In this presentation, Susannah Bannon uses communication theory to illustrate the ways that overly-efficient communication can negatively impact us. At a time when the nation and our communities feel most divided, Susannah explores the influence of labels on everyday interactions, asking her audience to consider what happens when we look beyond “trigger” labels and seek connections with members of our communities who we might not typically. Speaker correction: the statistic used in the talk (3/5) should be 1/3. Susannah (Susie) Bannon is a doctoral candidate and Assistant Instructor of communication studies at The University of Texas at Austin, and received her M.A. in communication studies at Texas State University. Susie’s research is located at the intersection of rhetoric and social justice. Her current scholarship examines the ways in which public discourse creates and maintains social inequities and how rhetorical criticism can promote social justice. In addition to her academic roles, Susannah advocates for criminal justice policy reform, as an organizer for the Second Chance Democrats of Austin and most recently, as a board member of the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network. Susannah’s TEDx talk examines the role of communication in constructing “differences” and how we can use communication as a tool to bridge those divides. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx