What Makes a Good Assembly?
By SAM ALTMAN ‘26 and JINMIN LEE ‘26
When an assembly speech connects with the audience, students put away their phones and stop chatting with their neighbors. When an assembly speech moves Exonians’ hearts, students stand up unanimously and give the speaker a standing ovation. Such occasions are rare and cathartic: what makes an assembly speech great?
Most assemblies bring in successful people, and students may enjoy hearing career advice or gaining new knowledge in a new field they haven’t even considered before. Nonetheless, such assemblies often do not move Exonians emotionally. Great assembly speeches move beyond facts and success and reveal the speaker’s humanity in a story of struggle and seemingly indomitable despair. If this story is situated at Exeter, students will find it even more compelling.
The assemblies that students tend to dread are those whose main message consists of a couple of blanket moral statements. Oftentimes, these messages are not paired with a moving story and only serve to affirm some students’ belief that assemblies are not worth their time. From there on out, no matter the topic (environmentalism, social media reform, etc.), many are disappointed because they feel like the assembly is only a bonding session that is not relevant to their lives. Of course, these assumptions are for the most part, untrue, so assembly speakers would do better to appeal to a shared life experience and struggle that students actually have to contend with to get their attention.
Further, simply providing students with factual information makes assemblies feel more like a class than an emotionally important moment, even if the information is valuable. Many speakers—all successful lawyers, activists, and social media stars—have a slideshow presenting facts. For instance, when Grant Sanderson (3B1B), a famous math and science Youtuber, gave an assembly speech last year, students might have enjoyed learning about the complicated topic of topography. However, it seems possible that the students didn’t give the speech a standing ovation because they didn’t see the humanity behind the celebrity. Had 3B1B discussed his struggles as a student aspiring to be a Youtuber, students may have related to the speech much more.
This reaction makes sense from the perspective of students. Students are often tired and stressed because of schoolwork or exams for the next class, and they might not want to have to be focused and absorb information. Many often want a brief moment to escape from reality; there is a reason why students go on their phones at every free moment of their lives. A great assembly speech allows students to flee the concerns of the world for 30 minutes and immerse themselves in someone else’s life story.
Aristotle famously said, “The emotions of the audience are the most important element in persuasion.” Students want their hearts moved in an assembly. A great example was Sara Jane Ho’s assembly at the beginning of this year. She surprised the audience by not speaking about her successes or her profession. Instead, she discussed her experience at Exeter, describing the challenges she faced as a new lower. Her speech included difficult topics about fitting in at Exeter, mentioning the social pressures at even such a seemingly innocuous place like Elm Street Dining Hall. Often, it is neither the grand titles nor flashy slides nor the moral platitudes that hook the audience; it is the emotional impact that forces the audience to feel invested in a compelling story. The audience—Exonians who also perpetually go through stressful times—can relate to overcoming hardship. We’re not talking about broad strokes of overcoming difficulties; we mean placing the audience in the shoes of a successful person who was once at their lowest. We want to see what they saw, feel what they felt, and understand the parallels in our lives.
Great assembly speeches also give a very simple piece of advice related to the story. Often, it’s about how there is light at the end of the tunnel of challenges. This advice might seem cliché, but it is no longer trite once the audience understands the unique and personal narrative behind the words.
After mediocre and even good assemblies, students hurry to go to Grill or get on with their lives. After great assemblies, students don’t rush to leave the building but instead ponder how a 30-minute speech rejuvenated them to continue fighting their daily battles. It’s not easy to capture the heart of someone dreading a math test the next block or a club tryout that evening. The only way an assembly speaker raises the audience into a standing ovation is if they can emotionally reach into the students’ hearts and raise up their spirits, too.