In the second post of our SE10 values mini-series, our UK associate director Hannah Kitchener shares her personal view on how deep-seated curiosity is the key to simplifying technical jargon, uncovering valuable stories, and ensuring your brand message cuts through the noise.
I suspect I was a slightly annoying child. I had a habit of never being satisfied with a simple answer, constantly following up with a ‘but why?’ that I’m sure tested the patience of my parents and teachers. My childhood was spent with my head buried in encyclopaedias and books on science, nature, and history, trying to understand how things worked. As I got older, the internet became my infinite encyclopaedia, a tool to instantly satisfy any question that popped into my head. That fundamental desire to know more has never really left me.
When I tell new acquaintances what I do for a living, I sometimes see a flicker of confusion. The PR part they understand. It’s the industrial part that throws them. Because I also have more stereotypically artistic interests – such as fashion, dance, and musical theatre – people don’t always expect me to be so drawn to construction, manufacturing, and energy.
But I can’t imagine anything more interesting.
A front-row seat to the future
The more I learn about our clients, their technologies, and their businesses, the more I want to know. I see it as a huge privilege. I get to speak to brilliant people who are doing incredibly important work — the kind of work that keeps our society running. I get to ask them the same kinds of questions I asked as a child. How is that made? How is that built? How is that powered?
And today, those questions lead to even bigger ones. What are the innovations that will help us transition to cleaner energy? How can automation make construction sites safer? How is digital transformation making our world more efficient and sustainable? I get a front-row seat to the future being built.
The engine of market distinction
This is why curiosity is so important to us at SE10. In our hiring process, we look for naturally curious people to join our team, because we know it’s crucial to doing a great job for our clients. It’s the engine that drives us to keep asking questions until we understand a topic well enough to explain it clearly to anyone. Often, it’s in that process of questioning that we help our clients find new angles that lead to genuine competitive differentiation and market distinction.
Ultimately, this is the core of our specialism: translating complex, technical information into compelling stories that connect with people. You can’t do that well without a genuine desire to understand the subject in the first place.
That desire to learn is a value we encourage across the agency. It’s about constantly seeking out opportunities to develop our own knowledge, to stay on top of our industry, and to deliver the best possible work we can. So yes, I’m still that person asking, ‘but why?’ And I’ve found a home where that’s not an annoying habit, but our most valuable tool.
Ready to find out what new stories lie hidden inside your technology? Let our curiosity work for you. Get in touch with the SE10 team to start asking the big questions.
Hannah Kitchener
Associate Director
About the author
Hannah is an associate director in the UK, leading strategic campaigns for industrial clients across the EMEA region. A professionally qualified journalist (NCTJ), she combines specialist sectoral knowledge in construction, energy, and materials handling with a strong network of trade media contacts to secure valuable coverage. Her expertise in inter-cultural communication, honed by degrees in modern languages and translation, is key to executing campaigns that succeed across diverse European markets.
