Braver Angels Encourages Constructive Disagreement

LANESBORO — Better communication among people with opposing viewpoints was the focus of a League of Women Voters Fillmore County-hosted workshop April 24, 2025, at Lanesboro’s Sons of Norway lodge.

“Skills for Disagreeing Better” is just one of many classes and initiatives offered by Braver Angels. A nationwide organization with 117 alliances, over 15,000 members, and seven years of outreach, its mission is helping Americans have positive interactions regardless of their political differences.

“If there’s one thing Reds and Blues agree on, it’s that something is amiss in our country. We’re coming together to talk about what that looks like from where you stand,” its website states.

Led by Chris Schoenherr of Braver Angels Minnesota, attendees follow a structured participant study guide. Personal examples and group exercises build understanding of civil discussion on hot-button topics.

“As a country we’ve been polarized before and we worked our way through it,” Schoenherr explained.

Braver Angels believes we must speak to one another and that debate makes our republic even stronger. This process begins by fostering civil discussions in which we see the good in everyone, while understanding this won’t happen on its own or without effort and practice. One participant described the work in a recent workshop class as “very demanding.”

Understanding through communication skills

The course stresses skills summarized by the acronym LAPP (Listen, Acknowledge, Pivot, Perspective):

• Listen carefully.
• Acknowledge the other person’s view before you share your own perspective.
• Pivot (to signal you would like to offer your viewpoint).
• Perspective (give sources or personal stories that explain your views and try to find something you agree with).

Braver Angels’ four premises for better communication. (Photo by Anna Loney, Graphics by Root River Staff)

Lanesboro Mayor Alicia Pearson helped bring this program to Fillmore County on behalf of her role within the local League of Women Voters Fillmore County chapter. As such, she was pleased to see participants from Rushford, Harmony and the Lanesboro area.Pearson and another attendee, Tom Brudvig from Lanesboro, both cited a question they were instructed to employ as a new tool they’ll make use of when working to acknowledge a diverse viewpoint. It’s simple: “How did you arrive at this point of view?” By eliciting another person’s story, one can hope to begin to see another person’s worldview.

These conversations aren’t easy but are, according to Braver Angels, aided by “I statements” relating personal stories, avoiding negative labels and mentioning the ways in which you know you do agree.

Workshop attendee Bonita Underbakke said she appreciated the importance of listening and summarizing what the other person is saying before asking their permission to offer perspective.

“It was a great opportunity to practice listening skills and see that others in our region are similarly interested,” Brudvig added.

Schoenherr reminded those in attendance to remember what we learned as children: don’t get angry, know we are more alike than different and always keep trying.

The workshop encouraged everyone to have those hard conversations, purposely sharing our stories, and finding accord even in disagreement.