Highlights are for identifying which parts of a conversation ought to be shared with others. They are the answers to two main questions:
- What parts of this conversation should a person listen to or read to get a good sense of what this group talked about?
- What parts of this conversation would be good to play in another LVN conversation to foster understanding of the views and lives of the people in this conversation?
Highlights don’t have to serve both purposes. Highlights that fit question #2 above are more rare. So a good way to go about making highlights is to focus on question #1 first. Then, ask yourself which of those highlights are good answers to #2. You can note those by clicking the “Save to Hearth” button at the bottom of their display on the “My Highlights” page.
Highlights don’t have to be short. When you’re making highlights, it’s often best to include more than one speaker’s comments. Often a lengthier highlight gives a better sense of what the speakers mean. Most people in the United States are not used to listening at length to each other, but LVN is encouraging listening! So don’t be shy about making a highlight that is two or three minutes long. (Longer than that will probably not work well.)
Here are some tips for identifying highlights that you think would be good to play in another LVN conversation (in other words, highlights that answer question #2):
1. Stories of first-hand personal experience are often the best. They often give concrete details and convey emotions that help others imagine the circumstances and put themselves in others’ shoes. They are also harder to dismiss than an expression of opinion that is not part of a personal story.
For instance, see Robin’s story below. Through her story about her experience with Lake Mendota in Wisconsin shows that her concern about environmental issues is born less of political opinions and more from personal experience.
2. If a view expressed is surprising to you, or is something you have never heard before, that is also a good signal that this might be good for a highlight to be shared through the Hearths.
For instance, see Toral’s story below. Her family’s experience with drug suspects and security in her neighborhood is personal and a unique perspective, and might be of interest to those in other conversations.
How to title your highlights
When you create a highlight, you are given the option to give it a brief description. Please use this space to provide a brief title that helps yourself and others identify the content of the highlight and also any words of wisdom you have to share about the situations in which you think a given highlight would be useful.