conserve the wildlife, but it also gave poachers a chance to create positive impact on the surrounding environment and helped boost the economy of Namibia. By presenting his ideas using relatability and humor, Kasaona discusses the three key steps to the program's success and its positive outcomes in a way that captures the audience's attention and keeps them intrigued for the duration of the talk. 

When discussing ideas and information, presentation is the key to capturing the audience's attention and allowing for the information to be absorbed and understood. If the presentation is dry and unappealing, the audience is more likely to lose focus and dismiss the information or ideas being discussed. In Kasaona's TED Talk, he starts his speech by saying, "In Africa we say, 'God gave the white man a watch and gave the black man time.' I think, how is it possible for a man with so much time to tell his story in 18 minutes?" (Kasaona, 2016). With this quote, Kasaona begins his speech with humor, referring to himself and the time allotted for his TED Talk in the form of a lighthearted joke. By opening his speech with a simple joke, he not only grabbed the audience's attention, but he also made himself seem real, human, and relative to the audience. Right from the start, Kasaona puts himself on the same level as the audience, instead talking at the audience he talks to the audience, giving the effect of mutual respect between himself and his listeners. Throughout his speech, Kasaona continues to incorporate humor to establish a relationship with the audience. In the video, around the 2 minute mark, Kasaona recites some words of advice from his father on the topic of being a good herder, saying, " ...  if you see a cheetah eating our goat  --  walk up to it and smack it on the backside. If you run into a lion, don't move  --  stand your ground [and] it might not want to fight you. If you see a leopard, you better run like hell" (Kasaona, 2016). Sharing the advice his father had given him, Kasaona presented a relatable situation for the audience to grasp onto. In sharing information from his personal experiences, Kasaona established trust with the audience, as he created a personal connection outside of the factual elements that make up the body of his speech. With the established trust and relatability, Kasaona seamlessly leads into the more information-driven aspects of the video.

As Kasaona dives into the factual elements of his presentation, he begins by giving a brief history of what life was like in Namibia before the start of the conservation program that provides the basis for the TED Talk. This history includes talking about the differences between how the white and black people of Namibia were treated in regards to hunting and farming, the wartime affairs ranging from 1966 to 1990, and the massive drought that struck Namibia in 1980 (Kasaona, 2016). This brief description of each event is important because it was these events that led the Integrated Rural Development and Natural Conservation (IRDNC) organization to propose the idea of providing a program that would change poachers into conservationists. By informing the audience of events taking place in Namibia at the time, Kasaona allows the audience to have a better understanding of what took place to produce the idea of creating this new conservancy program. Kasaona attributes the success of the program to three main steps: the first being the honoring of tradition and being open to new ideas, the second being that the people of Namibia wanted to have a better life in which they could benefit from many things, and the third being the partnerships formed with other organizations (Kasaona, 2016). The first factor of success of honoring tradition and being open to new ideas allowed the people of Namibia to continue their traditional ways of hunting and tracking while also introducing modern technologies such as helicopters and GPS to better collect data and create maps of the animals' patterns of movement. The second factor of success was offering the people of Namibia a position to manage the wildlife and give them a sense of ownership over the land and animals. In doing this, the community came together with a single hope for the greater good of the wildlife and a "renewed connection to nature" (Kasaona, 2016). The third of success for the program was the partnerships created with other organizations like business communities and conservation organizations. Kasaona states that one of the most prominent partnerships comes from the partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who help with funding, offer up-to-date conservation practices, and helped take the program to a national scale (Kasaona, 2016).

With the guidance of these steps, Kasaona describes how the success of the program flourished to where it is today and paints the audience a picture of how the people that were once thought to be "killers" because of their poaching titles came to be part of a successful conservation program that would help replenish the wildlife of Namibia and serve as a model for the rest of the world.

Not only did the new program take poachers and give them a new purpose as "caretakers", but it also made a huge positive impact on the wildlife and economy of Namibia. As Kasaona begins listing the statuses of the wildlife before and after the start of the program, the positive impact is undeniable. The statistical evidence is presented as Kasaona begins with the fact that, "the population of lions increased from 20 to 130, the population of free-roaming black rhinos has become the largest concentration in the world, and the animals found on the natural plain have multiplied from less than a thousand to tens of thousands" (Kasaona, 2016). The wildlife restoration alone is enough to call the program successful, but beyond that, the economy of Namibia has also changed for the better since the start of the program. Kasaona states that, "in 2008, the conservancy generated 5.7 million dollars" creating a new economy "based on the respect of [their] natural resources" (Kasaona, 2016). The money generated was put towards the education system, the infrastructures and the medical practices of Namibia, creating a better quality of life for the people that live there. With such success, the program delivered a positive impact to the country of Namibia in more ways than one, and Kasaona ended his speech with the hopes of continuing the expansion of the program to places with similar problems in an effort to improve the status of wildlife around the world. By providing proof of the program's success through examples and statistical data, Kasaona is able to present the program's significance and its potential to greatly impact the world in a positive way. Kasaona then offers opportunities for the audience to get involved in the efforts by providing a link to the program's website and offering one-on-one talks to anyone that is interested. This allows the information presented to be revisited by members of the audience and improves the chances that the audience will remember his speech and continue to support his cause.

Presentation is key to capturing an audience's attention and delivering information in a way that can be understood and absorbed. Without an intriguing presentation, information may be forgotten or create a loss of interest for the audience. In Kanaona's TED Talk "How Poachers Became Caretakers" he audience was able to receive information in pieces with humorous breaks in between that allowed the information to be processed. By sing the strategic pattern of information mixed with light breaks of humor and relatability, Kanaona was able to successfully present his ideas involving the new conservancy program in Namibia and the positive effects the program produced for the wildlife and economy. 


