Asher (Year 12) Challenges Us to Communicate With Purpose at This Years ReimaginED Conference

At this year’s ReimaginED conference, hosted by The Beyond Boundaries Institute, TSS student Asher (Year 12) took to the stage with a bold, insightful provocation that had the audience reflecting deeply on the power—and pitfalls—of communication.

“As a student and a youth, I value clear communication, because I don’t know anything,” Asher said. “To operate in society, young people need the knowledge you already have. The youth rely on communication to learn. Henceforth, when communication fails... we are left in the dark.”

Speaking with characteristic wit and clarity, Asher offered a compelling case for the need to communicate with purpose, empathy, and conciseness. Drawing on personal examples and calling out jargon-filled explanations that disengage rather than enlighten, Asher reminded the crowd that “it is only worth saying that which is worth hearing.”

Asher’s talk was visually captured by graphic artist Jessamy Gee in a live visual summary. You can see the final graphic and Asher’s full speech below.

We are incredibly proud of Asher for representing The Studio School at this major education conference and sharing such a powerful message with clarity, confidence, and heart.

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Read Asher's Full Speech Below:

Asher Cureton Provocation

Intro
Thesis Statement: It is only worth saying that which is worth hearing.

Good day. My name is Asher Cureton, I am a student at The Studio School, and I love knowledge. I have spent my entire life seeking knowledge and understanding. I value communication as a means of acquiring and transmitting the knowledge I seek. This is why I speak today. Communication should be understandable, and thus, communication should be concise.

Miscommunication
Unfortunately, communication is hard. Between the speaker and the listener, there is infinite room for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Miscommunication can stem from irrelevance, terminology, disengagement, inarticulation, and innumerable other sources.

For example: I received an email about some volunteer tree planting. One section informed me of the two different planting sites. Another section contained the times and dates we needed to arrive. Unfortunately, the email did not specify which locations correlated with which dates. So imagine my confusion as I scour one park for the group, while they're off merrily planting in a different location.

It is our responsibility to make our ideas and communications understandable. Consciousness and clarity is the way.

No one is a paragon of communication. Even now, I am orating in an overly verbose manner as a result of the ingraining of my grammar and lexicon with attempted intellectualist quasi-sophistication. I use big words and weird grammar for no reason.

I hope for a future where we can all understand each other better. And in speaking this provocation, I intend to see it done.

Speaking with purpose
It is only worth saying that which is worth hearing. The thesis statement of this provocation. It is my belief that we should always strive towards communicating purposefully, placing utility over all else. If one speaks without purpose, or with a lot of filler, they are not motivated by a desire to give useful information, they are motivated to fill a time slot.

Conciseness
It is important to be conscious. Speaking only the exact information we mean to convey. This has three main benefits:

1. Efficiency – excluding filler speeds up explanations
2. Understanding – the less information, the easier for the listener to process
3. Engagement – listeners engage with what seems important, and disengage with what seems unimportant

Now I should clarify. Filler is not just “um”s & “ah”s, but also everything the listener does not strictly need to know. Do not be fooled. There are many things that seem important, but are not.

I will now demonstrate the above principles with an example.

I was pulled out of class to speak with one of my facilitators about the “New Metrics” credentialing program. Confused, I asked directly for an explanation of the program and what I had to do for it. I was given a five-minute spiel about the history of the school's involvement, research rationale, etc. About halfway through, I became fully disengaged and stopped listening. When it was over, I asked my facilitator to:
“In two sentences, summarise the information relevant to me.”
They gave me a one-sentence summary which told more than I got out of the five-minute monologue. And I understood it perfectly. With 90% less speaking, I gained 90% more relevant information.

Many times in my life I have been told about some great program, event, or opportunity which I missed out on because I was simply unable to understand it.

As a student and a youth, I value clear communication, because I don't know anything. I have little experience living, little knowledge of the world, and little wisdom to guide me. To operate in society, and function as people, young people need the knowledge you already have. The youth rely on communication to give us this vital information and wisdom. Henceforth, when communication fails and we do not understand important concepts or skills, we are left in the dark. The dark pit of ignorance.

Crash course in empathy
The future of communication ultimately rests upon one factor: empathy.

I have been taught about empathy many times in my life; I was led to believe I understood it. No one ever explained how to actually use empathy, so I never truly grasped its utility and method. That was until I realised that to have empathy, I actually had to do something with it. When engaging other humans, I had to stop, and think to myself:
“Why is this other person doing this thing, or acting this way?” etc.
Turns out, it's almost always for rational reasons. Our dialogue could only become productive once I understood the other person.

This is the important part. Listening ears on. Literally stop and consider the person you're speaking to, their intentions, and their perspective. Because that is the only way to be genuinely empathetic, and actually get anything done.

Let's practice. Consider why I felt the need to give you a lecture on empathy.

Now back to communication.

Speak for the audience you have
My hope is that when we communicate, we can do it with empathy. We have to understand those who listen to us. We have to speak for the audience we have.
Some examples:
- Buzzwords only work when communicating to other people who use them. It's a different language, and you won't be understood by those who don't speak it.
- If information is not relevant to your audience, you will lose them.
- People listen to you because they want something from you. Give that to them and nothing more.

Of course, the listeners also need to exercise respect and empathy for the speaker, but that is a discussion for a different time.

Conclusion
In conclusion: Communicate clearly and concisely, delivering relevant and important information in a way that is easy for your audience to understand. Strive to understand people and exercise empathy.
My name has been Asher Cureton, and your thoughts have just been provoked!

You can view a timelapse of the graphic being created on our Instagram.