Talking about tragedy can be difficult. These tips will help you be prepared and constructive in communicating about violence.  

A consortium of organizations offer recommendations for responding to political violence that reduce the risk of future harms.

Speaking to your children about targeted violence has many nuances but is an important conversation to have.

Equip yourself with the community safely and de-escalation skills to navigate conflict in a vibrant democracy.

Anyone can be part of the solution.  Here are 50 Things anyone can do today to push back on political toxicity and build the future where we all can thrive and immediate steps you can take in your community to make America safer.  

Speaking to your children about targeted violence has many nuances but is an important conversation to have.

In difficult times, our impulse may be to retreat to those who believe the same way. This free resource invites you to lean into listening for understanding, even when it's hard.

An 8-point scale that shows language ranging from contempt to dignity – and how we can choose to speak with dignity.

Our How-to guide on how to speak, think, listen better

A three-lesson resource for families from Utah State University Extension, BYU Wheatley Institute, and Disagree Better.

Empowering conversations demonstrating how faith can fuel our engagement in the work of peace building

The Braver Angels Depolarizing Within workshop teaches participants to look at their own attitudes towards the political “other,” and develop strategies for engaging in politics without demonizing and for constructively intervening in conversations with like-minded peers when those conversations stereotype or demonize the other side.

The Braver Angels Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop helps participants understand the values and concerns of those who differ from them politically and teaches essential skills for communicating across differences and finding common ground.

The Braver Angels Family and Politics workshop teaches participants how to preserve family bonds while staying true to their values and political beliefs. Although the focus is on family relationships, you can use these strategies with any loved one. You’ll have some fun in this workshop – it won’t be all serious. After all, we all come from quirky families.

The Braver Angels Skills for Social Media workshop is designed to improve the culture of posts and conversations on social media and provide a constructive alternative to the polarized and judgmental exchanges that dominate the current discourse. This can lead to more productive exchanges between people of all political leanings. Note that this workshop is designed to practice the skills taught in a prerequisite eCourse.

The Braver Angels Being Red in a Blue Environment workshop will teach participants safe and effective ways to communicate their conservative values and beliefs in environments where liberal ideas are assumed to be correct—and where more conservative people may be seen as ignorant, misguided, or even immoral.

The Braver Angels Being Blue in a Red Environment workshop teaches participants safe and effective ways to communicate their liberal values and beliefs in environments where conservative ideas are assumed to be correct—and where more liberal people may be seen as ignorant, misguided, or even immoral.

Faith-Sponsored Workshops (FSW) are existing Braver Angels workshops that include an additional opening and closing that is specific to the faith tradition, led by the faith organization that is hosting the workshop. The faith organization’s host is required to be actively involved in planning and leading both the opening and closing activities, which can include a faith-based rationale, prayer, and/or other practices. The core Braver Angels workshop materials are unchanged.

The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University has left many in higher education asking how to hold space for dialogue amid grief, fear, and uncertainty.

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To support campus leaders, the Constructive Dialogue Institute has released a Conversation Guide designed to help staff, faculty, and student leaders create safe, structured environments for reflection and connection.

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Drawing on interviews with more than 30 practitioners conducted during the first quarter of 2025, this new discussion paper finds that community safety and de-escalation approaches to countering political violence are a fast-evolving specialization within the peacebuilding field. 

This document offers guidance for parents on how to support youth emotionally and practically in the aftermath of a shooting- this is more-so for children who were there during a shooting.  

This tip sheet helps caregivers talk with children about a shooting by offering age-appropriate support, comfort, and coping guidance. For children not there for the incident but concerned. 

This brief helps explain the mental health effects of mass violence, such as fear, grief, post-traumatic stress, physical symptoms, and disrupted routines, and outlines ways communities can cope and recover. 

This fact sheet describes common emotional, physical, and behavioral reactions college students may have after a shooting, and offers strategies like self-care, social connection, routine, limiting media exposure, and using support systems to help them heal and cope.