ELY- There was a nearly full house last Thursday, Jan. 18, as the newly-formed Ely chapter of Braver Angels held its first workshop at the Ely Senior Center. Braver Angels is a national organization consisting of people from both sides of the political divide who are seeking to restore civility to both local and national political discourse.
Giving people the skills to talk about contentious political issues without alienating those with opposing views is a big part of the group’s mission. Braver Angels recruits people of all political views because all views deserve to be heard with respect. Meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend.
A Braver Angels workshop leader from the Twin Cities, Melissa Voss, conducted Ely chapter’s first workshop. Voss is a nationally prominent journalist and a co-founder of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Now retired, Voss is currently a full-time volunteer for Braver Angels and is a member of the Braver Angels Minnesota steering committee.
“This is an experiment,” Voss told the group at the senior center, “because this meeting is limited to 90 minutes so we’re going to do this two-hour workshop in 90 minutes.” Prof. Bill Doherty of the University of Minnesota created the workshop and the Ely chapter was the first to use it.
The workshop, titled “Skills for disagreeing better.” was built around four skills: to listen, acknowledge, pivot, and apply perspective. The skills were designed to be used sequentially during a conversation with someone with a differing viewpoint.
The listening skill was nuanced. “Listen completely,” Voss coached. “While you do that, avoid preparing your response. Try to determine what their values and concerns are. Look for something you can agree with.”
The next skill was acknowledgement. “The idea behind this skill is to connect with the other person. Acknowledging means letting the other person know that you actually heard their viewpoint and the strength of the feelings, values and concerns behind it.”
The pivot skill was the point where a person offered to share his or her own opinion. “If the other person seems open to listening to what you have to say, then continue,” Voss advised. “If the other person just repeats their point, ignoring your pivot, or shows wariness about you taking your turn, then consider backing up. This might not be the right time to share your views.”
The last skill was inserting a personal perspective while sharing an opinion. This included sharing personal experiences that help to explain why you hold an opinion, naming sources to create credibility, and finding something you agreed upon.
The workshop was built around simple exercises where small break-out groups practiced these skills. “I’m impressed by the level of thinking that the local participants show,” Voss said by the time the entire workshop was finished.
Reactions
Opinions were positive after the meeting. “We had no idea how many would come… There must be 50 percent more people here tonight,” said Nick Wognum, one of the founders of the Ely chapter. “It really is a testament to how people in Ely are involved.
“I think it was a nice turnout,” agreed Ely Public School music teacher Karl Kubiak. “People were receptive to seeing the other person’s point of view.”
I thought the meeting tonight went very well,” said Ely Mayor, Heidi Omerza. “I was impressed with the turnout, the message, and how engaged people were on both sides of the aisle.”
Radio presence
Among the media present to document the event was Catharine Richert and freelance photojournalist Erica Dischino of Minnesota Public Radio, who were in town to cover several Ely events last week, including the Braver Angels meeting. It was impossible not to notice them in action at the meeting, taking pictures and interviewing attendees.
MPR formed a partnership with the Minnesota Braver Angels last year called Talking Sense. The project aims “to teach Minnesotans how to have conversations with friends and family on opposite ends of the political spectrum.” The coverage of the Ely meeting will be included as part of the Talking Sense project.
Richert also covered the staging of “Disney’s Frozen— The Broadway Musical,” on her trip last weekend to Ely, which is now available on the MPR website.