YouTube Discussions

The West Virginia Alliance piloted a format for discussing Braver Angels' YouTube content. From the Co-Chair:

I wanted to share with you a simple technique we have been using for our recent Alliance meetings that I think has worked out really well for us. It might be valuable for other Alliances as well. Very simply, we encourage those interested in attending to watch any video on Braver Angels' YouTube channel prior to the meeting, and then come to the meeting to discuss the video's content and their reactions. We figured this might be less taxing than a typical "book club" and it also drives awareness of and engagement with Braver Angels' national programming on many different topics.

Sample Invitation Email:

Please join us for our next Braver Angels Alliance meeting on [date]. Sometime before this meeting, at your own convenience, we invite you to check out the Braver Angels YouTube channel, and watch any video of your choosing. Then, at our meeting, we will take turns:

• Describing the content of the video that we chose.

• Discussing our reactions, such as

  • • What do you think went well in this conversation?

    • Do you believe you have the skills to have an effective conversation like this?

    • What do you think could have been improved in this conversation?

    • What did you learn from this video that you did not know beforehand?

    • If you thought this conversation was effective, what are the reasons why we don't have more conversations like this?  What can we change to have better conversations?